shareware, not donationware - Joe_Pagliaro

Hi,

I am not tryng to be dishonest or misleading. If you visit the page referenced above, namely the "utilities" page that contains AddMovie, you'll see that your "donation" unlocks all the programs there (some of which do not have a demo period like AddMovie.)

Originally it was a donation in the sense you are accustomed to, i.e. I accepted payments in any amount. But after a while it became obvious that allowing users to pay what they want often resulted in payments of silly amounts like 1 cent. Therefore I decided to implement a mechanism that, yes, forced a payment of a mimimum amount, which is currently $10.

I'm not writing software to give it away because I need to make money, like you probably do. It takes money to produce the software I write, because it takes a lot of time.

Perhaps one day I'll just charge a flat fee for the whole bundle, and call it a price :-) In the meantime I am busy working on my programs, the current ones you see now, and the future ones you'll see "tomorrow." I hope this clarifies the issue.

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Friday, June 15 2007 @ 07:36 PM PDT

shareware, not donationware - schip

Joe Pagliaro, I find timgavin to be in the right. You are changing the generally accepted meaning of the word "donationware". It's as if I invited you to my place for a free cup of coffee but then prevented you from leaving my house before you gave me a dollar or something. You'd be a prisoner.

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Friday, June 15 2007 @ 11:19 PM PDT

shareware, not donationware - Joe_Pagliaro

Yeah, but the difference is that I am not forcing you to buy the software, or make a donation. It's really just "try before you buy."

Have you visited my utilities page? In my opinion the miniumum amount of $10 to unlock all that software, and what's coming, is a good deal as long as some of them are useful to you. I don't charge upgrade fees on anything.

You guys aren't the first to complain about the issue. On the other hand there have been plenty of people who have "donated" to date, and some even donate more that $10!

I'll probably eventually offer the bundle at one price, and then each item at an individual price. I just don't have time now to change the policy because I have new stuff I am trying to complete, as well as maintain everything else.

My priority is the software, not the matter of semantics with the word "donate." It seems to me, in its true form, one donates and expects nothing in return. Ha ha. And it's simple, so the complaints are ironic.

But, thanks for the feedback with the ongoing issue, I guess :-) In the future I would hope to see more comments on the product(s) rather than what I call the fee to use it indefinitely, especially since I am so open to suggestions and advice on any of my products.

Bye.

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Saturday, June 16 2007 @ 12:24 AM PDT

shareware, not donationware - schip

I guess all of us are partly right. But check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donationware
for what I think is the generally accepted definition of donationware.
The software should not lock up after a number of uses; if it does it's not donationware. On the other hand, it seems it's reasonable to expect a donation if the user is satisfied. And with that, I say "over and out". Cheers to all.

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Saturday, June 16 2007 @ 02:26 AM PDT

shareware, not donationware - smhill

Just to echo what the others said, it is shareware not donationware. Simply you have incorrectly labeled you product. You can try to explain or justify your choice of terms, but quite simply those terms already have definitions.

Now, it may not seem like a big deal to you, but the problem is trust. From your responses, it seems like you have the best intentions. But when I downloaded to try, and found a 'donationware' app that locked after a certain time, it seem shady and dishonest. Whether or not that is the intention, that is how it appears.

If someone is being dishonest in the labeling of their product like that, I am not inclined to even try the product (could be malware or spyware), let alone give you any money.

Luckily these comments exist and I was able to find out more. So I did give the product a try. Unfortunately it doesn't suit my needs. But if it did, a $10 shareware price is perfectly acceptable. Had these comments and your responses not been here, I wouldn't have even tried it fearing a disreputable developer.

So, I am not argue your points. Just offering advice. If you want people to purchase your products, instill them with trust. Label your products license correctly.

Best of luck.

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Saturday, July 14 2007 @ 04:27 PM PDT

shareware, not donationware - Sophya

I agree with the other posters here. This piece of software is clearly mislabeled. It does NOT fall within the meaning of donationware, as generally accepted by most software users. Despite the developer's claims and justifications, it is a restricted piece of shareware, and nothing less.

I have taken up this very same issue with a few other developers on the VersionTracker website as well. We, the end users, are not stupid. We know when we are being taken for a ride. If software is shareware, then state it plainly, and stop trying to play these mind games and word games with us. By doing so, you are only hurting yourself, and your reputation; and in the end, no one will trust you, or purchase your software.

A word to the wise.

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Wednesday, September 26 2007 @ 02:25 PM PDT