Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!shelby!meldal@ithink.Stanford.EDU
From: meldal@ithink.Stanford.EDU (Sigurd Meldal)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Questions on shareware fees.
Keywords: Shareware, fees.
Message-ID: <52@ithink.stanford.edu>
Date: 14 Mar 90 23:02:13 GMT
References: <3262@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU>
Sender: meldal@ithink.STANFORD.EDU (Sigurd Meldal)
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 69

In article <3262@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU> halam@umnd-cpe-cola.d.umn.edu (Haseen Alam) writes:
>I have a few questions.  Some shareware (SW) programs are really neat
> ...
>1) If I think a program is over priced, then what price should I pay for
>   it?  Should I pay what I think is right?  Should I stop using the
>   program?  Should I pay whatever the authors ask for? or Should I try
>   to contact the author and explain why and how much I think is
>   justified?

Let me make my major point first: Using shareware without paying is
(morally, at least) theft, and on a par with shoplifting. From that
premise follows the answers to most of the questions above, namely:
You should either pay what the seller asks for, try to negotiate a
lower price, or not buy (i.e. throw away the shareware software). It
is the SELLER's option to accept a lower price, not the buyer's. If
the seller does not, then you should quit using the program, or pay
the asked-for price.

>This also brings up aother question.
>
>2) How would you determine wheather a SW product is over priced?  

Your list is interesting, and does not apply to shareware alone.
Shareware is a distribution method, and does not intrinsically imply
anything about the price/performance ratio of a product, nor establish an
upper cap on its price. The ultimate test for whether a product is
overpriced or not is - is it worth the price to YOU? If it is not,
then do not buy it (i.e. throw it away if it is shareware).

>3) Is there a time limit on the SW fee?  If I come accross a program
>   which was last updated two or more years back, do I still have to pay
>   the fee?  

No cap. If it is too old to be useful, don't buy it. If it is useful,
it is so regardless of age - software does not rot nor wear out.

>4) If the SW (or even commertial) program is not supported by the author
>   (or company), am I still obligated to pay for it?

Yes. But you may decide not to buy it, because lack of support does
not make it worth the asked-for price.

I have never written shareware (nor commercial Mac software) myself,
so all of the above is written as a frequent customer of shareware. I
am happily using very good products distributed by people who put
their trust in the decency of the Macintosh user populace. I know a
lot of shareware authors quit distributing their software because
people will not pay, even for software they use daily. Please pay for
the shareware you use.

Ranting off.

Best regards,

-- Sigurd Meldal 

SDA + I am not a legal professional, nor do I have the slightest clue
what the LEGAL rights of shareware authors or users are. The above is
only my opinion on how a decent person is morally obliged to behave.  -- 

Hard mail: 
	ERL 456		     | Internet:  meldal@anna.stanford.edu
        Computer Systems Lab.|	      	    
	Stanford University  | BitNet: meldal%anna.stanford.edu@forsythe.bitnet
	Stanford CA 94305    | Uucp: ...decwrl!glacier!shasta!anna!meldal
	USA		     |

phone: +1 415 723 6027
fax:   +1 415 725 7398