Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga:13832 comp.sys.misc:1081 comp.sys.ibm.pc:11244 comp.sys.mac:11861 comp.sys.atari.st:7232
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!ge-dab!codas!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green)
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: <3160@killer.UUCP>
Date: 31 Jan 88 06:21:59 GMT
References: <39947@sun.uucp>
Organization: Bayou Telecommunications
Lines: 39

in article <39947@sun.uucp>, cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) says:
>. There are two common ways to get shareware, thru
> BBS's and on library disks. But to get the package you have to *ask* for it
> and suddenly it isn't an unsolicited gift now is it? My experience is that
> most shareware packages are clearly marked as such and thus pleading ignorance
> of the status of the code is not usually possible. Ah well, back to the
> flames.

Obviously you don't frequent the BBS's and computer clubs that I do. The
closest to ""documentation"" that these small-time operations present is a
listing of the disk directory (piped to printer, of course). Now, if you see a
file named "expr34.exe", can you tell that it's shareware? Ya download it (or
copy it), and take your chances (with hard drive out of the system, of
course!). 

Sorry, won't cut it. If your argument is that these programs were "clearly
marked", then don't distribute them through channels that eliminate this
"clearly marked" status (i.e. BBS's and clubs). Whereupon you just eliminated
the whole argument for shareware (the wide distribution).

Actually, there's something akin to shareware that might be even more popular
in the future: Teaserware. An example is the "Express" word processor for
CP/M. They have a teaser out, that implements most of the features of the full
word processor, and is useful, to boot (certainly beats VDE, VDO, and any
other PD CP/M word processor that I've seen). If I used CP/M much, I'd
probably send in my $40 or whatever for the complete program and manual. On
the other hand, I wouldn't know that these people existed if they'd gone the
usual distribution route (is there even a magazine for CP/M anymore?!). Alas,
I doubt that many other programmers would do the same... they'd probably just
release a silly demo program that was useless for doing anything but
advertising the full-fledged program. Instead of what the authors of Express
did, releasing an early version of the program into the copylefted domain,
quite useful in what it does (basic text editing).

--
Eric Lee Green  elg@usl.CSNET     Asimov Cocktail,n., A verbal bomb
{cbosgd,ihnp4}!killer!elg              detonated by the mention of any
Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191              subject, resulting in an explosion
Lafayette, LA 70509                    of at least 5,000 words.