[gb2world]

I don't understand the reasoning for a closed forum being related to paid vs. free/open-source software. Sure, the software was purchased - but the majority of the advise provided on this forum is from volunteers, who are not directly paid.

For me - the only reason to close anything on the forum is if the exchange of information could cause a security breech. But, I don't think a hacker needs this forum if they are determined to compromise the software.

I prefer an open forum for a few reasons:
1 - A public forum helps QT to be more responsive on the forum. If it can be seen by people who have not yet made a purchase - a well run, informative forum is good for their marketing purposes. The more successful QT is, the more likely the software can be improved more rapidly. (This is not a dig towards QT - I appreciate their improved attention to the forum recently.)
2 - A private forum makes a decision to purchase more difficult. For a single x-cart license, this may not be significant. But X-Payments cannot be considered low cost, and someone considering a purchase needs as much information as possible.
3 - A public forum offers more help to the developers on here. It gives their potential customers more insight into their services.

---