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From: mwm@eris (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Shareware & Honesty (Was: Software (and other kinds of) copying)
Message-ID: <6675@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 23 Jan 88 23:14:49 GMT
References: <8055@g.ms.uky.edu> <174@piring.cwi.nl> <39450@sun.uucp> <6649@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <6376@cisunx.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mwm@eris.UUCP (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica
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In article <6376@cisunx.UUCP> ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) writes:
<The difference in my view is that I feel a distiction must be made
<between different 'classes', if you will, of shareware.  There are the
<neat screen hacks, [...]
<On the other hand, there is a more elite class of shareware;  programs
<that are in fact of commercial quality (yes I know that's ambiguous) or

There are to many levels to break it down into just three categories.
I think you need at least three independent quantities:

1) usefullness: ranging from cute screen hacks (hi Leo) to things you
	use every time you turn the system on.

2) quality: Mostly, how bug-free & well documented is it.

3) greed: ranging from an obnoxious message that appears everytime you
	use the program, to no request for money whatsoever.

I expect you can find programs in any of the eight corners.

But there are *still* oddball cases that don't fit. There's a Logo
floating around for the Amiga. It behaves in a manner I'd consider
most offensive: you have to look at a message everytime it comes up
asking you to send money. It's a solid program, and mimics Apple Logo
(so you have to get the documentation from elsewhere). 

However, the message doesn't say "Send me $'s", it says "If you
haven't made a large contribution to the public domain, could you send
money to <non-profit organization for teaching third-world children to
read>".

I applauded, even as much as I detest most programs with such
behavior. I called the author, chatted with him about it (found out
that the copy I had shouldn't have been release, as it was still in
beta test), and congratulated him on that.

You see, though the message behaves in an offensive manner, it captures
the hacker ethic - give your software away for the good of the
community. He just used the shareware hack to urge those who hadn't
contributed in the same way to help in a different way.

Greedware? Clearly not. Shareware? Yes, in the true sense of the word.
In the normal sense? I dunno...

	<mike
--
I'm gonna lasso you with my rubberband lazer,		Mike Meyer
Pull you closer to me, and look right to the moon.	mwm@berkeley.edu
Ride side by side when worlds collide,			ucbvax!mwm
And slip into the Martian tide.				mwm@ucbjade.BITNET