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ShareWare OnLine 2
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ShareWare OnLine Volume 2 (CMS Software)(1993).iso
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SHRWARE.TXT
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1993-01-04
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186 lines
An open letter to Shareware Authors
User-supported software is, unfortunately, often thought of as
belonging to the public domain. After all, shareware authors
are assuming a risk when making their products available
through public distribution channels, since it co-exists with
true public-domain software. And, unfortunately, there is some
devious enjoyment about getting something for nothing.
Interestingly, legitimate businesses that produce and/or market
personal computer software have learned a lot from shareware:
good products need not cost a lot. As a result, a number of
excellent commercially-distributed software packages are
competing with available shareware as far as price is
concerned. Of course, the reverse is also true: shareware
authors realized that professional marketing, advertising, and
distribution often yields better financial results than any
honor system--they went commercial. PC-File, PC-Write, and
PC-Outline, Automenu, and ARC, just to name a few, are such
products.
What makes the difference between a product that sells and one
that does not? What does the potential buyer expect of
shareware? What specific attributes of a software package will
compell him to send in his contribution, and which others will
cause him not to? Here are a few observations.
Functionality obviously ranks high on the list. After all, I
download a program because it supposedly performs a function
which I have a need for. Does it do what it is supposed to, and
does it do it well? Has it been thoroughly tested against most
hardware and software configurations and can it be configured
to run in various environments? Has it been circulated among
users' groups and has their input been taken into consideration?
What would you think if the documentation read "Use
caution....some programs will trash you royally when attempting
to....". Would anyone in their right mind use anything that
could "trash you royally"?
Does the program have an intuitive human interface, or does the
user have to read the documentation each time he wants to
perform a trivial function? Some shareware which is otherwise
outstanding requires incredible convolutions to perform the
simplest tasks. Again, the product should be tested by a large
number of people other than its author. Anyone who has ever
written a program knows that your personal opinion is always
biased in favor of your brainchild. In fact, you may have to
make significant changes to a program--even going as far as
completely re-writing it-- before it can gain acceptance.
Bugs are deadly, especially in shareware. Since the user didn't
have to pay for it until satisfied, not only will they not use
the product, but they will quickly share their feelings about
it--ie, on bulletin boards, one of the quickest and most
effective implementations of electronic grapevine--. This again
reinforces the need for testing the product as much as possible
prior to formal release. Don't get greedy until you are
reasonably sure that it works.
Do not partially implement features or even give a hint that
new ones will become available in future releases of the
product unless you already have an unblemished reputation and a
loyal following. People won't pay for what they have; they will
just wait for the next set of goodies. Some shareware products
out there have literally gone through dozens of releases in a few
months, each one bringing forth new features or correcting
errors. There is no way you can build user trust unless the
product you are peddling is reasonably stable. I have personally
given up on half a dozen shareware products that went through
monthly updates --regardless of their usefulness--. As with the
boy who cried wolf, this will quickly damage your credibility and
could permanently affect your reputation.
Do not cripple your product or its documentation in any way.
Doing so goes directly against the spirit of shareware since
all you have released is a purposely limited demonstration copy
of your product. People will no more pay for that than for
demo copies of bona fide commercial software.
Although this is somewhat controversial, there is some question
as to the usefulness and purpose of a logo screen which asks
for a monetary contribution, especially when this is a
permanent fixture of your program. A much better method is to
have a copyright notice and an optional display of the
shareware moto (ie, option "P" for program information). Be
assured that hackers will go to work immediately to remove that
display from your program and replace it with a public domain
notice. Since we're on the subject of logos, remember that your
"Welcome Screen" is the first thing the user sees; use wisdom
in designing it. Jumping right into the program may be an
indication that it was put together quickly without concern for
cosmetic detail. WHAT you display on your logo screen can also
detract from the overall value of the program. A skull and
crossbones, for example, may not be well suited for an
otherwise serious program and is revealing of the author's
playful nature. Some people may never get past your opening
screen....
Online help is a very nice feature which has been adopted by
most commercial software and is slowly finding its way into
Shareware. Even better is context-sensitive help which takes
into account what you were doing at the time you invoked the
help function.
Cosmetic appearance may or may not be a concern depending on
what the program does. Use of color, graphics, even as
rudimentary as box-drawing characters, can add to the
attractiveness of a program. It also increases the user's
confidence in the program's author. Spending the extra time to
make it look good--besides working good--indicates care and
craftsmanship.
Documentation and other textual information which are part of
the product are extremely important and often overlooked. Some
absolutely outstanding products never made it because of lousy
documentation, while others with fewer features made it because
its documentation was well above par. An awful lot of people who
are true programming geniuses just cannot express themselves very
well in writing, and vice-versa, although there are exceptions.
A good recommendation would be to seek qualified help in
developing good, complete, and readable documentation. Don't
forget to run it through a spelling checker and submit it to beta
testing also. Of course, this also applies to the help screen or
any textual information within the product itself. Street talk
in software documentation is not desirable and unfortunately
lends an amateurish flavor to the product. An interesting fact
is that successful shareware authors have spent a significant
portion of their time developing good, understandable, and
readable documentation.
Last, but certainly not least, are the administrative and
support responsibilities which go right along with selling a
product. From a legal standpoint, accepting remuneration for
any type of product or service makes you a business. If a big
corporation decides to buy your product, you may be faced with
far more demands for non-productive time than you can handle.
If you state that you will provide support once a contribution
is received, you must be prepared to do so. This means
maintaining mailing lists of registered users and making good
on all the promises stated on your shareware notice, such as
"Registered users will be notified of all new releases when
they become available" or "Telephone support will be provided
at no charge for 90 days following the purchase". These
seemingly innocent statements which are included in a lot of
shareware products become legal, binding agreements once you
accept payment. Remember, nasty users can easily sue the shirt
off your back if they can prove that you have not performed as
stated.
If your shareware sales grow, seriously consider incorporating
into a legitimate business; many shareware authors have. This
will pretty much eliminate your personal liability in the event
you encounter legal problems.
*********
Who am I and what business do I have giving this unrequested
advice, you may ask. Well, my name should appear at the end of
this document, unless someone else hacked it. I've been in
commercial data processing for 18 years and responsible for PCs
in a fairly large company for about 5 years. I have spent
quite a bit of the company's money on shareware products--but
only good ones--. One thing for sure, Shareware can't be beat
as far as cost and convenience. Try it all you want, and pay
only if you use it. I have seen a lot of outstanding products,
and a lot of junk. Some shareware products are hastily thrown
together, uploaded to a few bulletin boards, and it's obvioous
that the author's only motivation is to take the money and
run. Some others are absolute jewels that could easily fetch 3
to 10 times their shareware price in the commercial market. From
personal experience, though, it looks like the junk to jewel
ratio is about 300 to 1. Maybe this document can help reduce
this sad state of affairs.
Dan Moore
1531 13th St.
Columbus, IN 47201
(812)379-3426
(c) 1987 Dan Moore
This document is intended for public and free
distribution as long as the author's name and copyright notice
appear. It may not be published commercially in any form without
the author's permission.