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From: rick@uwmacc.UUCP (the absurdist)
Newsgroups: net.news,net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Cleaning up net.sources.mac
Message-ID: <1564@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 16-Oct-85 13:01:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1564
Posted: Wed Oct 16 13:01:24 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 18-Oct-85 01:27:42 EDT
References: <1134@sdcsvax.UUCP> <10674@ucbvax.ARPA>
Reply-To: rick@maccunix.UUCP (Rick Keir)
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 34
Keywords: net.shareware.mac
Xref: watmath net.news:4074 net.micro.mac:3006

Joel Grey is objecting to the posting of "shareware" on the net.
He goes on to assert various things about it probably not being 
good enough to be sold commercially, which indicate a serious
lack of understanding of the realities of micro software avail-
ability, and objects to developers being allowed to market their
stuff thru the net.

(1)  A lot of shareware is good.  Many items would be almost
unmarketable thru conventional software channels (I couldn't
find Microsoft Basic for the Mac in this town for MONTHS, dammit.
As for developer's utilities, forget it:  If it ain't a spreadsheet, 
they don't stock it....) I find it very useful that things like 
FEdit come over the net.

(2)  Most of them are NOT being posted by the developers;  rather
they are posted by users who liked the stuff and want to share it.

Shareware is far more useful to most sites than net.politics, 
jokes, bizarre, net.jobs  (think about it:  does your employer 
really want to pay to provide you with a service that will help you 
leave and work for someone else....).  Shareware actually has some
relation to computers:  almost all of us are in computer-related
work.  Few of us are paid to be funny, or job-hunters, or soap-boxing.

DON'T CUT OUT THE MOST USEFUL GROUP ON THE WHOLE NET!!! (ok, most useful 
to me...  but there are a LOT of Mac hackers on the net -- that's why 
net.micro.mac and sources.mac are such full directories.)

Thank you.
-- 
"The Policeman's Beard is Half Constructed" -- Racter
Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
{allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rick