A Philosophy about Shareware

 What is Shareware?

When you buy commercial software at a store, you must pay for it before you take it home. After you open the box and load it onto your machine, you have sealed the deal. Whether it works to your satisfaction or not, it is yours to keep.

Shareware is user-supported software. Usually, it doesn't come with pretty packaging, and there is no major (expensive) marketing effort. You may "take it off the shelf", try it out, and then decide whether you wish to keep it or not. 

If you continue to use it, you are morally obligated to pay what the author asks. If you continue to use it and do not pay for it, you are usually in violation of the license agreement.  

If you use commercial software that you (or your employer, for example) did not pay for (or technically speaking, you are not licensed to use), it is construed as software piracy. If you use shareware beyond its evaluation period without paying for it, it can also be construed as software piracy. 

Registering and paying for shareware promotes its continued development. It provides incentive, and sometimes the financial means, to continue production of low-cost, commercial-quality software.

 Why write shareware?

Are we reinventing the wheel? Are we building a better mousetrap? Why write this stuff if there won't be many people using it? Why write software that is already out there in many different flavors, styles, and sizes? 

How many times have you used a program, and said to yourself, "I wish it would do this..., or "I wish it wouldn't do that". I have crossed that bridge many times. I have tackled that problem several times. The result, in many cases, is a tailored, scaled down version of a full-blown product, most of whose features I did not use anyway. 

Many programmers write programs with the idea that they feel they know how people will (or should) use the programs. They don't use these programs themselves, so they can't really get a good feel for how these programs are going to be used. They're in it just for the prospect of financial rewards. 

There are thousands of shareware authors out "there". Some do this as a fling: they throw something together, neglect serious product testing, put it out "there", and expect payment.

 Other shareware authors are serious about their work. They put in a lot of hours to make their product look right, feel good, and work accurately. Their motivation to continue development is recognition, both verbal/written and financial.

 Some shareware authors get a little over-zealous in their pricing, and that works against them. No matter how much time is put into a product, very few people are going to pay $40 for a shareware product that they can buy commercially (with all the glitzy packaging and name-brand backing) for about the same price.

 Some shareware authors form and join associations. They then use their association logo to "validate" their product. Unfortunately, that really doesn't assure the product is bug-free, or even usable. All it assures is that the situation will be addressed. It tends to increase the price of this software to offset the association membership dues. These were prevalent in the 80’s. I don’t know how many of these exist today.

 I sell programs that I write for my own personal use. If and when I feel that a product would be usable by the general public, I clean and tighten it up,  customize and tailor it as necessary, document it, and THEN release it as shareware. This way, it has been tested under REAL conditions and used in real life situations.

 I know I am not going to get rich doing this kind of thing, but I feel that if I produce and share REALLY usable software, at low, realistic prices, then I can at least cut my development expenses. 

What types of shareware are there?

It’s the American way of life to shop for the best deals, and to try to get the lowest prices on products. Why pay for something when you can get it for free? Well as long as you don’t do anything illegal or immoral, that’s a valid question.

 Since day 1, shareware authors have tried to think of ways to compel people to pay for the shareware they use. They have tried many different tactics, some of which have bordered on pure paranoia. These are outlined here.

 Crippleware

This is software that has one or more major functions disabled. When you pay for the software, the author will either send you a non-crippled version, or provide you with a key to unlock the disabled functions. The disadvantage to this method is that the user does not get a chance to test ALL of the program functions (namely, the ones that are available only in the registered version). I generally don’t give crippleware a second glance.

Nagware

This is software that gently reminds the user that they are using the shareware version. They may display subliminal messages on their screens, or periodically post messages during execution of the program. These reminders can range from gentle to demanding: “You have used this program for 23 days past the evaluation period”. 

One category of nagware is guiltware:

·        “Your mother would be proud of you if she knew you actually paid for this software instead of using it beyond the evaluation period, without paying for it”, or

·        “please register this software so I can feed my kids”.

·        “I put in a lot of time, so please pay me”

 I believe the majority of shareware falls into this category.

 Timeware

This is software that is timed. It will simply cease to function after a certain number of days (usually 30) after you install the software on your system. Uninstalling and reinstalling the software does not work, because the uninstall does not remove the record of when the software was initally installed, from your system.

There are two disadvantages that I see to this. One is that you may install the software today, and you don’t get a chance to try it out for three weeks. That means you have only one week left. That may not be enough time.

The second disadvantage is that if the date on your system is changed (by you or inadvertently), and then it is corrected, the software will think that you are trying to use it by back-dating the system, and it will fail to function.

Others

Some programs use a combination of all of the above. For example, if you don’t pay for the program within a certain evaluation period, it will nag you more frequently.

Some software vendors promise users unlimited technical support or a lifetime of license upgrades in exchange for their registration.

I don’t have a good answer to this particular situation, but I do encourage users to register their shareware. I try to minimize the interruption of a user’s enjoyment of my software while at the same time, I really do expect a user to register the software if he continues to use it.

These are my own opinions, and I welcome comments, rebuttals, and suggestions.

David Grund Sr.
February 19, 2001