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1991-12-10
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-=*> The Labyrinth Door <*=-
Make Maze Sales Documentation
FOR SYSOPS EYES ONLY!
Greetings Fellow SysOps:
Since running a BBS is by no means cheap and coaxing users into
contributing is nearly impossible, I have devised the following plan in an
attempt to "share the wealth" from this program with you the SysOp.
Once you have registered The Labyrinth Door (TLD) for the low low price of
$15, you will be given the opportunity to make available to your users a
little program called the Make Maze Utility. This utility will be a scaled
down stand alone version of the TLD Information Manager you will receive
upon registering. The main difference is in that this program will *NOT*
require the presence of a registered copy of The Labyrinth Door in order to
operate. It has its own key format and does not look for any TLD files, as
InfoMan does!
This utility will allow your users to create their own mazes and convert
them to the Labyrinth Maze File (LMF) format, which is required by the
door, then simply upload them from *within* the door and, if they pass an
integrity check, they will be automatically added to the maze index.
This way, you the SysOp can just sit back and watch as the list of mazes
available in your game grows. Hence, keeping a fresh group of mazes for
users to solve which will hopefully keep them interested in the game.
Here's how the plan works.
Once you have registered TLD (or at the time you register if you prefer)
simply take the number of users in your user database and decide, based on
the number of users who are using the door regularly and/or the number who
have sent you mail requesting it, how many of those users would be willing
to download and register the Make Maze Utility (MMU).
Registering is the key word here. The unregistered version of the MMU will
only allow the user to convert maze files and print the template, and, it
will require a key file to run. The registered version will allow them to
do these things PLUS test their mazes and print them out, and, will have a
non-expiring key. Also, the registration is where you the SysOp will make
your money!
Once you have calculated the number of users you feel will use and register
the MMU, simply take that number and multiply it by $5.00. This will be
the cost to you to obtain the MMU and the program to create the key files.
Then, once you have the programs, you can then make them available for
download by your users. When they download the MMU archive, along with an
unregistered demo copy and an expiring key (you decide when it expires),
they will also receive the registration information. This is the key! The
registration information contained with the MMU will inform your users that
they can register the program by either sending $20 to me OR by sending
some amount greater than $5 to YOU! I suggest $10, but, this decision is
completely up to you based on how much your users will pay. I believe that
just about anyone would pay $10 to be able to test their mazes at home
before they upload them to your system and to receive a non expiring key!
Here's the beauty of the plan. You see, once you have the programs you can
make as many copies as you want, you are not limited to the number of
copies you've paid for! Therefore, at the $10 suggested price, if even
half the people you thought would register actually register you have
already made your money back. Consequently, you can over estimate by 100%
and still break even! If by chance you happen to guess the number right on
the money, then you will have doubled your money! And, if your users just
absolutely love the program and tell their friends about it, then you could
get an unlimited number of people registering the program and therefore
have an unlimited profit potential! Although I *WILL* do checking into the
validity of the number of users you thought would register, I am basically
relying on the trust of you the SysOp, and the unlimited profit potential,
to insure that you will be honest when making your calculations.
Basically, with such a huge built in margin of error in the calculations,
I'm of the opinion that you the SysOp will try to be as fair as possible
when decided how many copies to pay for.
I do not feel that it would be right, considering the widely varying sizes
among BBSs, to charge a flat fee for the program. However, as a safety
cushion for myself, I am setting the minimum number of copies that may be
ordered to 10. The way I see it, if a SysOp has even one person interested
in the program, and is therefore interested in getting it, then surely he
can get 5 people to register it. (which would let him break even at the $10
price).
Although I know I'm leaving myself wide open to getting "had" by setting
things up this way, since my motivation for doing it is to provide a money
making opportunity to you, I am hoping that you will be as fair to me as
possible when estimating. However, you can rest assured, if I find that a
majority of the people are grossly underestimating the number of users who
register the program, or I get an unusually high amount of orders for the
minimum of 10 copies, I *WILL* discontinue the offer and go to my fallback
plan of providing extra mazes as an incentive to register instead of the
Utility. But, as I am a fellow SysOp, I would like to see other SysOps
prosper from the program too. So, when your estimating keep in mind that
you are not only being fair to me, but also to yourself and every other
SysOp who wants to take advantage of the opportunity.
That's about it. If you are interested in taking advantage of the
opportunity, simply specify the number of copies you would like to pay for
when registering, or, if you've already registered simply mail me another
form stating how many copies you would like to pay for and, by all means,
include the money.
Is there honor among SysOps? We'll see. I'm putting my trust in you!
Sincerely,
Jerry Aldrich II
PS. If I *DO* discontinue the offer, any money I receive after that point
will be refunded as soon as I get it! I am *NOT* going to keep your money
and then not send you the programs!
Jerry