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From: ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Where are the PD & Freeware (not Shareware) Archives?
Message-ID: <1991Jan6.190825.26064@uwasa.fi>
Date: 6 Jan 91 19:08:25 GMT
References: <5156@trantor.harris-atd.com> <1991Jan5.223144.7942@beach.csulb.edu> <1991Jan6.141927.22377@uwasa.fi> <5190@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Organization: University of Vaasa
Lines: 32

In article <5190@trantor.harris-atd.com> sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes:
:
>	From the informed user's standpoint, it would be wonderful if
>archive indexes flagged software as: 
>
>	1. PD (anyone can use, modify, sell it even, without paying anyone 
>	       anything)
>
>	2. Freeware (Copyrighted but free to the individual, 
>		     noncommercial user. Commercial users often
>		     have to pay.)
>
>	3. Shareware (Free distribution and trial use, but if I like it
>	              and continue to use it, I pay for it).
>
>	From all evidence, even software authors are confused about these
>classifications. For example, I have seen a package in which the author
:

Yes, it would certainly be worderful, but probably also totally
impractical. At least two reasons:
  1) As you state yourself, there is too much confusion on the
     classification.
  2) Consider the amount of work involved. E.g. classifying the all
     files uwasa.fi and Simtel20 have might take years of work.
     
(The road to hell has always been paved with good intentions :-)

...................................................................
Prof. Timo Salmi        (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3)
School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland
Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun