promises, promises
Writing to Mak here seems to be futile. He doesn't respond, or at least has not responded to me. He makes promises, promises.... At this point it reminds me of the old commercial "any day now".
I had put up a comment or two on Youtube warning others that whatever the promises, the reality is sorely lacking. Somehow Mak doesn't have the time or resources to finish the product, but does have time to make new videos.
Now he has turned off comments on his Youtube videos. Apparently he doesn't want prospective buyers (marks?) to know that those of us who have given him cash are disappointed. (Disappointed is hardly the word. Totally ignored is more appropriate. Disgusted comes to mind.).
I see some on this forum start their remarks almost apologetically. "Sorry", they say. Well, at this point the only thing I'm "sorry" about is having paid a hundred dollars or so. Mak needs to stop "promoting" and start "delivering".
Locking our comments out of YouTube and behind a paywall here seems to just be a way to keep the users isolated.
It may well be that Elegant Themes needs to get involved since Mak's domain name seems to tread on their intellectual property (at least insofar as it confuses whether it is under the umbrella of ETs product offerings).
Joseph — I know that feeling very well: frustration.
You decide to invest in something, expect it to work, and then communication/support seems unreachable. The next thought is: “Did I get taken for a ride?” Many of us have paid “tuition” like that at some point (in German we even have a word for it: Lehrgeld — the cost of mistakes made through inexperience).
That said, I also want to add some context and keep this constructive and fair to Mak.
When I bought SiteKrafter PRO, I also had moments where reaching him wasn’t easy. I had the same uneasy feeling — and it disappeared when I realized how strong the underlying idea is (I’ve mentioned that in other posts, so I won’t repeat it all here).
I also bought SiteKrafter at a time when, very quickly, the focus shifted heavily toward variables and presets — essentially toward KrafterPRO. Even so, it was genuinely valuable (and honestly, pretty brilliant) to look behind the scenes and understand the technical architecture of SiteKrafter: how it’s built, how it “thinks,” and what that enables. Seeing that implementation helped me understand the system much more deeply (more on that in my other posts).
One key detail: Divi 5 was Alpha first, then Beta — and Divi 5 is not just “Divi 4 with improvements.” It’s a major architectural shift. In software development there’s an unwritten law: requirements change — always. And with Divi 5, the pace of change has been especially intense. Once variables and then presets/preset management arrived, it made total sense that Mak redirected his energy to align with that new ecosystem. Elegant Themes themselves also shipped new systems quickly, so the ground has been moving for everyone.
About the videos vs. delivery/support: I don’t think “he has time for videos but not for finishing the product” is necessarily a fair comparison. For a solo creator, regular content is often the only way to keep momentum, teach the community, and keep a project alive. And honestly, his content is valuable — especially for people new to Divi 5. His “Divi 5 Mastery” series, for its target audience, is strong value.
Support, on the other hand, is brutal for a small operation — and it’s not only “bug fixes.” A lot of requests that reach a creator like Mak are actually general Divi 5 site-building questions or architecture-level problems: WordPress interactions, theme/plugin conflicts, differences in browser DOM/CSS/JS behavior, or cases where something worked in a previous version but breaks under a new rendering model. In complex systems it’s often hard to pinpoint which part is responsible — and it’s simply unrealistic to expect one person to provide personalized solutions for every individual setup via support.
Also: his tools are not a “magic all-in-one solution” that eliminates the need to learn. In my experience, progress in WP/Divi comes from a mix of tools and willingness to learn — plus time, practice, and yes, sometimes mistakes that turn into experience. I think expectations and product promises should still be kept realistic and clearly communicated, but users also benefit from viewing these tools as accelerators, not replacements for fundamentals.
In my view, Mak got a bit overrun by his own success, and criticism about communication is valid.
Where I fully agree with you: the situation needs clearer follow-through and clearer communication. A few practical moves would calm things down immediately:
- a simple public roadmap (even if dates are rough),
- a response expectation (“we reply within X days”),
- clarity on what is shipped vs. still in progress,
- and a straightforward exit/refund path for people who feel stuck.
On YouTube comments being turned off: I understand why that reads badly. But it can also be a moderation/time-management decision once discussions get heated. Still, it would help a lot if Mak explained the decision and provided an open, visible channel for feedback that doesn’t isolate users.
On the branding point, I’d rather not speculate or take a position — I’m not a lawyer and don’t know the exact setup. If there’s any genuine user confusion, clearer labeling or a simple disclaimer would likely help without escalating.
Personally, Mak’s tools have helped me a lot and inspired me to build better solutions in WP/Divi 5 — and I’m active here because of that, not because I’m paid or part of his team. I also changed my mindset: I no longer expect any tool to “solve everything fast.” When something is urgent, I try to solve it myself, learn, and become more competent step by step — but I still hope Mak gets the current communication/support challenges under control, because it matters for trust.
So yes: your frustration is legitimate. For me, the value is real, and I still have trust in Mak. The YouTube content is an important part of helping people learn Divi 5 — especially newcomers — and I’m optimistic things will stabilize as Divi 5 matures.
I agree with your four point plan and appreciate you validating my frustration. As I wrote to him just now, I belive in the value of the core program, if he gets it done.
You believe he is operating in good faith. I hope you are correct. Time will tell. In the meantime he has our money, so forgive me for being cautiously skeptical, but also moderately hopeful as a result of his response.