Re: German CD-ROM (Was: Re: Addressing home-made adapter cards)

[joko@crl.com (Joe Kohn)]

 >Too bad nobody's ever asked me anything, but I'd be willing to
 >bet at least one of my things is on a CDRom somewhere.
 
Nathan - I'd say that what transpired  between you and I really
points out the necessity for a distributor of shareware to ask
permission. If you think back to Apple Expo West, I paid you a
shareware fee and asked for permission to distribute some of your
software to inCider/A+ readers of my Shareware Solutions column.
 
It was a few years ago, so my memory is a little hazy, but I seem to
remember you saying something like, "hold off a few days, as I'm
working on an update." And, you then sent me that update. And, that
worked out great. inCider readers got the latest and greatest. You
were able to 'put your best foot forward.' And, I was able to supply
Apple II users with some great software.
 
There's a reason that I got to be the 'Shareware guy' at inCider, and
there's a reason that I have had a lot of success with Shareware
Solutions II. I always ask permission before I distribute other
people's shareware. Because of that, I've been able to get friendly
with many shareware authors, and often get sneak-peaks of shareware,
and help to beta test shareware, and never get shareware authors
angry at me (except on the net, of course, but that's another story).
 
At KansasFest 1993, I stressed over and over in my talk about
shareware that re-distributors M-U-S-T ask permission. It's the legal
thing to do, it's the ethical thing to do and it's the moral thing to
do.
 
Plus, from my perspective, it means that people who get disks of
shareware from Shareware Solutions II are guaranteed of getting the
latest and greatest. Then again, this talk isn't about me. My main
point is if you object to some organization for re-distributing your
software, it's best to be very specific in your copyright notice to
delineate exactly who can, and who cannot, re-distribute your work
and under what circumstances.
 
Then again, the more people that have a chance to try out shareware,
the more likely the author is going to make some money. So, wording
of the copyright should not be counter-productive. Just be specific.
And, please, whatever you do, don't word the restrictions in such a
way that legitimate Apple II User Groups would be precluded from
adding your work to their library.
 
Joe Kohn
Publisher, Shareware Solutions II
 
           { Stay informed. Read Shareware Solutions II. }
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