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. Users couldn't track down 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.
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:
--to inform users about shareware programs and about shareware as a method of distributing and marketing software,
--to foster a high degree of professionalism among shareware authors by setting programming, marketing, and support standards for ASP members to follow,
--to encourage broader distribution of shareware through user groups and disk dealers who agree to identify and explain the nature of shareware,
--to assist members in marketing their software,
--to provide a forum through which ASP members may communicate, share ideas, and learn from each other,
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):
--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,
--members must respond to every registration. At the very least they must send a receipt for the payment,
--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.
