Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/090/shrware.arc/SHRWARE.TXT

Text File | 1987-01-21 | 10.0 KB | 186 lines

An open letter to Shareware Authors

User-supported software is, unfortunately, often  thought  of  as
belonging to  the  public  domain.   After all, shareware authors
are  assuming  a  risk  when  making  their  products   available
through  public  distribution  channels,  since it co-exists with
true public-domain software.  And, unfortunately, there  is  some
devious enjoyment about getting something for nothing.

Interestingly,  legitimate  businesses that produce and/or market
personal computer software have learned  a  lot  from  shareware:
good products  need  not  cost  a  lot.  As a result, a number of
excellent   commercially-distributed   software   packages    are
competing   with   available   shareware   as  far  as  price  is
concerned.  Of  course,  the  reverse  is  also  true:  shareware
authors  realized  that  professional marketing, advertising, and
distribution often  yields  better  financial  results  than  any
honor system--they  went  commercial.    PC-File,  PC-Write,  and
PC-Outline,  Automenu,  and  ARC,  just  to  name a few, are such
products.

What makes the difference between a product that  sells  and  one
that  does  not?  What  does  the  potential  buyer   expect   of
shareware?  What  specific  attributes of a software package will
compell him to send in his contribution, and  which  others  will
cause him not to?  Here are a few observations.

Functionality obviously  ranks  high  on  the list.  After all, I
download  a  program  because  it  supposedly performs a function
which I have a need for.  Does it do what it is supposed to,  and
does  it  do  it well? Has it been thoroughly tested against most
hardware  and  software  configurations  and can it be configured
to run in various environments?  Has  it  been  circulated  among
users'  groups and has their input been taken into consideration?
What  would  you   think   if   the   documentation   read   "Use
caution....some  programs  will trash you royally when attempting
to....".  Would anyone in their  right  mind  use  anything  that
could "trash you royally"?

Does the program have an intuitive human interface, or  does  the
user  have  to  read  the  documentation  each  time  he wants to
perform a trivial function? Some  shareware  which  is  otherwise
outstanding  requires  incredible  convolutions  to  perform  the
simplest tasks.  Again, the product should be tested by  a  large
number of  people  other  than  its  author.  Anyone who has ever
written  a  program  knows  that  your personal opinion is always
biased in favor of your brainchild.  In fact,  you  may  have  to
make  significant  changes  to  a  program--even  going as far as
completely re-writing it-- before it can gain acceptance.

Bugs are  deadly, especially in shareware.  Since the user didn't
have to pay for it until satisfied, not only will  they  not  use
the  product,  but  they  will quickly share their feelings about
it--ie,  on  bulletin  boards,  one  of  the  quickest  and  most
effective implementations  of electronic grapevine--.  This again
reinforces  the  need for testing the product as much as possible
prior to  formal  release.    Don't  get  greedy  until  you  are
reasonably sure that it works.

Do  not  partially  implement  features  or even give a hint that
new  ones  will  become  available  in  future  releases  of  the
product unless you already have an unblemished reputation  and  a
loyal following.   People won't pay for what they have; they will
just wait for the next set of goodies.  Some  shareware  products
out there have literally gone through dozens of releases in a few
months,  each  one  bringing  forth  new  features  or correcting
errors.  There is no way you can  build  user  trust  unless  the
product you are peddling is reasonably stable.  I have personally
given  up  on  half  a dozen shareware products that went through
monthly updates --regardless of their usefulness--.  As with  the
boy who cried wolf, this will quickly damage your credibility and
could permanently affect your reputation.

Do  not  cripple  your  product  or its documentation in any way.
Doing so goes directly against  the  spirit  of  shareware  since
all  you  have released is a purposely limited demonstration copy
of your product.  People will no  more  pay  for  that  than  for
demo copies of bona fide commercial software.

Although  this  is somewhat controversial, there is some question
as to the usefulness and purpose of  a  logo  screen  which  asks
for   a   monetary   contribution,  especially  when  this  is  a
permanent fixture of your program.  A much better  method  is  to
have   a   copyright  notice  and  an  optional  display  of  the
shareware moto (ie, option "P"  for  program  information).    Be
assured  that  hackers will go to work immediately to remove that
display from your program and replace it  with  a  public  domain
notice.   Since we're on the subject of logos, remember that your
"Welcome Screen" is the first thing the  user  sees;  use  wisdom
in designing  it.    Jumping  right  into  the  program may be an
indication that it was put together quickly without  concern  for
cosmetic detail.    WHAT you display on your logo screen can also
detract from the overall value of  the  program.    A  skull  and
crossbones,   for   example,  may  not  be  well  suited  for  an
otherwise serious  program  and  is  revealing  of  the  author's
playful nature.    Some  people  may  never get past your opening
screen....

Online help is a very nice feature  which  has  been  adopted  by
most  commercial  software  and  is  slowly  finding its way into
Shareware.  Even better is  context-sensitive  help  which  takes
into  account  what  you  were  doing at the time you invoked the
help function.

Cosmetic appearance may or may not  be  a  concern  depending  on
what the   program  does.    Use  of  color,  graphics,  even  as
rudimentary  as  box-drawing   characters,   can   add   to   the
attractiveness of  a  program.    It  also  increases  the user's
confidence in the program's author.  Spending the extra  time  to
make  it  look  good--besides  working  good--indicates  care and
craftsmanship.

Documentation and other textual information  which  are  part  of
the product  are  extremely important and often overlooked.  Some
absolutely outstanding products never made it  because  of  lousy
documentation,  while  others with fewer features made it because
its documentation was well above par.  An awful lot of people who
are true programming geniuses just cannot express themselves very
well  in  writing, and vice-versa, although there are exceptions.
A  good  recommendation  would  be  to  seek  qualified  help  in
developing good,  complete,  and  readable  documentation.  Don't
forget to run it through a spelling checker and submit it to beta
testing also.  Of course, this also applies to the help screen or
any textual information within the product itself.   Street  talk
in  software  documentation  is  not  desirable and unfortunately
lends an amateurish flavor to the product.  An  interesting  fact
is  that  successful  shareware  authors have spent a significant
portion  of  their  time  developing  good,  understandable,  and
readable documentation.

Last,  but  certainly  not  least,  are  the  administrative  and
support responsibilities which go  right  along  with  selling  a
product.   From  a  legal  standpoint, accepting remuneration for
any type of product or service makes you a business.   If  a  big
corporation  decides  to  buy your product, you may be faced with
far more demands for non-productive time  than  you  can  handle.
If  you  state  that you will provide support once a contribution
is received,  you  must  be  prepared  to  do  so.    This  means
maintaining  mailing  lists  of  registered users and making good
on all the promises stated on  your  shareware  notice,  such  as
"Registered  users  will  be  notified  of  all new releases when
they become available" or "Telephone  support  will  be  provided
at no  charge  for  90  days  following  the  purchase".    These
seemingly innocent statements which are  included  in  a  lot  of
shareware  products  become  legal,  binding  agreements once you
accept payment.  Remember, nasty users can easily sue  the  shirt
off  your  back  if they can prove that you have not performed as
stated.

If  your  shareware  sales grow, seriously consider incorporating
into a legitimate business; many shareware authors  have.    This
will  pretty  much eliminate your personal liability in the event
you encounter legal problems.

                  *********

Who am I and what business do  I  have  giving  this  unrequested
advice, you  may  ask.  Well, my name should appear at the end of
this document,  unless  someone  else  hacked  it.   I've been in
commercial data processing for 18 years and responsible  for  PCs
in a  fairly  large  company  for  about  5  years.  I have spent
quite a bit of the company's  money  on  shareware  products--but
only good  ones--.    One thing for sure, Shareware can't be beat
as far as cost and convenience.  Try it all  you  want,  and  pay
only if  you  use it.  I have seen a lot of outstanding products,
and a lot of junk.  Some shareware products  are  hastily  thrown
together,  uploaded  to  a few bulletin boards, and it's obvioous
that the author's only  motivation  is  to  take  the  money  and
run.   Some  others are absolute jewels that could easily fetch 3
to 10 times their shareware price in the commercial market.  From
personal experience, though, it looks  like  the  junk  to  jewel
ratio is  about  300  to  1.  Maybe this document can help reduce
this sad state of affairs.

Dan Moore
1531 13th St.
Columbus, IN 47201
[phone]

(c) 1987 Dan Moore

This   document    is    intended    for    public    and    free
distribution  as  long  as the author's name and copyright notice
appear.  It may not be published commercially in any form without
the author's permission.