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Path: utzoo!utcsri!utai!lamy
From: lamy@utai.UUCP (Jean-Francois Lamy)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Re: Please post sources!
Message-ID: <815@utai.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 20-Oct-85 20:32:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: utai.815
Posted: Sun Oct 20 20:32:27 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Oct-85 21:41:54 EDT
References: <3066@potomac.UUCP> <6652@boring.UUCP> <2020@reed.UUCP>
Reply-To: lamy@utai.UUCP (Jean-Francois Lamy)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 43
Summary: 


Shareware addresses a fundamental issue in software distribution:
conventional channels are just inadequate.  I have not set foot in a
computer store for months now, and I dislike very much having to beg for
a demo from a salesperson...

Being able to see software float by on net.source is very attractive.  It
can also be a very interesting marketing device.  Being able to have
almost working beta releases is very interesting (I am writing this using
an old release of VersaTerm without file transfer, and I guess that I like
it enough to spend the money to get the "official" release). 

But, alas, I guess it is just unjustifiable to use UseNet for such a purpose.

"Broadcastware" HAS TO be restricted to the "freeware" category
("free" meaning $0, as it should).  The distributor of commercial software
SHOULD PAY for the distribution costs (this is of course impracticable
for UseNet).  If you really want to play the game of the distributor,
you can still subsrcribe to CompuServe, and PAY YOURSELF for the transmission
cost.

If you are posting a program you wrote out of necessity or just for fun,
you should be doing it for free.  After all, the program has served
your purpose, has it not?

Having ruled out commercial interest, I would favor posting of both sources
and binhex.  On any decent machine, there is an obvious way of getting a
binary from a source, but not on a Mac, as some genial manager at Apple
decided that an official, "Inside Mac" compatible compiler was something the
rest of them did not need... :-(

Since there is no widespread implementation of any dialect of any language,
post the source to provide hints for the interested (and frustration
for those interested enough to try translating the thing to their favorite
language or dialect).  But do post the binhex!
-- 

Jean-Francois Lamy

Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto:
  lamy%utai@toronto.csnet, {utzoo,ihnp4,decvax,allegra,linus}!utcsri!utai!lamy
Departement d'informatique et de recherche operationnelle, U. de Montreal:
  lamy@iro.udem.cdn (lamy%iro.udem.cdn@ubc.csnet)