Transparency versus Censorship

[Michel Gilbert]

Accordance exists and remains viable because of its users. Here are some of the things I (and I’m sure, other users) wish that Accordance would come clean on, to rebuild trust:

 

1. Why was there downsizing and restructuring, a “cost-cutting spree” according to Mark? Was it for profit margin? If so, what are the profits being used for, R&D to make the product better? Or is Accordance now just part of a larger conglomerate, where profits make up for losses in other areas, e.g., in the bookstores?

 

2. How much downsizing was there? For example, were the same number of programmers retained? If not, is this why development appears to be so slow?

 

3. Why was Acc 14 released so suddenly when beta testers were reporting so many bugs? As a beta tester, I was shocked that it was released in the state it was in. Did the three-year interval between 13’s release and a potential 14 release contribute to an early release when it wasn’t ready? If so, why was that so important?

 

4. How much is Acc relying/presuming on customer loyalty to make it through this rough patch?

 

5. I remember Dr. J, Rick, and Mark, a three-member team doing what Nathan by himself is tasked with, and those three were supported with regular contributions by Helen, Joel, and David Lang. How can one member possibly do what these six did, with all of their combined experience?

 

6. Will the forums be discontinued if users keep asking for transparency (because it could be bad for business)?

 

7. Are you concerned that many of the regular, loyal, long-time users have virtually disappeared from the forums?

 

Finally, will this post be closed to further replies, or removed completely, or will Accordance allow its most loyal and long-time users to voice their concerns about the present state and future of the product?

[PastorDavid]

10 minutes ago, Michel Gilbert said:

Accordance exists and remains viable because of its users. Here are some of the things I (and I’m sure, other users) wish that Accordance would come clean on, to rebuild trust:

 

 

 

1. Why was there downsizing and restructuring, a “cost-cutting spree” according to Mark? Was it for profit margin? If so, what are the profits being used for, R&D to make the product better? Or is Accordance now just part of a larger conglomerate, where profits make up for losses in other areas, e.g., in the bookstores?

 

 

 

2. How much downsizing was there? For example, were the same number of programmers retained? If not, is this why development appears to be so slow?

 

 

 

3. Why was Acc 14 released so suddenly when beta testers were reporting so many bugs? As a beta tester, I was shocked that it was released in the state it was in. Did the three-year interval between 13’s release and a potential 14 release contribute to an early release when it wasn’t ready? If so, why was that so important?

 

 

 

4. How much is Acc relying/presuming on customer loyalty to make it through this rough patch?

 

 

 

5. I remember Dr. J, Rick, and Mark, a three-member team doing what Nathan by himself is tasked with, and those three were supported with regular contributions by Helen, Joel, and David Lang. How can one member possibly do what these six did, with all of their combined experience?

 

 

 

6. Will the forums be discontinued if users keep asking for transparency (because it could be bad for business)?

 

 

 

7. Are you concerned that many of the regular, loyal, long-time users have virtually disappeared from the forums?

 

 

 

Finally, will this post be closed to further replies, or removed completely, or will Accordance allow its most loyal and long-time users to voice their concerns about the present state and future of the product?

 

All very good questions. The current state of this company is very sad, and not encouraging at all. I do not want to see Accordance fail, but if they don't step it up, come clean and change direction (dare I say repent?), then they will sadly fail.

[Shane R.]

These are all honest and good questions that investors (and we are investors) need to have answers to. We cannot be expected to keep promoting and purchasing (investing) in Accordance if we are concerned.  Accordance, you can write us off if you will, but understand you are nailing your casket shut on yourself.

[mhanel]

The great tragedy is that no one here bears ill will towards accordance. We're invested. We want it to succeed. I think its employees even have the same desire. If things get shut down I know it's not in any one's interest and a real sign of the end. Yes users are demanding, but that's a sign of engagement and passion which is how a product is built. Stifling that will only turn them off it.

Edited July 11 by mhanel

[ukfraser]

I have one other question and that is to do with new titles.

there have been several new titles published recently but with a couple of exceptions, I haven't been aware of them being requested on the forum. I dont know how well they are selling but they give the indication that the offering we will be getting in the future are in a different direction to the core study material that I suspect many of the longer term users have built their libraries on. 
 

8. With the work that goes into tagging and preparing resources, are we going to get the more study type modules that are typically requested on this forum or is the new focus to just bring the resources we have been seeing introduced  recently ?

My assumption is that you need to sell the resources your customers want in order to survive and grow rather than put effort into producing titles that do not return the desired profits.

 

while my credit card has been very happy the last couple of years because it has not been used, my accordance library has been very sad as there are some resources its seen requested on the forum which have generated a lot of interest and that it was unaware of which it is now longing to be expanded by.

Edited July 11 by ukfraser

[Steven S]

4 hours ago, Michel Gilbert said:

is Accordance now just part of a larger conglomerate [...] ?

 

This question caught my attention and made me curious enough to check the Florida Division of Corporations to see if there's been any change in corporate officers recently. Since the Brown family sold OakTree in 2019, the composition of the board of directors remained unchanged from the 3 January 2020 filing through the 19 January 2023 filing. The first and only change in membership occurred with the most recent filing on 7 March 2024:

 

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So, I presume the answer is no, because there doesn't appear to have been any significant movement in corporate oversight since the Wormell family took over, leaving me somewhat relieved. 

[ukfraser]

9. I'M guessing many of us are still reporting corrections but Im not seeing many updates. Are there still people working on corrections or is this something else that has been put on the back burner?

 

(I've just come across a load of corrections and am wondering if its worth reporting them!)

Edited July 11 by ukfraser

[Shane R.]

6 minutes ago, ukfraser said:

9. I'M guessing many of us are still reporting corrections but Im not seeing many updates. Are there still people working on corrections or is this something else that has been put on the back burner?

 

(I've just come across a load of corrections and am wondering if its worth reporting them!)

 

I used to report errors, and would hear back from Mrs. Brown. I stopped reporting after I quit hearing back. I figured nothing was being done, why report it. That was a long while ago…. Probably after the ownership change.

 

 

[ukfraser]

1 hour ago, eshane7 said:

 

I used to report errors, and would hear back from Mrs. Brown. I stopped reporting after I quit hearing back. I figured nothing was being done, why report it. That was a long while ago…. Probably after the ownership change.

 

 

I used to get very positive replies from Julie Palmer who was always very helpful but not sure if she is still with accordance as havent seen anything from her for some time now. 

Edited July 11 by ukfraser

[Mark Allison]

7 minutes ago, ukfraser said:

I used to get very positive replies from Julie Palmer

Julie was let go when I was let go from Accordance.  We're both happily working for Lifeway Christian Resources now. 

[Mark Allison]

Julie used to take care of error correction reports. Then I took over that job. I'm not sure who does that now. Perhaps @David Lang?

[ReformedDoc]

2 minutes ago, Mark Allison said:

Julie used to take care of error correction reports. Then I took over that job. I'm not sure who does that now. Perhaps @David Lang?

That is another thing Accordance is always behind on, Logos is correcting and updating its resources all the time.

[Shane R.]

Oh, obviously, I misspoke when I said it was Mrs. Brown. Sorry about that @Mark Allison, I just know someone responded, and let me know they would look at it and fix it. Even if it was automated, it told me it was being addressed. At some point that stopped, and clearly, I don’t have an exact time on that.