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From: mark@mimsy.UUCP (Mark Weiser)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Distributing Software
Message-ID: <6471@mimsy.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Apr-87 11:25:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: mimsy.6471
Posted: Mon Apr 27 11:25:36 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 29-Apr-87 02:01:49 EDT
References: <6396@ukma.ms.uky.csnet>
Reply-To: mark@mimsy.UUCP (Mark Weiser)
Organization: Heterogeneous Systems Lab, University of Maryland
Lines: 57
Xref: mnetor comp.unix.wizards:2054 comp.sources.d:639

In article <6396@ukma.ms.uky.csnet> david@ms.uky.csnet (David Herron, Resident E-mail Hack) writes:
>The question for the day, gentle people, is "How to do software distributions"?

At Maryland we do the following:
1. Collect 99% of our useful software into a package called the
Maryland Software Distribution (in addition to occasional net.sources
postings).

2. Advertise extremely infrequently on appropriate net groups, and
in no other way.  (Advertising consists of, when a question arises
in a newsgroup for which our software may be the answer, posting
a message which says:  "mail to this_person@maryland for more info
on our tape, if interested".)

3. Getting a tape requires (a) $250 (in cash, no invoices), (b)
that you sign our "no commercial use or redistribution, this is
good-for-nothing research software" license.  (On occasion we have
had derivative software on our tape, and have required copies of
bsd licenses.  But we try to avoid this.)

4. Tape copying and administration is handled part-time, during
her "own" time, by a secretary who is paid a straight 10% of the
tape fee per tape handled.  This 10% is intended to handle any future
administrative issues that may also arrive from a given tape.

5. Tape dollars go for: (a) buying blank tapes and other administrative
overhead, (b) the secretary above, and, mostly, (c) sending worthy
graduate students who have contributed software to the tape to
conferences.  With regard to (c), if your software is on the tape,
and you are still a Maryland student, you have an undisputed right
to have most expenses paid to the conference of your choice once
a year.  This covers only about 6 students at the moment.

6. Tape dollars are placed in an account, not of the University,
but of the University of Maryland Foundation, to avoid University
red tape.

First aside: almost all our tape sales have been for one of our
two big packages, Maryland Lisp (a variation on old Franz), and
the Maryland Window System.  We throw in lots of other stuff, but
I only know of two or three places who bought the tape for the
other things.  We have sold about 300 tapes over the years.

Second aside: we have scrupulously avoided giving any of the money
directly to anyone (other than the secretary), to avoid any problems
with anything (the nature of which I am not sure of, but I don't
want to know).

Third aside: we are now phasing out the Maryland Software Tape,
because the professor in charge (me) is leaving Maryland.  Most of
the remaining dollars are going to establish a "Maryland Outstanding
Programmer" award (also known as "Hacker of the Year"), to be paid
from the yearly interest.
-mark
-- 
Spoken: Mark Weiser 	ARPA:	mark@mimsy.umd.edu	Phone: +1-301-454-7817
After May 15, 1987: weiser@parcvax.xerox.com