Path: utzoo!hoptoad!academ!sob From: sob@academ.UUCP (Stan Barber) Newsgroups: alt.sources Subject: Re: Here it is -- CHAT V1.7 Message-ID: <233@academ.UUCP> Date: 17 Dec 87 07:41:02 GMT References: <417@ddsw1.UUCP> <262@papaya.bbn.com> <4309@bellcore.bellcore.com> Reply-To: sob@academ.UUCP (Stan Barber) Organization: ACADEM Computer Systems, Houston, Tx Lines: 48 In article <4309@bellcore.bellcore.com> tr@wind.UUCP (tom reingold) writes: >In article <262@papaya.bbn.com> rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) writes: >$ Guess the author(s) have no conscience, or they'd be bothered by the >$ fact that they are using other people's modems and phone bills to make >$ money. >$ >$ And just to make this posting more than a snipe attack, let me point out >$ that there are three SysV chat programs in the FREE comp.sources.unix >$ archives -- via pipes, via fifo's. Contact your nearest archive site, >$ or e-mail me for a list of them. >$ /r$ >$ -- >$ For comp.sources.unix stuff, mail to sources@uunet.uu.net. > >If you want to plug the software you distribute, then why do you >want to question the morality of software with the same function? >Just because it is shareware doesn't it make it more wasteful of >modems and phone bills. Besides, not everyone logged in to >systems are in through phone lines. > >Tom Reingold INTERNET: tr@bellcore.bellcore.com Tom, Ron is not "plugging" the software he distributes. That software is archived by many sites and published by more than one moderator. He is calling attention to an old usenet custom of not making money off the network. I know there has been considerable debate over the use of the network for shareware distribution, so I won't attempt to start-up that battle again. The fact that Karl used the alt.sources newsgroup for the distribution indicates that he is aware of the concern over this practice and he chose the best group he could think of in which to post. Ron seems to disagree strongly with Karl's choice and so Ron offers an alternative. Also, should Karl's code travel over certain transmission systems (i.e. ARPANET), it probably would violate the non-commercial use policy of that transmission system. Shareware is such a nice idea on the surface, but seems to be so much more complex underneath. -- Stan uucp:{killer,rice,hoptoad}!academ!sob Opinions expressed here Olan domain:sob@tmc.edu are ONLY mine & Barber CIS:71565,623 BBS:(713)790-9004 noone else's.