Xref: utzoo news.groups:16778 comp.sources.d:4635
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!stc!tcom!pete
From: pete@tcom.stc.co.uk (Peter Kendell)
Newsgroups: news.groups,comp.sources.d
Subject: Proposed New Newsgroup - comp.shareware
Message-ID: <139@sneezy.tcom.stc.co.uk>
Date: 23 Jan 90 19:00:29 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Organization: STC Telecoms Ltd, New Southgate, London, United Kingdom
Lines: 55


As a result of this year's shareware war on comp.sources.d, for
which I must take some responsibility, it has become clear to me
that in order to satisfy the competing claims of shareware
authors, potential shareware buyers and USENET sites we should
create a new newsgroup, provisionally named comp.shareware, to
carry shareware postings.


               Why do we need comp.shareware?


The shareware concept allows the writers of software to distribute
their products to a large number of potential users on a 'try it -
if you like it buy it' basis.  This saves the writer a fortune in
advertising and distribution costs, allowing him or her to sell
the product at a much lower price.  Unfortunately, a large part of
this saving is made at the expense of the USENET community in
general, who have to bear the cost of transporting and storing the
software.  Nevertheless, the facility is valuable and probably
gives a net benefit to the USENET community.

The problem arises that sites, whether trunk, branch or leaf
nodes, have no choice as to whether they carry shareware or not.
Remember, USENET is a non-commercial network.  The existing source
and binary groups carry shareware and PD software intermixed.

I believe that *choice* is the important part of this.  A site
should be free to choose whether to carry shareware or not.  The
only way to achieve this is to create a dedicated shareware
newsgroup (or groups).  I therefore propose the creation of
comp.shareware.  Authors of shareware should post only to this
group, with a notice in comp.newprod drawing it to the attention
of subscribers who do not or cannot read comp.shareware.  Note
that a corollary of this is that software posted to other groups
is to be regarded as freeware - shareware writers should beware!

Please send your votes to me, pete@tcom.stc.co.uk.  You can say
what you like in the body of the message so long as the subject
contains the word SHAREWARE and a yes or no vote for or against
the creation of the group.  The closing date for the vote is 3
weeks hence, February 13th 1990.

I am anxious to comply with the latest net protocol with regard
to this vote. If I have made technical errors please let me know
and I'll take whatever action is necessary.

Regards,

	Peter Kendell
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|		  Peter Kendell <pete@tcom.stc.co.uk>	        	   |
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