Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hpcvlx!everett
From: everett@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Everett Kaser)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Commercial software in comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Message-ID: <102760010@hpcvlx.HP.COM>
Date: 21 Mar 89 22:54:19 GMT
References: <6191@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA
Lines: 45

brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes...

>It should be posted if net readers and admins benefit more than the cost
>of posting it.   How much the author of the software benefits, from 0
>to a megabuck, is not important.  Do net people want it -- that is the
>only question to ask.

>Brad Templeton

Thank you, Brad, for stating my position so simply and elegantly.  I feel
that Rahul's attitude is "the more FREE software, the better."  (Please,
correct me if I'm wrong Rahul!)  I don't disagree with that attitude (quite
the opposite, I LIKE getting things for free!), but not everyone wants to
give away their work for free.  (Why do you "accept" a paycheck each month,
Rahul?)  Now, I'm NOT saying that you are against Shareware, as I'm sure
you're not.  But I DO think that your attitude about free software might be
swaying your opinion about Shareware in c.b.i.p, since not allowing Shareware
might encourage some authors to go ahead and post their work as Freeware.

Yes, I've read your arguments about the host sites paying for the "free
advertising and distribution" of these Shareware products, but if the
companies that pay for these host systems were really upset about it, wouldn't
they (and their sys admins) have screamed bloody murder before now?  There
has been an uproar over abuses in non-moderated groups.  That's what the
moderator is for, to screen things like the SPICE "demo", and the MEAN-18
rip-off.  The moderator's job is not to prevent access to tools that we
engineers use (and sometimes NEED) to go our jobs.  I'm sure that my employers
(the mythical "they") would much rather pay the small phone/computer fee to
transmit Shareware programs around the net compared to the high phone/engineer
time that would be used by having 10 to 20 engineers constantly calling up
BBS's to download programs.  Right now, they use one phone call to get a
program into the site system, from which it can be distributed (virtually free)
to anyone who wants it.  Without distribution of Shareware over the net, we'd
have multiple phone calls per engineer to find and download the same software.

So, in summary, my vote is for you, Rahul, to continue your excellent job of
moderating the group, by filtering out the junk, the out-right pirated stuff,
and the crippleware/free-advertising pieces; but let the rest through,
whether or not it's Shareware!

Everett Kaser
!hplabs!hp-pcd!everett
everett%hpcvlx@hplabs.hp.com

wants/needs it for