rms@AI.MIT.EDU (Richard Stallman) (09/21/90)
If you have written a program but you are not yet certain that you can make it free, such as because some employer has not yet signed a disclaimer or for any other reason, inviting users to use it may not be a good idea. You could be leading users into a trap that may close on them if the employer becomes obstinate and gets the idea of selling the package instead. Warning people that this is the case reduces the problem but does not eliminate it. In fact, user interest might create visions of commercial value that would be a temptation for an employer. It is better not to tempt them. Also, it is a shame for the program to get any free advertising on the network if it isn't free. So please, everyone, get the necessary disclaimers in writing before you announce any software release to the public. A delay in the release is not a high price to pay for avoiding these problems. To be sure to avoid problems, get disclaimers when the program is no more than half finished. (Get the disclaimers written to cover the completion of the program already started.) This gives you a lot of leverage, since the half-finished program is not much use to anyone, and you can believably state that you will stop working on it if you don't get the disclaimer. If you wait till it is finished, you are moving to a position of weakness--soliciting trouble that could have been avoided.