I bought ST2 a few years back when I switched from BBEdit. As a paying customer, I’m going to offer my opinions.
Whenever I pay for a software product I expect it to be supported. If I send an email to support, I expect to receive a response within a reasonable time frame. (48 hours is reasonable). Why should I spend $70 on a product that may not be supported in a year?
When I tried out Brackets.io, I hopped on the Brackets #irc and had an answer to a question within minutes. Another time, I posted a note on twitter and within 24 hours had a message from one of the developers. Impressive for open-source!
While I use the ST3 beta or Brackets, depending on my mood, on Windows. On the Mac I’m back to BBEdit. It doesn’t have some of the nifty features ST does but it makes up for it in other areas.
ST has a great community, lousy customer service, and questionable future.
Brackets has a new, growing community, and great customer service. (I’d pay for it if I could)
BBEdit has a great community, great customer service, and fantastic documentation.
ST ought to support the users of the product. A simple blog update would answer the question of whether it’s abandon ware or not. Personally, I feel like it’s headed in the same direction as TM.