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- PUBLIC (Software) LIBRARY
- Program Submissions
- P.O.Box 35705
- Houston, TX 77235-5705
-
-
- SOFTWARE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
-
-
- The following explains PSL's policies and procedures for adding
- programs to the library. Also see disk 1-PG-233, Programmer's Guide,
- for tips about shareware marketing. You can print, clip and paste
- to a mailer the address above for submitting materials to PSL.
-
-
- PSL NEWS DEADLINE:
-
- The PSL NEWS goes to the printer the last Tuesday of each month. We
- can add program reviews to it right up to the prior week. Programs
- which are received prior to our cut-off date are either added or
- rejected by that date. If added, you will receive a PSL NEWS from us
- with a write-up of the program in it.
-
- If a program is not added, it is usually because either we already have
- a lot of similar programs and this one has no special features, or
- because in our opinion, the program is poorly written, or because the
- program has been artificially limited to an extreme.
-
- However, programs that are not added to our permanent catalog will be
- put on our Monthly CD-ROM, unless they just don't run. For programs to
- be put into our catalog, they must meet the following criteria:
-
-
- LIMITING PROGRAM USEFULNESS:
-
- 1. Programs should not be limited by date or number of uses. It is too
- hard for us to keep up with when & which programs are going to "expire"
- and it defeats the purpose of shareware by limiting the extent to which
- programs can continue to be shared.
-
- 2. We accept programs in which "extra" features have been withheld to
- encourage registration (although we tend to believe this does not work
- in the long run) but the main features of the program must function to
- the full extent of their intended purpose. (Our policy is actually
- less strict than the policies members of the Association of Shareware
- Professionals have set for themselves in this regard.)
-
- The feedback that we get from programmers and users is that the most
- acceptable form of "encourgement" is an opening shareware explanation
- screen which to get by, the user must press Enter or enter a random
- number which is displayed somewhere on the screen. We advise against
- putting a forced delay of 15 or 30 seconds with the screen, as that
- irritates the user unnecessarily and will likely keep him from trying
- the program enough to come to like it.
-
-
- COPYRIGHTS:
-
- We have had people send us disks with COMMAND.COM, FIND.EXE, SORT.EXE,
- MORE.COM, BASICA, and other copyrighted programs on them. We obviously
- cannot add these to our library.
-
-
- ARCHIVING FILES:
-
- PSL puts small programs (those that archive down to less than 100k) on
- disks with programs of a similar type. If your program is in that
- category, please be aware that we will archive it into a self-extracting
- file using LHarc, which creates substantially smaller archive files
- than any other available archiver. Also, in order to avoid confusing
- our users, we must use the same form of archiving throughout the
- library. Therefore, if you send us an ARC, ZIP or other format archive
- file, we will convert it to LHarc.
-
- If your program files are under 100k archived, but you have some reason
- for wanting them kept on a disk by themselves unarchived, please let us
- know. In our opinion, this will reduce the number of people who will
- see your program, but we will comply with your wishes.
-
- If your program is on more than one disk and we can get it onto fewer
- disks by archiving the files, we will do so. (We will add a batch file
- to assist users in unarchiving the files. We also give them telephone
- support, though few people seem to need it for unarchiving.) If, for
- some reason, you do not want your program archived, please let us know.
-
-
- NEW PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
-
- Please provide an overview of the program either at the start of the
- DOC file or in a separate file. This is for the benefit of your users,
- not just for us. Some programmers NEVER get around to saying what the
- purpose of their program is, and sometimes we just can't tell.
-
- Be sure to mention any specific hardware or software requirements.
-
-
- SCREEN SHOTS:
-
- The best way to get your program featured in a catalog is to provide
- a screen shot of it in PCX format. This is especially true if your
- program is a complex game which makes it difficult or impossible for
- screen capture utilities to work.
-
-
- UPDATE HISTORY:
-
- *PLEASE* include a file detailing changes from previous versions.
- This is the only way for people to know if a new version is worth
- trying again or not.
-
-
- FREE SPACE ON DISK:
-
- We need at least 1k free on a disk to have room to put our disk number
- file which is essential for our order filling purposes. If your files
- are not archived and there is no free space on the disk, we will try to
- archive the files to make room. If your files are already archived and
- there is no free space, we have a real problem.
-
-
- "REGISTERED" VERSIONS:
-
- Please do not send printed manuals or "registered" versions of your
- programs to PSL. In the first place, we want to be able to evaluate
- your program under the same conditions our readers will. Secondly, we
- would hate to be responsible for accidentally distributing a
- "registered" version.
-
-
- PSL's MONTHLY CD-ROM:
-
- If you send us a program for distribution and, for some reason, do NOT
- want it to be put on our Monthly CD-ROM, be sure to include a LARGE note
- with your disk stating that. You should be aware, however, that our
- CD goes to dozens, if not hundreds, of BBSs and is an excellent way
- to get your program out to the public.
-
-
-
- Thank you for considering the Public (software) Library!
-
- - Nelson Ford
-
-