Originally started as a personal project of its creator Cyril Paciullo (known as Patchou), Messenger Plus! has many lovers around the world. Truly, a vivid community has developed around it, where people meet to talk about the software, develop scripts for more features, as well as skins for changing Messenger’s visual appeal. I’m sure that you have tried out the one or another script or skin, too. For a program such as Messenger Plus!, its community is an important part.

The role of Yuna Software

With Cyril having invested years of his life into the development of the add-on, some months ago he felt that it was about time to involve more people. This would give him more freedom and allow the software to meet the requirements better that are set by a user base of 62 million users. By that time, Cyril made the company official that he had founded years ago, Yuna Software. That also meant investors came in who currently have the majority of the share in the company.

Sadly, in recent times things start to go wrong with Messenger Plus!. Yuna Software was keeping silent about everything they did. They set up their offices silently. They talked with sponsors silently. They published new Plus! versions, you guessed it, silently. Eventually, everybody within the community became suspicious about this silence. They tried to introduce a community manager, but it is not proved yet if the manager will be able to break the silence that Yuna Software is holding.

The effects that this development might have on Messenger Plus as well as on the community are immense, as Yuna Software does not seem to care much about the user base. In the worst case, Plus! will become so ad-bloated and uninteresting that it will lose most of its users. Users like you.

There is a way

What can we do to help that Messenger Plus! stays what it is? Messenger Plus!’s original creator, Cyril Paciullo, tells us:

What could such a mail contain? Here are some ideas for you.

• Tell Yuna Software why you are using Messenger Plus!
• Why did you originally use it?
• Has Messenger Plus! become better over time? How so?
• How did you learn about the software? From a friend?
• How would you feel if there were no scripts nor skins anymore?
• Would you like advertisements integrated into Messenger Plus?
• Send your personal message to support@yunasoftware.com.
• (If you want, send me a copy [CC to yuna@mynetx.net] that I can archive, but that’s up to you.)

Remember: This is not a call to request new features for Messenger Plus!, but a call to convince Yuna Software that listening and communicating its community — thus breaking the silence, permanently — is as important as setting up development roadmaps.

You are part of what makes Messenger Plus! successful.
It is up to you what its future is going to be like.