The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso/a/asadv1#1.zip/BYLAWS.TXT

Text File | 1993-02-12 | 20KB | 434 lines

                        A S A D   B Y L A W S

                      August 1992   Version 1.2


  Introduction

       The Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors (ASAD)
  was established in July of 1992 to promulgate the concept of
  shareware as a viable alternative or enhancement to commercial
  software and to establish a professional organization dedicated to
  the education of the public about matters concerning the role
  shareware in the computer market today.  Membership in ASAD is open
  to all persons or organizations involved in the shareware community
  providing they are willing to comply with the bylaws of ASAD as set
  forth here-in and approved by ASADs Bylaws Committee.


  Primary Goals of ASAD

       There are four (4) primary goals of ASAD which form the
  foundation upon which the organization was established and will be
  operated:

       1. To promote shareware products as a viable alternative or
          enhancement to commercial software.

       2. To protect the rights of those persons involved in the
          shareware industry.

       3. To educate persons about the shareware concept.

       4. To establish reasonable standards for the authoring,
          distributing, and marketing of shareware products.


  Membership

       The Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors shall be
  comprised of shareware authors, distributors, BBSs, user groups,
  computer related companies and any such other persons or
  organizations that comply with the following:

       1. Dedicated to promoting and strengthening the future of
          shareware as an alternative or enhancement to commercial
          software.

       2. Agree to abide by the bylaws of the association as outlined
          herein and conduct their business or organization in a
          professional manner so as to promulgate shareware education
          and those high standards of ethics associated with ASAD.

       3. That said member remains current in all dues or payments
          (fees or assessments).

       4. A member may be expelled from ASAD at any time if it found
          that he/she has violated any of the bylaws established
          herein.  It is the responsibility and obligation of all
          members to report to the home office of ASAD any person,
          organization or company who no longer is qualified for
          membership.  If it is believed that the member no longer
          meets the criteria established for membership he/she shall
          be contacted by mail informing him/her of a suspected
          violation of membership rules.  He/she will have 21 days
          in which to respond to the allagations.  If no response is
          received automatic removal from membership will proceed.
          If a response is received ASAD will place all comments
          before the Membership Committee for a final decision.  A
          vote of greater than two-thirds will be required for
          termination of membership.

       5. A member may resign at any time merely by informing the
          ASAD home office of his/her desire.


  Membership Dues, Fee and Assessments

       The Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors has
  established the following dues, fees, or assessments which are
  applicable, without exception, to all persons, organizations or
  companies requesting or continuing membership privaleges in ASAD:

       1. Membership dues are based on a one (1) year period with
          renewal notices sent to members 45 days prior to expiration
          of current membership.

       2. Membership dues for the second and following years shall
          remain the same as those established as first year dues.

       3. Yearly membership dues are established as follows:

            **  Approved Author ................ $35 per year
            **  Approved Distributor ........... $65 per year
            **  Approved BBS ................... $45 per year
            **  Approved User Group ............ $45 per year
            **  Affiliated Member .............. $35 per year

            NOTE ... It is NOT the intention of ASAD to discriminate
            amongst members as to the amount of dues established for
            each group. The dues described above are based upon
            services and products provided to each group versus the
            overall potential income of the group representatives.

       4. Fees and assessments established for special features,
          services, or products not included in the basic membership
          package, but selected as an option by the member, will be
          billed directly to the member and will be considered as due
          and payable upon receipt.

       5. All membership dues, fees or assessments are payable by
          check or money order made out to either "The Association
          of Shareware Authors and Distributors" or "ASAD".

            NOTE ... A $10 service fee will be assessed for any
            returned check.


  ASAD Government and Committees

       Board of Directors  The Board of Directors shall consist of
  five (5) members, four (4) of which will be elected and one (1) of
  which will be permenant.  The following criteria will apply:

        1. The permenant, non-elective board position, will be held
           by Mr. Fred Hertenstein, Executive Director of ASAD and will
           be responsible for the following:

            a. Operation and control of the ASAD "Home Office",
               including such things as daily operation, mailing
               control, ASADnet setup and maintenance, membership
               database, and any and all other duties and
               responsibilities not required to be presented to the
               Board of Directors or a special committee.

            b. Shall cast a vote only in a tie-breaking situation
               or during such time as an elective directors' position
               remains open.

            c. Shall chair meetings of all committees and is
               responsible for the placement of all relavent
               information in the appropriate message forums and the
               eventual counting of the votes.  After the vote count,
               the Board of Directors will be notified of the results
               and the action to follow.

            d. Shall act as Ombudsman for ASAD in an attempt to solve
               any problems brought before the attention of the
               association.  If an acceptable solution can not be
               reached between the Ombudsman and the parties involved,
               the Ombudsman will place the matter before the Board of
               Directors.

       2. The four (4) elective board positions will be responable as
          the overall decision making authority for ASAD and will be
          elected by the following criteria:

            a. One board member will be elected from each of the
               following areas:
               1) Authors, 2) Distributors, 3) BBSs/User Groups, and
               4) Author/Distributor/BBS.

            b. Board members shall be elected for a two (2) year
               period and are eligible for re-election.

            c. Elections shall take place the last day of January on
               alternate years, with voting selection starting January
               1st of that year in a forum on CompuServe and ASADnet.

       Membership Committee  All members of ASAD are equal
  representatives of the Membership Committee and as such, the
  following applies:

       1. Any problems or concerns requiring the vote of the
          Membership Committee will be presented in a special forum
          established on the ASAD BBS (and ASADnet).

       2. Members may cast their vote in the message forum and by a
          general concensus, or if required two-thirds majority vote,
          action will be taken.

       3. All messages directed to the Membership Committee will be
          placed on-line by the Home Office and will remain on-line
          for a period of 21 days prior to vote counting.

       Bylaws Committee  All members of ASAD are equal
  representatives of the Bylaws Committee and as such, the following
  applies:

       1. All suggested or recommended changes to the bylaws of ASAD
          requiring the vote of the Bylaws Committee will be presented
          in a special forum established on the ASAD BBS (and ASADnet).

       2. Members may cast their vote in the message forum and by a
          general concensus, or if required two-thirds majority vote,
          action will be taken.

       3. All messages directed to the Bylaws Committee will be placed
          on-line by the Home Office and will remain on-line for a
          period of not less than 30 days prior to vote counting.

       Shareware Review Committee  All members of ASAD are equal
  representatives of the Shareware Review Committee and as such, the
  following applies:

       1. New programs submitted by authors should be downloaded from
          the ASAD BBS (and ASADnet) in a timely manner and evaluated.

       2. Evaluations of these programs should in turn be uploaded to
          the appropriate message forums in an attempt to show
          constructive criticism, suggestions, or praise, so that the
          author receives quality feedback on his program.


  Membership Compliance Requirements

  * Author Compliance Requirements

  Authors requesting membership in ASAD are required to adhere to the
  following requirements and/or guidelines:

       1. All alpha or beta programs submitted must be clearly marked
          as such.

       2. The most recent version of all programs must be sent on
          disk to the Home Office of ASAD, marked ... Attn: ASAD
          Shareware Library...

       3. Any programs that are "Crippled", "Limited", "Demo", or in
          which any other form operational degradation is used (a
          non-fully functional operating program) must be marked as
          such and a brief explanation of how the program is degraded
          or crippled supplied.  ASAD does accept crippled programs
          and fully respects the rights of authors to cripple their
          programs, but also believes that users have a right to know
          that the program is "for limited use" rather than a full
          evaluation copy before downloading or paying a disk
          duplication fee.

       NOTE ... The one exception to this rule is that ASAD WILL NOT
       ACCEPT any programs that write any type of protection file,
       cripple enhancement file, or in any other way writes to a
       users' hard disk or system disk file as a means of limiting
       the useage of the program.

       4. As an author, you are requested to place on each of your
          disks a file named "ASADREAD.TXT". This file will be made
          available to each author and it briefly describes ASAD,
          the role ASAD plays in the shareware community, how ASAD
          acts as Ombudsman for the shareware community, and why they
          should become registered users of shareware programs they
          find useful. The placing of this program on your disks is
          not required, but is requested. ASAD does not expect an
          author to place this file on a disk if it in anyway causes
          problems due to disk size limitations or additional expense.

       5. The inclusion of the Ombudsman statement listed below under
          "ASAD Ombudsman" should also be placed within your program
          file if space permits. This is not required, but highly
          recommended.

       6. It is also requested that members of ASAD be given first
          consideration when mailing original or updated mailings and
          that if possible discounts be given on registrations to ASAD
          members.


  * Distributor Compliance Requirements

  Distributors requesting membership in ASAD are required to adhere
  to the following requirements and/or guidelines:

       1. It is required that only the most recent version of an
          authors' shareware program be distributed and that your
          catalogs, fliers, brochures, etc. reflect this version
          change as quickly as possible.

       2. It is required that when notified by an author or by ASAD
          that a program has been discontinued, you will cease
          supplying same.

       3. It is required that all vendors and distributors comply with
          the copyright notices and distribution restrictions placed
          on a program by the author.

       4. Vendors and distributors will not in any way modify program
          files or add/delete files, with the exception of small
          read.me or comment files used as advertisements or
          announcements for your business, to those supplied by the
          author.

       5. Vendors are not required to send copies of catalogs,
          brochures, fliers, advertisements, etc. to ASAD prior to use
          for approval. Vendors are expected to place ASAD on their
          normal mailing list so that we may see the material you are
          sending out. ASAD, in return, will provide you with any
          comments, suggestions, or "warnings" that we feel you should
          either consider making or must make prior to your next
          mailing. If a "Warning" is received by a vendor or distributor
          on one of his or her mailings, ASAD does require that copies
          of your promotional fliers showing the corrections be sent to
          ASAD prior to your next mailing.

       6. Vendors are required to try and educate customers or
          prospective customers on the shareware concept and therefore
          must display prominently the information provided under
          "Educational Requirements" below on each and every item that
          the ASAD logo appears on unless given approval by ASAD to do
          otherwise.

       7. Vendors are requested to mark all ASAD member programs
          described in their catalog, flier, etc. with "ASAD" and a
          statement to the affect that "The author of this program is
          a member of ASAD and this program meets or surpases all
          professional requirements placed on the author by ASAD".

       8. The inclusion of the Ombudsman statement listed below under
          "ASAD Ombudsman" is required on all mailings, promotional
          displays, or other items mentioning the availability of
          shareware programs unless given approval by ASAD to do
          otherwise.


  * BBS or User Group Compliance Requirements

  BBSs and User Groups requesting membership in ASAD are required to
  adhere to the following requirements and/or guidelines:

       1. BBSs and User Groups are required to follow all the rules
          and regulations as outlined for vendors above.

       2. Requirements for education of BBS users and members of a
          user group can be obtained under the "Educational
          Requirements" below. For BBSs, the requirements for
          educational notices or statements normally found on a
          vendor or distributors catalog, flier, etc. can be placed
          in a "Bulletin" as long as it is easily accessable by
          users and has attention drawn to it.

       3. BBSs are requested to mark all ASAD member programs located
          on their board with "ASAD" and a statement to the affect
          that "The author of this program is a member of ASAD and
          this program meets or surpasses all professional requirements
          placed on the author by ASAD" should appear in a Bulletin or
          some other means of identification easily accessable to the
          user.


  * Affiliated Member Compliance Requirements

  Affiliated members of ASAD are members by invitation. To maintain
  your membership only requires the use of professional courtesy
  whenever dealing with the shareware community and your continued
  active assistance in educating the public in regards to the
  shareware concept.

  Educational Requirements

       One of ASADs primary goals is the education of the shareware
  community with respect to the concept of shareware as a marketing
  strategy and not merely as a means of obtaining many, inexpensive
  programs that they as users can register if they would like. As
  professionals who deal in shareware everyday, we must convince the
  public that it is absolutely essential for them to register any and
  all programs that they find useful. We must refrain from saying
  things like "you should register", "please register", or "consider
  registering". What we need to emphasize is "You MUST register".

       ASAD requires at least one of the three statements below be
  prominantly displayed on any advertisement, flier, catalog,
  brochure, or other promotional form where prices for shareware
  products are displayed:

       1. "Shareware programs require seperate payment to the author
          if found useful"

       2. "The fee paid to the vendor is a distribution charge and
          does not cover the cost of the program itself"

  or   3. "If the user finds a shareware program to be of use, he or
          she MUST register the program with the author"

  Preferrably, ASAD would like to see the following statement used at
  all times:

       "The fee paid to a vendor is a distribution charge only and
       does NOT cover the cost of the program itself. If the user
       finds the shareware program to be useful, he or she MUST
       register the program with the author."


  ASAD Ombudsman Policy

       General Information  ASAD will attempt to act as the Ombudsman
  for the shareware community when any difficulties arise between
  authors, distributors, BBSs, and users or customers. All inquiries
  or problems should be addressed to the Home Office and marked
  "Attn: Ombudsman". In order to allow the public to know that ASAD
  will work on their behalf, the following statements (you may
  rephrase these statements) should appear as applicable:

            Authors  Authors should include in their programs the
                     following statement:

            "This program has been produced by a member of the
            Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors and
            as such has met their demands for professional
            programming. Any problems of a shareware nature that
            can not be resolved either by the source of the program
            or the author of the program (whichever is applicable)
            may be brought to the attention of the ASAD Ombudsman
            for possible correction. Please send all information,
            including the name and address of the person or company
            you received the program from to: ASAD, Attn: Ombudsman,
            1323 Garfield Ave, Springfield, OH 45504."

            Distributors  Distributors and vendors should include in
            their promotional items, catalogs, fliers, etc. the
            following statement:

            "This program has been distributed by a member of the
            Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors and
            as such has met their demands for professional
            programming. Any problems of a shareware nature that
            can not be resolved either by the source of the program
            or the author of the program (whichever is applicable)
            may be brought to the attention of the ASAD Ombudsman
            for possible correction. Please send all information,
            including the name and address of the person or company
            you received the program from to: ASAD, Attn: Ombudsman,
            1323 Garfield Ave, Springfield, OH 45504."