Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga:14127 comp.sys.misc:1113 comp.sys.ibm.pc:11523 comp.sys.mac:12241 comp.sys.atari.st:7411
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ukma!sean
From: sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: enforcement of Sharewar
Message-ID: <8255@g.ms.uky.edu>
Date: 7 Feb 88 20:27:21 GMT
References: <8055@g.ms.uky.edu> <174@piring.cwi.nl> <39450@sun.uucp> <121@ritcv.UUCP> <1012@sask.UUCP>
Reply-To: sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey)
Organization: The Leaning Tower of Patterson Office @ The Univ. of KY
Lines: 45

In article <1012@sask.UUCP> long@sask.UUCP (Warren Long) writes:
>> progam to help move, delete, copy, etc. files on hard disks. While the
>> program was quite good, and the request for money was small ($15), the
>> program had a 10 second delay at the beginning and the end of a run.
>> ...
>> Needless to say, I don't use the program, and would never suggest that
>> anyone else do.

>I am impressed with the method used, and am surprised at the audacity
>of the above user.  The author has found a very clever way of 
>protecting his SHAREWARE product, which allows a user to sample the
>product, yet requires an end-user to pay IF and only IF he/she intends
>to use it regularly.

I disagree. The author has released a product that is virtually
unusable.  I would use it once or twice, get disgusted, and toss it
out on general principle. So would most of the people I work with,
and most of my friends.

The fact is, shareware licenses are unenforceable. People know
they're not going to get caught, so legal threats don't bother them.
They aren't made to feel guilty by whining pleas for money.
Shareware is a noble but stupid idea. It's based on a flawed view of
users. It's almost never worked, and I'm pretty certain that it
never will.

If I had a product that I wanted to sell, I'd try to market it
through one of the major vendors, or I'd buy 2x3" ad in Amazing
Computing or Amigaworld and take my chances. Perhaps I'd distribute
limited capability demo copies for free. I think that would be a
great way to distribute a game (assuming it's something playable). I
would *NOT* distribute via shareware. Statistically, is a stupid
way to try to make money.

If I wanted people to have the program for free, I'd copyright it and
provide for free redistribution. No point in pretending that users are
something they are not, and no point in looking forward to money that
I'm not going to get.

Sean
-- 
--  Sean Casey               sean@ms.uky.edu,  sean@ukma.bitnet
--  (the Empire guy)         {rutgers,uunet,cbosgd}!ukma!sean
--  University of Kentucky in Lexington Kentucky, USA
--  "If something can go will, it wrong."