Newsgroups: comp.misc
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: Summary: Public Domain, Shareware, etc.
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 18:45:42 GMT
Message-ID: <1990Jul31.184542.21500@looking.on.ca>
References: <H4Z4TU5@ficc.ferranti.com> <9007300856.AA19891@thep.lu.se>

In article <9007300856.AA19891@thep.lu.se> magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson) writes:
> I've never liked the kind of
>shareware where the documentation says something like "You may use this
>program for two weeks without paying. If you decide to keep it after that ....

While it's easy to see why people say they don't like this kind of shareware
when it is contrasted with the "Pay if you feel like it" shareware, I still
find it odd that it generates such negative feeling, even contrasted with
regular software which is "you may not open the box and use it even once unless
you pay."

In fact, It almost seems that that former type of shareware generates more
negative feeling than regular commercial software, and I would venture that
the *vast* majority of people own far more commercial programs than shareware
type I programs.   Even though the Shareware type I authors are being far
more reasonable and far nicer to the customer than the regular authors.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Shareware concept is a failure.
You don't remind people strongly enough about payment and they don't pay.
You remind them strongly and they resent it and don't pay.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473
