The following questions were asked during the recent webinar hosted by Jo Benson, COO of Vortx and AspDotNetStorefront.

1. Will dev partners still be expected to pay to join? Previously, the costs of entry were too high and the benefits too low to justify this expense since we are currently getting a lot of new business from an online presence and client referrals.

We are in the process of completely rebuilding the monetization of this. There will be some “pay to play” elements (such as buying ad space) and other collaborative elements (such as passing custom work to quality dev companies) will be just for-the-good-of-the-cause. At no time will money take precedence over quality standards (ie the richest, but lowest-quality, providers will not have a place in our world). The Marketplace of Extensions will be revenue-share. We hope to be publishing the new policies before 08/31. If you would like to be included in the distribution list, please email jon.raymond@vortx.com

2. Will add-ins be fixed soon?

The Avalara Tax service is built on the “add-ins” element and is working really well. That gives us hope that this code is inherently close to being solid. “soon” is a great question, on a relative basis. I am happy to commit that add-ins will be fixed “sooner” than the polar ice caps will all melt.

3. What are your plans for multi-language support? (a real one, not the current one)

We have created five language packs to begin with (French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch) and we will be looking hard at the architecture of future releases to decide how dramatically we need to make changes. Still early days, but we are committed to the multi-language roadmap.

4. Are you planning a “known bugs” list so we do not have to contact support each time?

We are still in debate about how best to communicate about both the known bugs and the corresponding “available patches”. We are meeting this weekend (08/22) to discuss this further and until we know more, I don’t want to make empty promises.

5. What you are your plans with the code? Are you planning to restart from scratch? Are you going to keep the current template system or switch to pure MasterPage and CSS. Are you going to fix the interface which is a complete mess?

Ummmm……. (a) forward thinking and brilliant (b) no, not on your life (c) both – there will be different editions to support both practices and (d) I assume this is the admin interface – we’re working on it as quickly as we can, but we are hearing most often that the front end issues should take priority.

6. Is version 9 PA-DSS compliant?

It is undergoing certification at the moment, but since there are still payment processes to be “fixed”, it is only right that we stabilize the code and then complete the certification process.

7. You are saying to go to the forum and ask for help? Is there going to be a larger support presence there? Many times now questions go unanswered or we are told to open a support ticket. You say you gave out to developers what works, what doesn’t work, etc ... shouldn’t that be made available to the user base in its entirety?

There is already more activity from our company on the forum, and that will continue to increase. Please know that a huge majority of the user base are either happily using a stable edition or are store-owners who feel less interested in the code and more interested in online sales. We are trying to please all of the people most of the time.

8. With the issues on 9.x, can you continue support of 8.x? (We've been told we need to upgrade to get support.)

I am clearly failing to be as loud as I want to be about this. VERSION 8 (an edition in its own right) IS ONCE AGAIN FULLY SUPPORTED. There is no need to upgrade, or to buy anything …. although personally I think the whole world should buy our one page checkout.

9. I'm holding off on creating a new store as I don’t know which version to kick off with - should I go with v8 or v9? I'm nervous! Can the store be "de-Americanized" - UK store owners/developers have always had a battle to UK-ize the platform??

Please call Christian Young on 001 541 201 9965. He will thrill and delight you with his knowledge of the editions and his advice. I am planning to clone this particular genius.

10. What is the link to the dev partner? Will the rules about becoming a developer change?

See my answer to point 1. Please email jon.raymond@vortx.com

11. How do you become a dev partner?

We are imposing quality standards, so you’ll need some references, specifically references from clients for whom you have done work. And if the reference you give sounds like your mom, then we’ll probably attach electrodes to your brain and fill you with a truth drug. Some of the above is serious. We take quality very seriously. Talk to us if you are a quality outfit, we’ll be delighted. See question 10.

12. Are there any plans for the DotNetNuke version of AspDotNetStorefront? This includes whether it will be brought back and continue development or to at least support current users?

Yes, plans, but too early to spill the beans just yet.

13. How does Vortx buying AspDotNetStorefront affect me as a current client?

If you are a current client of Vortx, then you will either be talking often to your account manager, or almost certainly you will have received a letter from us this week, explaining our plans. If you are a current client of AspDotNetStorefront, then please celebrate along with us – we are passionate about the future of these products and we plan to bring enormous and durable value to this community.

14. Would it be possible to offer a onetime free update to get everyone on the same version so you only have to support version 9?

Everything is possible. But actually, there is massive value in the edition that is formerly known as version 8. It has its own very exciting future. We WANT to support multiple editions, since there are so many people wanting so many different things. Thanks, though, for the intelligent idea.

15. Marketplace of extensions -- does that mean the add-ins code will be working in the new future (currently doesn't work)?

See question 2 and know that all-will-be-well

16. How can we get in contact by email? We've been an ADNSF partner for Germany until last year.

Thank you!! Your patience paid off – see question 10.

17. What about talks with DNN to develop compliance with VISA and MasterCard. Do you feel DNN will add the compliance to their application any time soon?

See question 12.