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From: bart@reed.UUCP (Bart Massey)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Re: Please post sources!
Message-ID: <2020@reed.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Oct-85 12:43:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: reed.2020
Posted: Fri Oct 18 12:43:16 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Oct-85 05:11:40 EDT
References: <3066@potomac.UUCP> <6652@boring.UUCP>
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 26

> In article <3066@potomac.UUCP> jsl@potomac.UUCP (John Labovitz) writes:
> >For all you people out there who write programs and release them publicly
> >(on USENET, CompuServe, etc.), could you please think about posting the
> >source code as well as the binhex'ed version?
> 
> Being one of those people out there who just posted some programs without
> source, I feel obliged to reply.
...
> Some valid reasons for not posting source:
> - Shareware.  This seems a way to make (part of) a living for quite a few
>   programmers.  Giving the source away would be commercial sucide; the binary
>   nags users to send some bucks.  [I'd be interested in hearing if this
>   really earns one a living, after subtraction of the necessary investment in
>   hardware and software.]

No, no, no, no, NO!  The specific rule for USENET is "no commercial postings"!
It is one thing to hope to make a few bucks off your code through the
generosity of programmers who appreciate your efforts, and quite another
to worry about things like "making (part of) a living" or "commercial suicide"
or "nagging users".  Anyone who worries about these things shouldn't be
using USENET to distribute their software in the first place!  (BTW, I would
guess, as the author of the reference seems to have, that no one can make
any significant profit on shareware anyway.  So why worry about it?).

					Bart Massey
					..tektronix!reed!bart