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PARTY TRACKER
An AUTOMATED POLITICAL PARTY MEMBERSHIP
and FINANCIAL RECORDS DATABASE SYSTEM
USER'S GUIDE
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
COPYRIGHT @ 1991 Robert H. Barrentine
All Rights Reserved
PARTY TRACKER - A GENERAL OVERVIEW
This Automated Political Party Membership and Financial
Records Database System is a menu-driven system which is
designed to accept, maintain, and report on the membership
roles and financial contributions received by an organized
State or County Political Organization or Committee. PARTY
TRACKER is a SHAREWARE program which requires either a
Double Disk Drive or Hard Drive Computer System with a
minimum of 256K RAM running DOS 2.1 or higher. Reports are
designed to be printed on either a dot-matrix or laser
printer.
PARTY TRACKER is designed so that the following actions
may occur:
1) Members can be added to and deleted from the database;
2) Personal and Political Registration information on any
Member can be edited as required;
3) Members can be deleted from the system as required;
4) Deleted Members are transferred to a Former Members
dataset;
5) Member's contributions can be posted to the database;
6) The following reports can be produced:
a) Membership Roster - with user-selected fields
displayed and sorted as determined at the time of printing;
b) Telephone List - a report which delivers Member's
names, home telephone numbers (if entered) and work tele-
phone numbers (if entered) sorted by First and Last Names;
c) Individual Contributions Report - A detailed report
of the financial contributions made by a specified Member
for any operator-specified period of time for which data
has been entered;
d) Report of Contributions Income - A summary report
which specifies the amounts of income earned by all Federal
and/or State oriented activities sponsored by your organization
during an operator-specified date window;
e) Report of Contributor Donations - A summary report
which returns every Member of your organization who has made
contributions during an operator-specified date window with a
total of contributions received from each contributor;
7) Mailing labels are produced for all entries in PARTY
TRACKER.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL OVERVIEW ii
PREPARING PARTY TRACKER TO RUN 1
INSTALLING/CONFIGURING PARTY TRACKER 1
RUNNING PARTY TRACKER 1
ADDING MEMBERS TO THE SYSTEM 2
EDITING MEMBER'S ROSTER DATA 3
DELETING A MEMBER FROM THE DATABASE 4
ACCESSING THE FINANCIAL MODULE 4
ADDING FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION DATA 4
EDITING A MEMBER'S FINANCIAL RECORDS 5
PRINTING AN INDIVIDUAL'S RECORD OF
CONTRIBUTIONS 5
PRINTING AN ACTIVITY SUMMARY 6
PRINTING A TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR
A PERIOD REPORT 6
PRINTING ROSTERS, TELEPHONE LISTS, & LABELS 6
APPENDIX A - SETTING UP THE PRINTER A-1
APPENDIX B - SHAREWARE AND THE ASP B-1
APPENDIX C - ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT C-1
ii
PREPARING PARTY TRACKER TO RUN
PARTY TRACKER is designed to run on any one subdirectory of
your hard disk. Once you have created this subdirectory, copy
all of the PARTY TRACKER files into this sub-directory. You may
now proceed to install PARTY TRACKER.
INSTALLING PARTY TRACKER
Before using PARTY TRACKER for the first time, you must run
the INSTALL.EXE program. This program will create a file on the
hard disk which will tell PARTY TRACKER where it is to operate,
and what your organization's name and address is (data that is
required in order to print the various reports that are
available).
You will first be asked to provide the name of your
organization. Type in the name of your organization; e.g.,
THE COMMITTEE TO ELECT ROBERT BARRENTINE
(TIP: While not required, I recommend that you keep your
Caps Lock key on so that all data in the installation process is
typed in using upper case. This way, the various reports that
produce header data will print that header data in Upper Case.)
You will then be asked to provide the address of your
organization. Type in your address, all on one line; e.g.,
321 1/2 GORMAN AVENUE, LAUREL, MARYLAND 20707-4707
You will then be asked for your telephone number. Type this
in, placing the area code between parens "()" as shown on the
installation screen.
Having obtained the relevant data concerning your
organization, PARTY TRACKER will then ask for data concerning
the system it is to run on. Specifically, PARTY TRACKER will ask
for the drive that the data and programs are to reside on (type
in only the letter designator, DO NOT TYPE IN THE SUB-DIRECTORRY
NAME). The last question PARTY TRACKER will ask concerns backing
up the system. It will want to know where to send the various
data files when the "Backing Up Data" option is invoked. Type in
the drive designator which will hold the floppy disk on which
you intend to save your data.
You will then be presented with a screen which will display
the information you have entered and ask that you verify that
the information shown is correct; respond accordingly. If you
respond in the negative, PARTY TRACKER will recycle you through
the questions so that you can re-enter the data until you are
satisfied with the displayed information.
You are now ready to run PARTY TRACKER.
1
RUNNING PARTY TRACKER
To start PARTY TRACKER, turn on your computer and make sure
that the sub-directory that contains the PARTY TRACKER files is
the active sub-directory. At the system prompt, type in the
command "PARTYTRK" and the program will begin to run. If you are
running PARTY TRACKER for the first time, you will be asked to
define your printer so that PARTY TRACKER can properly use it.
Please refer to Appendix A for instructions on this.
ADDING MEMBERSHIP DATA TO THE SYSTEM
To add membership data, select the appropriate option from
the main menu. You will then receive a screen which will display
the elements of personalia (specifically discussed below) which
the system stores. Fill in as many of these elements as are
known and press the "Ctrl" and "End" keys concurrently to end
data input for that record. To abort data entry, simply press
the "Esc" key prior to typing the Last Name; if you have already
entered a Last Name, erase that input BEFORE pressing "Esc".
After you have entered the last data field (Club Affiliation) or
you have terminated data input by using the "Ctrl"+"End" key
combination, you will be asked if you want to input additional
new records ("Add records: (M)ore (E)xit"). Press either the "M"
or "E" key, as appropriate.
The author recommends that all data concerning a new entry
to the database be compiled on some sort of Data Entry Log
before beginning the Add Data process. This will ensure that all
necessary fields are available and together before beginning the
process and will provide a record of which names have or have
not been posted to the database.
Discussion of the various elements of personalia:
1) Title: Enter any title deemed appropriate (e.g., Mr.,
Mrs., Ms., Dr., Hon., etc.). Where desired the title "M/M" may
be used to designate "Mr. and Mrs.". You may enter up to 4
characters in this field.
2) First and Last Names: The application is designed to
force an Upper Case letter at the start of both of these fields.
Any additional Upper Case letter requirements must be observed
by the operator at the time of input. You may enter up to 10
characters in the First Name field and up to 15 characters in
the Last Name field.
(NOTE: YOU SHOULD ESTABLISH A CONVENTION AMONGST ALL WHO MIGHT
USE THIS PROGRAM AS TO HOW NAMES ARE TO BE ENTERED INTO THE
SYSTEM BEFORE BEGINNING TO ENTER DATA. PARTY TRACKER WILL SEARCH
FOR AN EXACT MATCH ON A NAME FOR MANY OF THE EDITING, FINANCIAL,
AND REPORTING FUNCTIONS AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UPPER AND
LOWER CASE WILL DEFEAT THIS MATCH SEARCH.)
2
3) Middle Initial: The system will force the first
character of this field to Upper Case. If a middle initial is
entered, a period, ".", MUST be entered after the letter.
4) Address: Enter in this field a street or P.O. Box
address up to a maximum of 25 characters. Upper Case letter
requirements must be observed by the operator at the time of
input as PARTY TRACKER does not force Upper Case letters in this
field.
5) City: Enter here any city name up to a maximum of 20
characters. As a convention, all instances of the word "Fort"
appearing in a city name will be entered as "Ft.". The
application is designed to force an Upper Case letter at the
start of this field. Any additional Upper Case letter
requirements must be observed by the operator at the time of
input.
6) State: Standard 2-letter abbreviations for the state
should be entered (e.g., MD for Maryland; VA for Virginia). The
application is designed to force Upper Case letters in this
field.
7) ZIP Code and PLUS4: Enter here the five digit ZIP code
and four digit PLUS4 Code (if known). The application will only
allow numbers to be entered in this field.
8) Home Phone and Work Phone: Enter in these fields the
area codes and seven digit telephone numbers, if available. This
application will automatically insert parenthesis ("()") around
the area code and a dash ("-") after the third digit of the
telephone number.
9) Political Registration Data: These fields are
automatically set at zero ("0") when a record is added. Enter
the correct data at the time of initial input to preclude
subsequent erroneous sorting on some of the available reports.
EDITING MEMBER'S ROSTER DATA
At the PARTY TRACKER main menu, press the "2" key to access
the editing portion of this application. You will be prompted
for the Last Name of the Member whose record you want to edit.
Be sure to type an Upper Case first letter of the Last Name. If
the Last Name, as you have just entered it, is in the database,
you will be presented a screen on which you may edit any field
in the database.
If you have more than one record to edit, arrange your
working papers in alphabetical order before beginning this
process. The Membership/Financial Records Database System will
3
present the edit screen in alphabetical order and you will be
able to page down through the various member names to edit all
records in one sweep.
Once all editing has been done, press "Esc" concurrently to
terminate the editing session.
DELETING A MEMBER FROM THE DATABASE
At the PARTY TRACKER main menu, press the "3" key to access
the Deletion portion of this application. You will be presented
with a WARNING screen that will remind you that this process is
irreversible. Deleting a member will also result in the deletion
from the database of all financial records pertaining to that
individual. Before deleting a member from the records, it is
recommended that you print a summary of that member's financial
contributions for, at least, the current election cycle so that
you will have some paper record of his/her activity.
You will be prompted for the Last Name of the Member whose
record you want to delete. Be sure to type an Upper Case first
letter of the Last Name. You will be shown a verification screen
to ensure that the application is on the correct record to be
deleted. Responding to the verification prompt with "Y" will
result in that record and ALL associated financial records being
purged from the system. PARTY TRACKER will move the former
member's personalia, along with the date he/she was initially
entered in the system and the date of the deletion, into a
Former Members dataset.
ACCESSING THE FINANCIAL MODULE
In the interest of personal privacy, access to the
financial module should restricted. From the PARTY TRACKER main
menu, press the "4" key to access the financial module.
ADDING FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION DATA
At the Financial Menu, press the "1" key to add
contributory data. You will be prompted for the Last Name of the
contributor. Be sure to type an Upper Case first letter of the
Last Name. You will be shown a verification screen to ensure
that the application is on the correct contributor's record.
Pressing the "Y" in response to the verification prompt will
take you to an Add Data Screen.
The Add Data Screen will ask for the following information:
1) Transaction Date - Enter the date you received the
contribution using a MM/DD/YY format (e.g., March 25, 1991 will
be 03/25/91).
4
2) Transaction Type - You have up to 2 characters to enter
how the money was conveyed. Recommended entries are:
CK - Check
C - Cash
MO - Money Order
3) Amount - You may enter any amount up to 99999.99 in
this field. The application forces numerical data in this field
and will automatically post a decimal zero zero (.00) to any
whole dollar amounts entered.
4) Activity - Enter here any specific activity title here
that you will later want to call on as a reporting field (e.g.,
DONATION, MONDAY BREAKFAST, etc.). The application will force
all letters in this field to Upper Case and you may enter up to
25 characters.
5) Remarks - Enter here any explanatory or amplifying data
that you might want to use (e.g., 2 TICKETS PARTY TRACKER 12.50
EA). As with the previous field, the application will force all
letters in this field to Upper Case. You may enter up to 20
characters in this field.
6) Account - To facilitate subsequent reporting, you MUST
designate whether this contribution is allocated to Federal or
State contributions by typing either "F" or "S", respectively.
EDITING A MEMBER'S FINANCIAL RECORDS
At the Financial Menu, press the "2" key to edit
contributory data. You will prompted for the Last Name of the
contributor. Be sure to type an Upper Case first letter of the
Last Name. You will be shown a verification screen to ensure
that the application is on the correct contributor's record.
Pressing the "Y" in response to the verification prompt will
take you to an Edit Data Screen.
Once all editing has been done, press "Esc" key to
terminate the editing session.
PRINTING AN INDIVIDUAL'S RECORD OF CONTRIBUTIONS
At the Financial Menu, press the "3" key to obtain a report
on a specific individual's contribution. You will be prompted
for the individual's Last Name, a Start Date for consideration
of data in the system, and an End Date for consideration of data
in the system. You will be shown a verification screen to ensure
that the application is on the correct contributor's record.
Pressing the "Y" in response to the verification prompt will
cause a report to be sent to the printer. CAUTION: Be sure that
5
your printer is powered up, properly set, and online before
responding to the verification prompt. (See a Discussion on
Setting up your Printer in Appendix A.)
PRINTING AN ACTIVITY SUMMARY
At the Financial Menu, press the "4" key to obtain an
Activity Summary. You will be prompted for the types of
accounts you want included, a Start Date for consideration of
data in the system, and an End Date for consideration of data in
the system. Upon completing this input, your report will be sent
to the printer. CAUTION: Be sure that your printer is powered
up, properly set, and online before selecting this option. (See
a Discussion on Setting up your Printer in Appendix A.)
PRINTING A TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR A PERIOD REPORT
At the Financial Menu, press the "5" key to obtain a Report
of Total Contributions by Members. You will be prompted for the
types of accounts you want included, a Start Date for
consideration of data in the system, and an End Date for
consideration of data in the system. Upon completing this input,
your report will be sent to the printer. CAUTION: Be sure that
your printer is powered up, properly set, and online before
selecting this option. (See a Discussion on Setting up your
Printer in Appendix A.)
PRINTING ROSTERS, TELEPHONE LISTS, AND LABELS
All of these printing functions are available from the
PARTY TRACKER main menu.
To print mailing labels, ensure that the printer is loaded
with labels, is powered up, properly set, and online before
selecting Option 6 from the main menu.
To print Rosters or a Telephone List, select option 5 from
the main menu. You will be taken to a Reports Menu from which to
select Rosters or a Telephone List. To print a Telephone List,
select option 2 from the Reports Menu, after ensuring that your
printer is powered up, properly set, and online.
6
Printing a Membership Roster will require that you select
option 1 from the Reports Menu. You will be taken to a secondary
screen where you will select how the roster is to be sorted and
what fields will appear on the roster. You may select any ONE of
the following fields on which to sort your Roster:
Name City
Congressional District Election District &
Precinct
Legislative District School Board District
Councilmanic District Date of Birth (DOB)
You MUST type only the letters in Upper Case on the Screen when
designating your sort selection. For all sorting options, less
Name, the roster will be secondarily sorted by Name.
After selecting your sorting option, you will be asked to
select the fields you require on the report. Press an "X" key in
every space behind the field name(s) that you want to appear on
the report. As with other reports presented here, ensure that
your printer is powered up, set, and online before invoking this
option. (See a Discussion on Setting up your Printer in Appendix
A.)
BACKING UP YOUR PARTY TRACKER DATA
PARTY TRACKER data can be backed up by selecting the
appropriate main menu selection. Ensure that you have a (or
several, depending upon how much data you have added to the
system) blank, formatted disk available for this process.
PARTY TRACKER uses your DOS BACKUP command to backup data.
This means that you must run the DOS RESTORE command in order to
be able to use thiese stored files. Please refer to your DOS
Manual for additional information on these commands.
A few words about backing up data. You never realize the
many things that affect the operation of your computer. Your
power source and all of the miles of wires that bring that power
to you do many strange things to the power and some of these
strange things may cause your computer to malfunction. You might
accidentally damage your machine or the computer might even get
stolen. Any one of these "happenings" may cause you to lose all
of the data you have worked so long and hard to input.
Backing up data doesn't take that long and it may save you
several hundred hours of keying data, if that data is still
available. PLEASE, BACK UP YOUR DATA ROUTINELY SO THAT THE
NON-ROUTINE "HAPPENING" DOESN'T MESS UP YOUR DAY!
7
Appendix A - Setting Up Your Printer
PARTY TRACKER has been designed to work with the printers
listed below. Upon running PARTY TRACKER for the first time,
you will be asked to define the printer that you will be using
with this program. Select the printer your system is using from
the list of printers provided below and make a note (mental or
otherwise) of the number that has been assigned to that printer.
When requested by PARTY TRACKER, type in the number that
corresponds to your printer and PARTY TRACKER will make the
various codes that apply to your printer a part of its operating
memory.
NOTE: If your specific printer is not listed below, consult
your printer's User Manual to determine which of the printers
listed below are the printers that are compatible with your
printer. Some trial and error testing will indicate which
printer selection gives you the best results.
Should you ever changes your printer, select the menu
option on the PARTY TRACKER Main Menu which allows you to change
your printer. After consulting the list below, type in the
number that corresponds to the new printer that you are using.
PARTY TRACKER will make the necessary changes to the operating
files and you may immediately begin to use your new printer.
LIST OF PRINTERS SUPPORTED BY PARTY TRACKER
AST TurboLaser 1 Cordata LP300 20
Alphacom 8125 2 Cordata Lbls 10x1"high 21
Anadex 9620A 3 DaisyWriter 1500/2000 22
Anadex DP-6500 4 Data Products SPG-8010 23
Anadex DP-9000/DP-9500 5 Datasouth DS 180 24
Anadex DP-9001/DP-9501 6 Diablo 620 & 630 25
Blaser 7 Dynax DX-15 26
Brother HR1 8 Epson E/F/J/RX/LQ 27
Brother HR15/25 9 Epson EX-800/1000 28
C. Itoh 8510A 10 Epson LX 29
C. Itoh F10 11 Epson LX-90 30
C. Itoh LIPS 10+ 12 Epson MX 31
Canon LBP-8 A1/A2 13 Generic printer 32
Canon LBP-8 A1/A2(ISO) 14 HP 2225C+ (Epson Mode) 33
Centronics 351/352/353 15 HP 2225C+ (HP Mode) 34
Centronics H80-1/H80-2 16 HP Label: 10x1" high 35
Citizen MSP-10/MSP-15 17 HP Label: 11x1" high 36
Comrex CR-I 18 HP Label: 7x1.5" high 37
Comrex CR-II 19 HP LaserJet 38
A-1
HP LaserJet 500/+/II 39 Qume Sprint 9/45, 9/55 86
HP PaintJet (HP3630) 40 Sanyo PR-5500 87
IBM 80 CPS Graphics 41 Silver Reed 550 (Line) 88
IBM 80 CPS Matrix 42 Silver Reed 550 (Ser) 89
IBM Color Printer 43 Silver Reed 770 90
IBM LetterQuality 5218 44 Star Gemini 10-X/15-X 91
IBM Pageprinter 3812 45 Star Radix 10/15 92
IBM Proprinter 46 Texas Inst 850/855 93
IBM Quietwriter 5201 47 Texas Inst 860/865 94
IBM Quietwriter III 48 Toshiba P 341/351 95
IBM Wheelprinter 5216 49 Toshiba P1340 96
IDS 460 50 Toshiba P1350 97
IDS Prism 80/132 51 Toshiba P1351 98
Juki 6100 52 Xerox 2700 II 99
Kyocera F-1010 (Land) 53 Xerox 4045 - 630 Mode 100
Kyocera F-1010 (Port) 54
Mannesmann MT160/180 55
Mannesmann Spirit-80 56
NEC Pinwriter P2/P3 57
NEC Pinwriter P2200 58
NEC Pinwriter P5/P6/P7 59
NEC Silentwriter LC850 60
NEC Silentwriter LC860 61
NEC Spinwriter 3550 62
NEC Spinwriter 5515/25 63
NEC Spinwriter 7710/20 64
NEC Spinwriter 7715/25 65
NEC Spinwriter 7730 66
Oki Laserline 6 67
Oki Microline 182/183 68
Oki Microline 192/193 69
Oki Microline 292/3/4 70
Oki Microline 82A/83A 71
Oki Microline 84/92/93 72
Oki Okimate 20 73
Oki Pacemark 2350 74
Oki Pacemark 2410 75
Oki Pacemerk 2410-IBM 76
Oki Plug&Play 192/193 77
Oki Plug&Play 82A/83A 78
Oki Plug&Play 84/92/93 79
Panasonic KX-P1090 80
Panasonic KX-P1091 81
Panasonic KX-P3151 82
QuadLaser 83
Quadram QuadJet 84
Qume Sprint 5 85
A-2
APPENDIX B - SHAREWARE AND THE ASP
Some Definitions:
You've probably heard the terms "public domain",
"freeware", "shareware", and others like them. Your favorite BBS
or disk vendor probably has many programs described by one or
more of these words. There's a lot of confusion about and
between these terms, but they actually have specific meanings
and implications. Once you understand them, you will have a much
easier time navigating the maze of programs available to you,
and understanding what your obligations are, or aren't, with
each type of program.
Let's start with some basic definitions.
"Public domain" has a very specific legal meaning. It
means that the creator of a work (in this case, software), who
had legal ownership of that work, has given up ownership and
dedicated the work "to the public domain". Once something is in
the public domain, anyone can use it in any way they choose, and
the author has no control over the use and cannot demand payment
for it.
If you find a program which the author has explicitly put
into the public domain, you are free to use it however you see
fit without paying for the right to use it. But use care - due
to the confusion over the meaning of the words, programs are
often described by authors as being "public domain" when, in
fact, they are shareware or free, copyrighted software. To be
sure a program is public domain, you should look for an explicit
statement from the author to that effect.
"Copyrighted" is the opposite of public domain. A
copyrighted program is one where the author has asserted his or
her legal right to control the program's use and distribution by
placing the legally required copyright notices in the program
and documentation. The law gives copyright owners broad rights
to restrict how their work is distributed, and provides for
penalties for those who violate these restrictions. When you
find a program which is copyrighted, you must use it in
accordance with the copyright owner's restrictions regarding
distribution and payment. Usually, these are clearly stated in
the program documentation.
Maintaining a copyright does not necessarily imply
charging a fee, so it is perfectly possible and legal to have
copyrighted programs which are distributed free of charge. The
fact that a program is free, however, does not mean it is in the
public domain - though this is a common confusion.
B-1
"Shareware" is copyrighted software which is distributed
by authors through bulletin boards, on-line services, disk
vendors, and copies passed among friends. It is commercial
software which you are allowed to use and evaluate before paying
for it. This makes shareware the ultimate in money back
guarantees.
The Shareware Concept:
Most money back guarantees work like this: You pay for the
product and then have some period of time to try it out and see
whether or not you like it. If you don't like it or find that it
doesn't do what you need, you return it (undamaged) and at some
point - which might take months - you get your money back. Some
software companies won't even let you try their product! In
order to qualify for a refund, the diskette envelope must have
an unbroken seal. With these "licensing" agreements, you only
qualify for your money back if you haven't tried the product.
How absurd!
Shareware is very different. With shareware you get to use
it for a limited time, without spending a penny. You are able to
use the software on your own system(s), in your own special work
environment, with no sales people looking over your shoulder. If
you decide not to continue using it, you throw it away and
forget all about it. No paperwork, phone calls, or
correspondence to waste your valuable time. If you do continue
using it, then - and only then - do you pay for it.
Shareware is a distribution method, NOT a type of
software. Shareware is produced by accomplished programmers,
just like retail software. There is good and bad shareware, just
as there is good and bad retail software. The primary difference
between shareware and retail software is that with shareware you
know if it's good or bad BEFORE you pay for it.
As a software user, you benefit because you get to use the
software to determine whether it meets your needs before you pay
for it, and authors benefit because they are able to get their
products into your hands without the hundreds of thousands of
dollars in expenses it takes to launch a traditional retail
software product. There are many programs on the market today
which would never have become available without the shareware
marketing method.
The shareware system and the continued availability of
quality shareware products depend on your willingness to
register and pay for the shareware you use. It's the
registration fees you pay which allow us to support and continue
to develop our products. Please show your support for shareware
by registering those programs you actually use and by passing
them on to others. Shareware is kept alive by YOUR support!
B-2
The Virus Problem:
We've all heard the horror stories about computer viruses.
Unfortunately, we have also heard lots of conflicting statistics
and opinions. When it comes to the virus problem there is a lot
of confusion among users and even developers.
The sad truth is that some unscrupulous publishers of
anti-virus products are using half-truths, overdramatizations,
and outright fabrication to promote sales of their products.
They delight in manipulating statistics to support their
marketing efforts. While not illegal, these snake-oil tactics
are certainly not ethical.
To make matters worse, the media has frequently promoted
the misinformation promulgated by these unscrupulous individuals
rather than the straight facts. While the misinformation may be
more interesting than the actual facts, the media is not doing
the computer industry any favors by spreading inaccurate
information. To be fair, many newspapers, magazines, and news
networks are beginning to realize which "virus experts" are
reliable and which "experts" say whatever is in their own best
interest.
One of the most interesting myths that has been
promulgated by these snake-oil salesmen is that BBSs (Bulletin
Board Systems) and shareware programs are a major source of
virus infections. Some corporations are now afraid of shareware
and BBS activity because of this misinformation. In the October
11, 1988 issue of PC Magazine, publisher Bill Machrone's
editorial was entitled "Shareware or Scareware?". In his
article, Bill Machrone points out "The truth is that all major
viruses to date were transmitted by commercial [retail] packages
and private mail systems." That sounds a little different than
the claims being made by less knowledgeable journalists.
Let's consider for a moment, the distribution differences
between retail software and shareware software. Company XYZ
releases a new version of its retail software product. At the
same time company XYZ ships tens of thousands of copies to its
retail distribution channels, it also ships 30,000 updates to
loyal users. Most of those loyal users will receive the update
within a few days of each other. This can be a big problem if
the update happened to be infected with a virus. "Not likely",
you say? It has already happened! Several times! There have been
seventeen (17) major incidents of virus and trojan horse
problems in retail software. Some of these incidents affected
tens of thousands of users.
What about shareware? To date there has been one case of a
shareware author shipping an infected product. The virus was
detected by the disk vendors and the problem was corrected
immediately. No users were infected.
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"But it makes sense that programs which are passed around
have a greater chance of virus infections, doesn't it?" Think
about it. Who has the most to lose if viruses were spread by
BBSs and shareware programs? The BBS operators, shareware disk
vendors and the shareware authors, of course. Because of this,
reputable BBS operators, disk vendors and shareware authors are
very careful with the programs they handle.
Think about it. Hundreds (even thousands) of BBS operators
and disk vendors are carefully examining the programs they
receive and distribute. Their business depends on it. This means
that any given shareware program can go through hundreds (even
thousands) of checkpoints where the program is carefully
examined. If a problem is found, word spreads incredibly fast.
News travels "on the wires" even faster than the proverbial
small town gossip. Programs have disappeared almost overnight as
a result of this highly efficient communication network. If a
shareware program has been around for a few months, it has been
checked for virii and trojan horses many more times than any
retail software could hope to be checked.
Retail distributors don't check the disks they sell. Even
if the publisher checks their masters for virii (few do), this
is still far less than the scrutiny to which shareware programs
are subjected. There's something else to consider. Most retail
distributors have a return policy. What do they do with packages
that are returned? They shrink-wrap them and resell them, of
course. How can you be sure that you are the first person to
purchase the package you just bought at your friendly
neighborhood computer store? You can't. On the other hand, most
shareware authors erase, reformat, and reduplicate the disks
that are returned to them. Which do you think is safer?
Bill Machrone's article in PC Magazine goes on to say
"It's time to recognize that there's nothing to fear in
shareware. As a distribution medium, it saves you money and
helps you try out new genres of software with minimum risk."
Does this mean that we should all start buying shareware instead
of retail software? Not at all (although few shareware authors
would object). Let's face it, more data has been lost to power
failures and spilled cups of coffee than all virii, trojan
horses, and worms combined! An even bigger threat is plain old
human error, a mistake, a wrong key press, turning off the power
while files are open, and so forth. Accurate information and
common sense (regular backups) are the best defenses against
lost data.
Sure, the virus problem is real. Virii exist. But shunning
shareware is not the answer. Shareware and BBSs are, quite
simply, NOT a major source of virus infections. Some
corporations have even banned shareware entirely because of fear
of infections. This is not only unreasonable, it is also
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expensive. Think how much they could save in software costs if
they would only try software before they buy it! Is there
anything you can do to help protect yourself from virus
infections? Absolutely! Fortunately, the best preventive
measures are also the least expensive!
If you need informative, accurate and practical
information, please read the treatise on "Computer Virus Myths"
written by Rob Rosenberger and Ross M. Greenberg. This treatise
is available as a text file on many BBSs and online services. It
not only gives you the facts, it also provides the best overall
strategy for protecting your computer system.
Don't let fear stop you from saving money on software.
Don't let fear prevent you from trying some of the best software
available. Shareware is an important market for software. Take
advantage of it. You'll be glad you did!
The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP):
In the early days of shareware there were no real
standards. Independent authors had no efficient way to learn
from each other or to work together to improve the overall image
of shareware. There was no system in place to ensure that users
were treated fairly and professionally. There was no way for
users to find an address for an author who had moved. In short,
the shareware community was disorganized and each author did
things the way he or she thought was best. It was clear that if
shareware was ever to become a viable and respected marketing
alternative, there had to be some standardization. There had to
be some guidelines to best serve the users.
In 1987 a handful of shareware authors founded the
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). In forming this
industry association, these shareware authors had several
primary goals in mind, including:
o To inform users about shareware programs and about
shareware as a method of distributing and marketing software.
o To foster a high degree of professionalism among
shareware authors by setting programming, marketing, and support
standards for ASP members to follow.
o To encourage broader distribution of shareware
through user groups and disk dealers who agree to identify and
explain the nature of shareware.
o To assist members in marketing their software.
o To provide a forum through which ASP members may
communicate, share ideas, and learn from each other.
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The newly formed Association of Shareware Professionals
worked together to draft a code of ethics for all present and
future members. This code of ethics included several
requirements that soon became very popular among users
(customers), including:
o A member's program (evaluation version) could not
be limited (crippled) in any way. In the true spirit of
Try-Before-You-Buy, users must be able to evaluate all the
features in a program before paying the registration fee.
o Members must respond to every registration. At the
very least they must send a receipt for the payment.
o Members must provide technical support for their
products for at least 90 days from the date of registration.
A new system was put in place to help ensure that users
were treated fairly and professionally. If a user was unable to
resolve a problem with a member author then the user could
contact the ASP Ombudsman with their complaint. The Ombudsman
would then try to help resolve the dispute. For more complete
details regarding the Ombudsman, please refer to the "ASP
Ombudsman Statement" below (page 8).
As of March, 1991, the ASP had over 300 author members and
almost 200 vendor members, with new members joining every week.
Contacting ASP Members Via CompuServe:
There is an easy and convenient way to speak directly to
many ASP Members (both authors and vendors). Visit the shareware
forum on CompuServe. Simply type "GO SHAREWARE", "GO SHARE", or
"GO ASPFORUM" from any CompuServe ! prompt.
Here you will be able to talk to the authors of your
favorite shareware programs, learn about other programs, ask
questions, make suggestions, and much more. We'd love to meet
you online, please come visit us today!
Author Address Changes:
People move. Forwarding orders expire. What can you do?
"I got a copy of a shareware program written by an ASP
Member. I sent in the registration fee and the post office
returned my letter saying that it was undeliverable. Now what do
I do?"
If the author has moved then chances are very good that
you have an old version of the program. This is another
situation that the ASP can help you to resolve. ASP Members are
required to keep the ASP informed of address changes. If you
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need to obtain the current address for a member, simply write to
the following address:
ASP Executive Director
545 Grover Road
Muskegon, MI 49442-9427
U.S.A.
or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe MAIL to ASP
Executive Director 72050,1433. You may also FAX your request to
the ASP Executive Director at 616-788-2765.
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APPENDIX C - ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT
This program is produced by a member of the Association of
Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the
shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve
a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can
help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but
does not provide technical support for members' products.
Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at:
ASP Ombudsman
545 Grover Road
Muskegon, MI 49442-9427
U.S.A.
or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe MAIL to ASP
Ombudsman 70007,3536.
C