CD Shareware Magazine 1997 January

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ADDSxx.TXT v5.2 (updated 25-Sep-96) The AUTHOR DIRECT Distribution Service. Author Submission Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for your interest in participating in this venture. We feel that it provides a very valuable distribution service for our ASP and ESC authors, taking over where the ASP and ESC services end. First of all, let us make a few things absolutely clear before wasting any of your valuable time: 1) The submission of files for distribution via this service is reserved for ASP and/or ESC Author/Publisher members ONLY. You must be a current ASP or ESC member in good standing in order to participate in this project. 2) This is *NOT* an ASP or ESC Sponsored project. It is a private endeavour, and not officially sponsored or funded by the ASP or ESC in any way. Now, with all that out of the way, we can get on to the other stuff. REQUIREMENTS ------------ The author submission requirements for participation in The Author-Direct Distribution Service are fairly minimal and straight forward. While they are simple, they are also necessary and strictly enforced. 1) Your file must submitted be in archived format. While you are free to use any of the standard archive formats (ZIP, ARC, ARJ, LZH, etc), be advised that the network processing *will* convert your archive to PKZIP v2.04g format. (NOTE: If your ZIPd files contain a valid PKZIP Authenticity Verification stamp, we will *not* rearchive the files, thus leaving your AV stamp intact). 2) Your file must contain a valid, properly formatted FILE_ID.DIZ file. We recommend that you obtain a copy of Fred Hill's DIZGEN utility, which will interactively create properly formatted FILE_ID.DIZ files for you. You can logon to The RoadHouse BBS (317-784-2147) and download a copy. Use the logon name of AUTHOR DIRECT, and the password NETWORK. 3) Your file must contain a valid VENDINFO.DIZ file. The tools required to create the VENDINFO.DIZ file can be obtained from Ram's Island Software: Address: Rams' Island Software 7644 E. Lakecliff Way Parker, CO 80134-5904 USA Phone: 303-841-2848 FAX: 303-841-6269 BBS Name: Rams' Island BBS BBS Phone: 303-841-6269 CompuServe: 76244,324 FidoNet: 1:104/333 Internet: ramsisle@abwam.com RIME: 1235 Other E-mail: WWW: http://delta.com/ramsisle/ramsisle.htm 4a) You must send your files on disk (360k, 720k, 1.2M, or 1.44M accepted - 720k preferred), to the HQ site. If you are paying via credit card, you must include a hard copy printout of the completed submission form (ADDSxx.FRM), and the credit card section at the bottom must be completely filled out and signed. See instructions below. -or- 4b) Files may be submitted electronically, provided that the author has established a blanket permissions ID in advance, and follows the instructions contained in the file BLNKETxx.TXT. Your submission must include an electronic copy of the completed submission form (ADDSxx.FRM, renamed to <filename>.FRM to match your ZIP filename) according to the instructions in BLNKETxx.TXT. 5) Your submission must include the necessary network processing fees. There is a "basic" fee of $20 per program for each organization, which covers the actual processing of the file into the network, plus additional fees for any optional services that you select (see details below). Credit Card payments (VISA/MasterCard/Discover) are accepted. If you wish to use this form of payment, simply fill out *and sign* the credit card information block at the bottom of the form. Be *sure* that you fill in the "TOTAL AMOUNT FOR CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION" portion of the form, so there is no confusion about the amount that will be charged to your credit card. 6) Your distribution license *must* grant blanket distribution rights for all BBS systems, so that our BBS participants are assured that they have rights to freely distribute any files received via this network on their BBS systems. 6a) NOTE: We will allow Disk Vendors and certain CD-ROM producers to also participate in this network, but these "blanket" distribution rights will not apply to them. They will be subject to any distribution requirements and/or restrictions specified in your license documentation. ------------ RESTRICTIONS ------------ Authors who submit programs for distribution via the various services provided by the Author-Direct Distribution Service must be aware that our services have the potential of being distributed internationally. Do not submit programs or materials that are restricted in distribution by the United States Government or restricted in distribution by copyright laws. By submitting your products to the Author-Direct Distribution Service, you assume the responsibility of your products being distributed so widely and freely. The submitting author is responsible for insuring that submitted files do not violate any of the following restrictions or requirements: 1) All ASP-Member files must be ASP Compliant. All ESC-Member files must be ESC Compliant. 2) NO Pornography (pictures or text). 3) NO Government restricted encryption. 4) NO Marketing schemes for retail products or services masquerading as 'shareware'. 5) NO Shareware products which are marketed as "retail" products in other countries. 6) NO Programs or information intended for illegal uses. ------------------- THE SUBMISSION FORM ------------------- We realize that many of you may be thinking that this is yet another needless submission form. However, we feel that the form is necessary in order to provide a proper audit trail of all submissions, as well as being necessary for the various distribution permissions (and signatures) required for some additional services. Please accommodate us by completing the form. Think of it this way - by your editing, printing, and submitting of this single form along with your file, your file will be posted for downloading by virtually thousands of BBS systems throughout the world, as well as being distributed via additional online services. A completed submission form *MUST* be included with your submitted file(s), either on the floppy disk, or submitted electronically with your uploaded file. In either case, it should be renamed to <filename>.FRM, where <filename> matches the primary filename of the submitted file. (A printed and signed copy of the form must accompany submissions using Credit Card payment, unless you have already established a Blanket ID account with us). AUTHOR INFORMATION SECTION: --------------------------- The Author information (name, address, phone number, etc) must be provided so that we have a way to contact you in the event of a problem. Please be sure to list your complete mailing address. All of the address and phone number infor- mation will be for network use *only* and will be considered confidential. If you have a CompuServe account that you use regularly, then you should include your CIS ID (don't include a CIS ID if you do not use that account on a regular basis). Likewise, if you have a dedicated Internet address, you should include that as well. You can indicate your preferred contact address by placing an X in the appropriate [_] box. SUBMITTED FILE(S) INFORMATION SECTION: -------------------------------------- This section describes the program, and its associated distribution files. The first item is for the actual "BBS" distribution archive filename. IMPORTANT: The BBS filename *must* include the version number of the product being distributed. This is due to a standard BBS requirement that each and every filename be unique. Unlike Compuserve, each file distributed via normal BBS channels must have a unique filename. This filename must be different from that of a previous release, or the processing software will interpret it as a duplicate of the previous file. Also, be aware that the filename you use for this distribution can never be used again in the future. In order to accomodate this requirement, the Author-Direct Distribution Service *requires* that the BBS filename must include the version number of the product being distributed. Following that is a section which allows you to define the associated 'generic' filename for your product. This generic filename will be used for uploading to the PCNET (formerly known as IBMNET) and/or ZENITH forums on CompuServe, and/or the ZD Net system. This generic filename will also be used as the filename for the AD/Internet FTP site, as the requested 'label' tag for America Online uploads, and for the Bud Jay's JCSM/BestZips Internet service. 1) The filename used for this option *must* be generic (i.e. it can *not* include any reference to the product version number. Also, the generic filename should not include any non-alpha characters (such as "-" or "_" characters). 2) If you have submitted a previous version of the same product to us, you should use the same generic filename that was used before. We will do some checking in this regard, and will change this filename if necessary to match the generic filename that was used previously. The entire purpose of the 'generic' filename is that it remains the same from 1 release to the next. 3) For various reasons, this 'generic' filename is limited to 6.3 characters rather than the normal 8.3 characters. If you submit a filename that is longer than 6.3, we will simply change it to an appropriate 6.3 filename. As such, it is to *your* advantage to supply us with an appropriate 6.3 filename yourself, so that you have control over the consistency. If these requirements and restrictions present a problem for you, or if you don't agree with this policy, then simply say "N" to these distribution options, and upload to those services directly. The next portion provides information which will be used to create an online file description for use by the automated processing software. This information will be provided to the BBS system (via software) to allow for unattended processing and immediate online availability of your file. This particular description is provided as a benefit for those systems which do not make use of the FILE_ID.DIZ description file. The online description will be created by combining the information from fields A, B, and C, and will automatically include an <ASP> or <ESC> member indicator. Here is a sample of the format that will result from combining the information from fields A, B, and C: MY PROGRAM v1.2 <ASP> - A unique utility that clears hard drive space. The software is somewhat limited in total description length, and the network coordinators may edit your description accordingly if the combined length of the fields exceeds their software limitations. We realize that this short description may be inadequate to fully describe your program, but we emphasize that this description is *only* provided for those systems which can *NOT* make use of FILE_ID.DIZ. Be sure to actually *describe* your program, as opposed to *advertising* it (i.e. don't "hype" the program in the description). Following that is a field for you to list the minimum operating system that is required for your product. This should be listed simply as DOS, Windows xx, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2, etc. Do not attempt to include any additional system 'requirements' such as memory, drive space, video, etc. Following that is a field for you to provide KEYwords for your product. These keywords should be separated by spaces, and not commas. This field is only necessary if you have selected any of the PCNET, ZENITH, or ZD NET uploading options. The next field is for the filename (BBS Filename, which includes the version number) of a previous version of the product, which is to be removed from distribution. You *MUST* legally own the rights to any filename that you list here. In some cases, the file listed here will be automatically removed by the software, if the sysop has enabled such an option. You must specify only the distribution archive filename of the file that you want removed (i.e. the software can only handle filenames, not program names). This filename *MUST* be different from the filename that you are submitting for distribution, and can not contain "wildcards". (NOTE: the current processing software will only process a *single* filename, so be sure to list only your most recent version to be removed). ------------------------ BASIC NETWORK SUBMISSION ------------------------ The 'basic' service includes automatic distribution to: 1) the Planet Connect satellite system, which distributes the files to BBS subscribers in North America, and 2) the FidoNet Filebone system, which distributes files world-wide to BBS systems via FidoNet Network. There are 2 available services: [ ] ASP Distribution [ ] ESC distribution If you are a member of both organizations, and if your product is an 'educational' product, you may select both of the above options. However, be aware that due to some technical problems in the file transfer software, the ASP portion of the FidoNet Filebone distribution will be delayed by 1 week, which allows the ESC portion to complete. With either of the above distribution options, you must select a product category for your program. See CATEGORY.ASP or CATEGORY.ESC for the various categories available. You *MUST* select an appropriate category for your file. The ADDS Service will not be responsible for selecting the category for you. However, we do reserve the right to change a category if we feel an alternate category would be more appropriate for the file. ------------------------- OPTIONAL SERVICES OFFERED ------------------------- We offer a variety of additional distribution services that you may optionally select. Most of these additional services will require additional fees. Since some of these fees are based on the size of the files being distributed, it may be more economical for authors to distribute directly to these services. However, these optional services may be worth the additional expense in terms of convenience, as you only need to mail a single disk to a single site, and then have the files distributed to all of the various distribution services that you have selected. Please note that these additional services are "optional", and do not affect the basic distribution of your files via the Author-Direct Distribution Service in any way. You can choose to participate in any of them, all of them, or none of them, and still use the 'basic' portionss of our service. Be aware that the use of these optional services implies that the author is granting distribution rights to these services. If any author has any problem with these distribution rights, they are free to negotiate directly with the providers of these services. If you don't want to provide these blanket distribution rights, simply don't select these services. Our intention here is to simply make it easy for our ASP/ESC authors to submit their files to numerous distribution services while only mailing a single disk to a single distribution point. 1) Submission to an AD INTERNET FTP/WWW Site -------------------------------------------- If you select either of these ASP/ESC options, we will deliver your file to our Internet service provider, and placed in the appropriate ASP/ESC file areas. Once there, your file will be available to anyone on the Internet, via annonymous ftp request, or via a scrollable file listing on the World Wide Web. Files will be maintained in those areas for a full year, or until they are replaced by a newer release. These are surcharged services, and carry a flat-rate fee of $10.00 each. Since these are 2 unique areas on the Internet, an author who is a member of both ASP and ESC may select *both* Internet options if they choose. The advantage in doing so is that each Internet FTP area is linked directly from the Home Pages of each organization. Visitors to the ASP Home Page can jump directly to our ASP file area, and visitors to the ESC Home Page can jump directly to our ESC file area. NOTE that these areas are *not* the same as any Internet sites officially maintained by the ASP or ESC, and they are *not* fed by the ASP or ESC CD-ROMs. Optionally, if you select either of the AD/Internet FTP options, you can also grant permission for Keith Peterson to mirror your file on his Walnut Creek "Simtel.Net" site. NOTE: be aware that the Simtel.Net file collections are also marketed to the public on retail CD-ROM discs -- so if you have a problem with that, or if you have contracts which prevent you from placing your files on retail CD-ROMs, you will need to skip this option. There is no additional charge for the Simtel.Net mirroring option. 2) Submission to the ASP/ESC CD-ROM Projects -------------------------------------------- If you select these options, your file will be delivered to the producers of the ASP and/or ESC CD-ROMs for inclusion on the next available release of said CD-ROM discs. All files submitted via this optional service must fully comply with any and all existing ASP and/or ESC requirements and restrictions as they pertain to those CD-ROM projects. NOTE: The ASP CD-ROM delivery option *requires* that you submit a valid VENDINFO.DOZ submission information file (renamed to <filename>.DOZ). This DOZ file can be generated by VendInfo (v1.20+), or it can be generated by using the DESCRIBE utility provided by FormGen (the ASP CD-ROM producer). The DOZ file *must* be submitted separately, and *NOT* packaged inside the distribution ZIP archive file. Likewise, the ESC CD-ROM delivery option *requires* that you submit a valid ESCCDROM.ESC submission form (a blank copy is included in the ADDSxx.ZIP package). This file is simply a text-based form, which you can fill out using any text editor. Once you've filled out the form, it *MUST* be renamed to <filename>.ESC to match your ZIP filename. DO *NOT* submit this file without renaming it. These are surcharged services. The fees for this optional service are based on the transfer times for the total of files (i.e. the size of the distribution ZIP archive PLUS the size of the DOZ/FRM submission information file). Please be aware that for these options, "BBS" filenames will be used (which includes the version number). This is because the CD-ROM discs are widely used by BBS operators. In order for proper file library maintenance to take place, the version-specific filenames are necessary for users of the CD-ROMs, rather than any "generic" filenames. 3) Submission to the ASP and/or ESC Forums on the Microsoft Network (MSN) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you select either of these options, your file will be delivered to the administrator of the ASP and/or ESC Forums on the Microsoft Network (MSN). NOTE: These options require that your ZIP archive include a valid VENDINFO.DIZ file generated by the VendEdit utility. (Please be aware that the ASP and ESC CD-ROMs are also used for feeding files to the ASP/ESC Forums on the Microsoft Network. If you are sending your file to those CD-ROM projects, then you may not need to select this option unless you want to get your file onto the Microsoft Network prior to the next issue of the those CD-ROMs) These are surcharged services. The fees for these optional services are based on the transfer times for the file, at off-peak long distance telephone rates. Please be aware that for this option, the "BBS" filenames will be used (which includes the version number). 4) Submission To PsL's "The PsL Monthly CD" ------------------------------------------- If you select this option, your file will be deliverd to P(s)L via the Planet Connect system, for possible inclusion on their monthly-updated CD-ROM disks. We will also notify P(s)L that you have granted them permission to distribute your file on their CD-ROM projects. This is a free service. In order to use this optional service, you must be willing to grant CD-ROM distribution rights (only for the CD-ROM title listed to above) to PsL for your files. These distribution rights are implied by your selection of this option, and will supersede any contrary restrictions listed in your standard documentation. Please note that selecting this optional service does *not* guarantee that your program will automatically be included on the PsL monthly CD. This merely allows you to submit your product to them for consideration. 5) Upload to the America Online software libraries. --------------------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will upload your file to the America Online 'general' file areas. The filename used for this file upload service will be the "BBS" filename. The file will be uploaded to an appropriate area based on the minimum required operating system for your product (i.e. DOS, Windows, or OS/2). If your product is more appropriate in another area, the AOL sysops will move it there automatically. There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option. 5a) Upload to the ASP areas on America Online (ASP Members Only) ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is a new option, coordinated with the new ASP area on America Online. If you select this option, your file will be uploaded to the ASP area on AOL (this is a separate area from the above 'general' file areas on AOL). There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option, and a valid VENDINFO.DIZ file is also required. Please note that the monthly ASP CD-ROM is used to feed the ASP areas on America Online. As such, if you are also submitting your product to the ASP CD-ROM, you may not need to select this option (unless you are in a hurry to get your release uploaded). 6) Upload to the PCNET (formerly IBMNET) Forum Libraries -------------------------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will upload your file to the appropriate PCNET forum libraries on CompuServe. The filename used for this file upload service will be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option. 7) Upload to the ZENITH Forum Libraries --------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will upload your file to the ZENITH forum libraries on CompuServe. The filename used for this file upload service will be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option. 8) Upload to the EDUCATIONAL Forum Libraries (ESC Members Only!) ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you are an ESC member, and if your product is an 'educational' product, you may select this option and we will upload your file to the EDUCATIONAL forum libraries on CompuServe. The filename used for this file upload service will be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option. 9) Submission to the ZD Net Services ------------------------------------ If you select this option, we will send your file to the ZD Net "Author Upload Center" for processing and potential distribution via their various online and catalog vending services. The filename used for this service will be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). There is a $2.50 surcharge for this option. 10) Submission to the JCSM/BestZips Internet/CD-ROM Services ------------------------------------------------------------ If you select this option, we will send your file to the JCSM/BestZips Internet site for processing and potential distribution via their various Internet online and CD-ROM services. The filename used for this service will be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). (NOTE: the JCSM Internet-based file collections are also marketed on retail CD-ROM discs. If you have contracts which prevent you from placing your files on other retail CD-ROM discs, or if you do not want your products placed on the JCSM CD-ROM discs, you should *not* use this option!) There is a flat-rate $5.00 surcharge for this option. --------------------- SUBMITTING YOUR FILES --------------------- Your files are to be submitted only to the ADDS submission site. All files must be submitted either via floppy disk, or electronically via CompuServe email, Internet email (special Internet email address is provided only for authors who obtain a Blanket ID) or direct upload to our support BBS system (see details included in the file BLNKETxx.TXT). Floppy disk formats of 360k, 720k, 1.2M, and 1.44M will be accepted (720k preferred). Your floppy disk should include the archived distribution file(s) in the format that they are to be distributed in. You may include more than one program/file on a disk if space permits. All files should be placed in the root directory of the floppy disk (i.e. NO subdirectories). Your submission must also include a check or money order for the processing fees according to the schedule above. Checks/Money Orders are to be made payable to "RMH Computer Services" and are to be in US funds. Credit Card payments (MasterCard/VISA/Discover) are also accepted. To charge the processing fees to your credit card, simply fill out the Credit Card block at the end of the submission form (you *MUST* fill in the "TOTAL:" field, and you *MUST* include your signature). The address of the ADDS Submission Site is: Author-Direct Services Richard Holler PO Box 657 Beech Grove IN 46107-0657 Should you need additional information regarding anything, please contact Richard Holler: (317) 782-9903 [voice] (317) 784-2147 [BBS/FAX] CompuServe 73567,1547 INTERNET: RHoller@cis.compuserve.com