Introduction
Getsatisfaction was a community platform that enabled businesses to create moderated discussion boards for product support, idea generation, and customer engagement. Launched in 2004, it gained prominence as a tool for crowdsourced problem solving and collaborative product development. The service was acquired by Atlassian in 2011 and subsequently integrated into other Atlassian products before its eventual discontinuation. Despite its shutdown, Getsatisfaction left an imprint on the design of community and support platforms, influencing features such as knowledge bases, feedback loops, and gamified participation.
History and Development
Founding and Early Vision
Getsatisfaction was founded by Peter Shankman and Paul B. B. in San Francisco. Their objective was to provide a space where customers could help each other solve problems, thereby reducing the burden on corporate support teams. The platform was built on the concept of "crowdsourced support" and was inspired by the early experiments with open forums and early social media communities.
Product Launch and Growth
In 2004, the first public beta of Getsatisfaction was released. Early adopters included technology startups and small software companies. The platform differentiated itself with built‑in moderation tools, a flexible forum structure, and a gamification system that rewarded users with points and badges. Between 2005 and 2007, the community grew to over 300,000 registered members across more than 2,500 discussion groups. The platform's reputation for encouraging constructive dialogue attracted attention from venture capitalists, leading to a Series A funding round of $3.2 million in 2006.
Strategic Partnerships
Getsatisfaction established partnerships with several software vendors and content management systems. Integration with popular e‑commerce platforms allowed merchants to embed discussion boards directly into product pages. In 2008, the platform was bundled with certain customer relationship management (CRM) suites, providing a seamless experience for support staff and community managers.
Acquisition by Atlassian
In August 2011, Atlassian, the Australian software company known for JIRA and Confluence, announced the acquisition of Getsatisfaction for an undisclosed sum. Atlassian's stated intention was to incorporate the community platform into its suite of collaboration tools, providing a bridge between internal project management and external customer engagement. The acquisition was completed in September 2011, and Getsatisfaction's services were merged into Atlassian's cloud offerings.
End of Service
In March 2014, Atlassian announced the deprecation of the Getsatisfaction service. The decision was attributed to overlapping features with Atlassian’s existing products and a shift in focus toward integrating community capabilities directly into its project management tools. Users were given a 30‑day grace period to migrate to alternative platforms. After the final shutdown, the Getsatisfaction website redirected to Atlassian’s support portal.
Features and Architecture
Forum Structure and Moderation
The core of Getsatisfaction was a threaded discussion forum that supported multiple categories, subcategories, and hierarchical tagging. Moderation tools included automated spam detection, user reputation thresholds, and the ability for administrators to lock or delete posts. Moderators could also assign "moderator roles" to trusted community members, encouraging a self‑regulating environment.
Gamification System
Getsatisfaction introduced a points system that rewarded users for various actions: asking questions, providing answers, voting, and creating useful content. Points could be converted into badges, which were displayed on user profiles. The gamification approach aimed to foster engagement by recognizing active contributors and providing visible status indicators.
Knowledge Base and Search
The platform included a searchable knowledge base that aggregated community-generated answers. Advanced search filters allowed users to locate solutions by keyword, category, or contributor. The knowledge base could be exported in multiple formats (HTML, PDF, CSV), enabling organizations to repurpose community knowledge for internal documentation or product guides.
Integration Capabilities
Getsatisfaction provided APIs that allowed developers to retrieve forum data, post new threads, and manage user roles programmatically. Additionally, the platform offered webhooks for real‑time notifications. Integration with third‑party services such as mailing lists, CRM systems, and e‑commerce platforms facilitated a cohesive customer experience.
Custom Branding and Theming
Businesses could customize the look and feel of their community pages. Options included uploading logos, selecting color schemes, and modifying CSS. The platform also supported language localization, enabling multilingual communities across different regions.
Business Model and Monetization
Subscription Tiers
Getsatisfaction employed a tiered subscription model. The base tier was free and allowed a limited number of communities and users. Paid tiers provided expanded storage, advanced moderation features, priority support, and the ability to host larger communities. Pricing was structured on a per‑user basis with volume discounts for larger organizations.
Add‑On Services
Additional revenue streams included premium add‑ons such as advanced analytics dashboards, custom integration packages, and dedicated account management. These services were targeted at enterprise customers who required more granular control over community metrics and workflow automation.
Partner Referrals
Getsatisfaction maintained a partner program that rewarded technology vendors and consulting firms for referring new customers. Partners received a commission based on the subscription fees of the referred clients. The program also provided joint marketing materials and co‑branding opportunities.
User Community and Governance
Community Demographics
By 2010, Getsatisfaction’s user base included more than 400,000 individuals from over 120 countries. The community encompassed software developers, product managers, IT professionals, and end‑users. Data from user surveys indicated that 65% of respondents were repeat contributors, and 30% of participants were corporate representatives actively managing community content.
Governance Policies
The platform enforced a set of community guidelines aimed at fostering respectful and constructive discussion. Rules included prohibitions on spam, harassment, and the promotion of disallowed products. Enforcement was carried out by community moderators and, when necessary, by Getsatisfaction staff. Violations could result in temporary suspensions or permanent bans.
Feedback Loops
Getsatisfaction enabled a structured feedback loop between users and product teams. Users could submit feature requests, rate existing features, and vote on proposed changes. Product managers could respond directly within the forum, providing status updates and clarifications. This process helped companies gauge user sentiment and prioritize development efforts.
Critical Reception and Impact
Academic Studies
Several scholarly works examined Getsatisfaction as a case study in crowdsourced support and online community design. Researchers highlighted the platform’s role in reducing support costs and accelerating innovation through user‑generated solutions. The gamification model was also cited as a successful method for increasing user engagement.
Industry Analysis
Market analysts praised Getsatisfaction for its ease of deployment and its comprehensive moderation tools. However, some critiques pointed to scalability issues when handling very large communities and the difficulty of maintaining high content quality across diverse topics.
Influence on Other Platforms
Post‑acquisition, Atlassian incorporated key features of Getsatisfaction into its own community solutions, notably the integration of forums with JIRA issue tracking and Confluence documentation. Other vendors, such as Zendesk and Salesforce, adopted similar gamified engagement models in their community platforms.
Decline and Closure
Competitive Landscape
By the early 2010s, a surge of new community platforms emerged, many offering cloud‑native services and tighter integrations with developer ecosystems. These competitors, such as Discourse and Flarum, provided open‑source options with modern UI designs, attracting developers who preferred self‑hosting flexibility.
Strategic Shift by Atlassian
Atlassian’s decision to discontinue Getsatisfaction was influenced by a strategic pivot toward embedding community features directly within its existing products. Rather than offering a standalone forum, Atlassian promoted the use of Confluence pages and the new "Community" product that combined discussion threads with knowledge management.
Migration Pathways
Prior to shutdown, Atlassian released migration guides that instructed users to export forums and posts in XML format. Users could then import the data into alternative platforms or into Atlassian’s own community solution. Atlassian also provided API endpoints that allowed automated data extraction for businesses with custom migration scripts.
Legacy
Open‑Source Contributions
Some former Getsatisfaction developers contributed to open‑source community projects, focusing on moderation algorithms and gamification frameworks. These contributions were integrated into projects like Discourse, enhancing their reputation systems.
Best Practices Documentation
The community guidelines and moderation strategies developed by Getsatisfaction have been cited in industry white papers on community management. Organizations still reference these practices when designing their own online support forums.
Influence on Product Development
Getsatisfaction’s feedback loop model has become a standard practice for product teams, especially in agile and lean development environments. The idea of engaging customers directly in feature prioritization continues to be implemented through various community platforms.
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