Todd_A._Bakal@UB.CC.UMICH.EDU (07/05/88)
This is a message going out to many shareware authors who have been willing to post their software on the net distribution lists. Having produced and marketed (less successfully than I would have liked) programs myself, I can empathize with many of you who wish that more people would send in money. I hope that you will not give up the innovative, if somewhat frustrating method of shareware. However, having recently received a personal letter from one of your rank asking why *I* had not sent in money, I brought the subject up among the officers of the User group I represent. Others agreed with me in how annoyed I was. First of all, I, and presumably many other members of this list are merely librarians and distributors of software we receive off the net. The University of Michigan provides me with a account with funds and large storage to accumulate, test, and provide programs to the community. Between AEPro and Kermit, I neither need nor use Zlink, TIC, or any other of a half of dozen excellent communications programs. Thus, *I* do not feel the need to send in money. However, I certainly want to provide them to others who have not spent the amount that I did on commercially available retail software. It is the policy of our officers to ask the User Group to mail in checks for what they use at each meeting. I also hope that you, the authors, will wish to provide us with recent versions of your work. With no insult intended to Mr. Elton who I believe follows the net, the latest 4 bit version of TIC I have stored on my mainframe is 1.27. Now, I know he released some number like 2.00 in 6 bit form, but I cannot provide that to my organization (like all 6 bit encapsulations), so the users are faced with downloading (via a machine that charges for connect time) a year old version of TIC or the latest Kermit which I can Ftp updates every three months. I'm afraid you can see where I'm driving. I don't mean to single out Don Elton, who I respect for putting so much time into producing // family software when many others have moved to a more lucrative Macintosh market. He's just one example. Another one is David Lyons (I don't even have a 4 bit version of Davex so I can only provide documentation on what it should do). I suppose that ECP qualifies as well (though I believe D.E. did that one too). In any case, the list goes on. An exception to the rule is Bill Basham, who lives near my group and has been good enough to provide us with the latest versions of his many programs, so I'm often partial towards that direction. To the person who sent me the letter (none of the above mentioned was the guilty party) I can only ask that you understand that I, and others like me, are only looking to spread the visibility of *your* software, and generate income for you. I am not paid for the hours I spend online processing software and answering irate questions I receive from end users. I do it because I enjoy it. If you are going to remove my enjoyment by making me defensive about whether or not I should post a program, then be prepared to have me not support your product. And, you should rethink whether or not you really want to stick with the shareware concept. Personally, I think it's a good idea, but I can't speak for you. As a final note, I'd like to say that this is not a flame, and I hope no one takes it that way. I've mentioned several folks by name, but it's not only because I think they can make my job easier, but help themselves by marketing the product that will be most appreciated. Remember, we may not be the people who get invited to speak at Applefest conference panels, but we're in the trenches dealing with the masses every day. I'd like to hope that we help to keep it "Apple ][ Forever" as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Todd A. Bakal U of M Apple User Group Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Tabakal@ub.cc.umich.edu