Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!haven!adm!cmcl2!phri!marob!manes From: manes@marob.MASA.COM (Steve Manes) Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Subject: Re: The shareware issue Message-ID: <607@marob.MASA.COM> Date: 2 Apr 89 08:05:46 GMT References: Distribution: usa Organization: ESCC New York City Lines: 46 From article , by pinkas@hobbit.intel.com (Israel Pinkas ~): > Or maybe everybody that gets shareware from the net should reimburse their > company for the cost of making that software available. And, for the same reason, maybe everyone who just logs in to read News should reimburse their company for making the News available. Why single out just those who appreciate this medium for file access? As a long-time sysop (6 years, which is ancient in the BBS racket) I know that there are users who like to participate in discussions and users who just like to download and upload files. Frankly, I think the issue of Shareware-on-the-net should be kicked up to the administrators of the sites responsible for cost of carrying it and to those deputized to look out for their interests (Rahul here). Whether or not a binary program posted on c.b.i.p demands payment after a trial period is really of no concern to the users, except insofar as they assume to speak for these administrators. Most of us here are pigs at the trough on Usenet, dependent upon the kindness of our hosts for any kind of access to the Net, you know. Even though I'm a published Shareware author and a member in ASP I can accept a decision either way as to whether or not Shareware should be here. I just want the judgment to be consistent and unarbitrary. For instance, there was an argument against ANY kind of binaries on the Net before the binaries newsgroup was founded. It was based on the sound rationale that binaries were of interest only to those with a particular hardware setup while the newsgroups only required interest in a topic. Likewise, when newsgroups like comp.unix.xenix and comp.unix.microport were originally proposed, there was a lot of noise about this being "commercialization of the net" and in the respect that these newsgroups DO function as quasi-support groups for commercial products, they were right. What buried the purist's arguments wasn't their speciousness but user interest that these "exceptions" be made to enhance the usefulness of the Net. The question to the users, as I see it, isn't whether Shareware is "commercial" but whether it has value to the usership and these people are interested in having access to it. If not, dump it. If so, let the administrators decide. I'm not opposed to the idea of a comp.shareware.XXXX group to allow administrators more control over their systems either. -- Steve Manes Roxy Recorders, Inc. Magpie-HQ BBS UUCP : {rutgers|cmcl2}!hombre!magpie!manes (212)420-0527 Smail: manes@MASA.COM