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From: matt@srs.UUCP (Matt Goheen)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: shareware
Message-ID: <174@srs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 09:39:18 EST
Article-I.D.: srs.174
Posted: Mon Nov  4 09:39:18 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Nov-85 05:09:24 EST
References: <182@tolerant.UUCP> <678@stc-b.stc.UUCP> <393@graffiti.UUCP>
Organization: S.R. Systems, Rochester NY
Lines: 63


Well, well, well.  Isn't net.news (& net.news.group) crowded these days.

It seems obvious (to me) that net.sources.mac isn't going to go away.
It may change it's name (to mod.s.m), but that's about it.  I don't
see why there is such a fuss over a news group that is so useful to
the Mac community.  Oh, you say this is for Unix users?  Well, why
do we have net.politics, net.philosophy, net.etc.etc.etc...?  What
good do these groups serve.  But, I don't really care about those
groups (because I don't read them :-) ).  However, I DO read, grok,
archive, save, browse through, study n.s.m.  Of ALL the shareware
that has been posted over the last six months, only one is actually
going to get money from me (hasn't yet, but will).  The rest I find
mostly useless and/or poorly written and/or a re-hash of something I
already have.  What's the POINT of this babble you say?  Well:

1) Shareware doesn't REQUIRE payment, even if you do use it.  By
   putting something in the public domain you have no LEGAL claim
   to ANY money (hell, if it did I would certainly distribute some
   crap to get rich on; or maybe put up signs demanding money for
   reading my sign!).

2) Why are we even discussing this when so many other groups contain
   so much garbage.  Maybe we could discuss making n.s.m a moderated
   group.  I would moderate if it came to this, but I really don't
   feel it's that necessary.  Currently on our machine (where we
   expire news in one week), n.s.m takes a whopping 105K.  Compare
   to net.politics at 435 (inc. net.politics.theory) and
   net.religion.all at 344K.  Net.flame has 346K!!!  In other words,
   although n.s.m has a rather high band width (and, do to the
   nature of its material it fluctuates rather highly), it generally
   is lower than many other groups.

3) There is no number three.  However, if anyone thinks there is and
   I've forgotten it, please let me know.

4) Most shareware is not posted by the author.  I.E. someone uses
   a shareware program, thinks it is good and posts it.  I mean, it
   is SHAREware.

5) Shareware can be useful.  Shareware can be fun.  Shareware can be
   used as a contraceptive device (well, this one isn't actually true,
   but the first two are).


The ONLY negative point I see in shareware is that the authors are
getting something for nothing -> free distribution.  However, BIG
DEAL.  No one is LOSING money because of it.  It seems to me that the
people that want n.s.m to go away are growing sour grapes...they
don't make money from shareware, therefore no one should.  It is the
benefit I look at, not who is getting what for what.  Anyway, the
amount of money made in shareware over NETNEWS is slim.

That's it.  I really don't see why we keep discussing this (except
from the "to mod or not to mod" angle) as it is obvious n.s.m is here
to stay in one form or another.


				    Geez, some people...

					Matt Goheen
					S.R. Systems
					...seismo!rochester!srs!matt