Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.ucsf.edu!root From: root@cca.ucsf.edu (Systems Staff) Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Subject: Re: Commercial software in comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Summary: Benefit to particular users it not a workable criterion Message-ID: <1772@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> Date: 23 Mar 89 03:50:54 GMT References: <6191@bsu-cs.UUCP> <102760011@hpcvlx.HP.COM> Organization: Computer Center, UCSF Lines: 29 The benefit to the hypothetical users of posted shareware is not really determinable. The moderator cannot know how many legitimate (or otherwise) users there may be for a piece of software. Besides there are already policies against commercial exploitation of Usenet. Distributing commercial software (which is what shareware has come to mean -- just look at the ASP policies) is certainly in violation of this. Demo versions as advertising seem to be acceptable provided they are really free and are useful as they stand. The fact that there may be another product that is more capable and costs money should be no bar to the posting of a useful piece of free software. Of course, if it carries an excessive advertising burden it may mot be useful ... Cooperative support, i.e. voluntary payment to encourage continued effort, seems to be acceptable. Thos Sumner (thos@cca.ucsf.edu) BITNET: thos@ucsfcca (The I.G.) (...ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.ucsf!thos) U.S. Mail: Thos Sumner, Computer Center, Rm U-76, UCSF San Francisco, CA 94143-0704 OS|2 -- an Operating System for puppets. #include