PureBasic Forums - English

I am really concerned about the moral implications of closed source software. This has been bothering me for a while, after I found out about Sony's Rootkit scandal and various other stuff. Evil EULA's. I got Microsoft's "Free" Visual C++ compiler last year. In the EULA it effectively says that it can send any information it wants back to Microsoft! Also Microsoft keep spamming me now, and want me to register the program again to use it whilst logged in as a non-admin.

But I'm also concerned about making money. So this led me to think, IF I ever create a saleable program, could I open source it but ask for a donation if the user finds the program useful? Sort of Open-Source shareware. Would anyone bother to donate? I mean, shareware does alright, I'm fairly sure Winzip did alright, despite the fact that it used to continue to work after the trial period was up.

The problem I can forsee is that someone might make a derived version of my program which is better, and sell that. Actually that's quite likely as I'm not the best programmer in the world. But I could include in the agreement that I always get paid even for derived versions. But would people really pay two people for one software?

I know some people give away software but sell the support or online services. However, my most recent software is an asteroids game written in Blitz BASIC. What kind of support can you give for a space shooter? You can't. It either works or it doesn't!

What do people think? Has anyone tried this? I'd love to make it work.

The answer to that is simple: You charge a premium for the source code.

Lets face it, most people aren't going to "go under the hood" to change things. As long as it works, they aren't going to worry.

However, if they need to add stuff and tinker with it, then you can give them the option by paying a premium for the source code.

> I am really concerned about the moral implications of closed source software

All software is as moral as its authors. I've seen open-source software that
spams its users and steals their money. Closed-source is not an evil thing.

Foz wrote:The answer to that is simple: You charge a premium for the source code.

That's an interesting idea I hadn't thought of. It still seems kinda like dominating people though...

PB wrote: All software is as moral as its authors. I've seen open-source software that
spams its users and steals their money. Closed-source is not an evil thing.

Can you give examples?

I don't think closed source is evil. I just think it's conducive to evil...

and the love of money is the root of all evil, so spread your software for free...

> Can you give examples?

"Shareaza" is one. But let me clarify: the official Shareaza is open-source, but
someone took the code and re-released it after stealing www.shareaza.com,
and now they try to force the users to pay for it. Many do, not realising that
it's actually 100% free software.

The actual official homepage of Shareaza is http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/
and details of the hostile takeover can be read both there and here:
http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/shareaza.com

and the love of money is the root of all evil, so spread your software for free...

That's all very well, but I have this image of myself in 5 years, homeless, thinking "****, I wish I'd made people pay for my software..."

PB, thanks, that is interesting reading. I never knew open source got exploited like this. But, I doubt you'd find anything like that in the Ubuntu repositories... would you?

ermn... that was somewhere in the triangle irony/sarcasm/cynicism

Kaeru Gaman wrote:ermn... that was somewhere in the triangle irony/sarcasm/cynicism

Oh LOL, I thought you were just some devout Christian or something...

veganisafreak wrote:I thought you were just some devout Christian or something...

LOL.. not at all.. I'm an emancipated Taoist...

Kaeru Gaman wrote:

veganisafreak wrote:I thought you were just some devout Christian or something...

LOL.. not at all.. I'm an emancipated Taoist...

I would start eagerly discussing your emancipated Taoism (which must be very fun for you) but the forum rules lol

I give away my Restaurant POS software for free.

Actually the Credit Card company gives me a portion of the charges passed through them, so there is potential for money... but only in the USA and Canada...

And though it has been downloaded over 4000 times so far since March... I only have two real customers that pay off... but it grows...

I have 120 customers that exist outside of US and Canada. Belgium and South Africa keep sending in fake registrations!

I have been considering charging people exo US and Canada a pittance for the software as well as the general pittance for the maintenance each year. We will see how fast the money rolls in when we update the software but not for non registered users (people NOT on maintenance plan!) I don't think it will make a difference.

But if I wrote a game, I would find a way to charge. That opens the whole HACK versions thing. You will probably sell 1-2 games in most countries and then ... even if the game costs $2.00 you won't sell any more...

As for my free software, the idiots on SA and Belgium keep sending in fake registrations with weird email addresses... either they are trying to decode my register$ (almost impossible because a Z in the first character will not be equal to a Z in the second character etc.) or just clicking because they don't realize that will not make the annoying popup go away.

Oh well...

veganisafreak wrote:I am really concerned about the moral implications of closed source software. This has been bothering me for a while, after I found out about Sony's Rootkit scandal and various other stuff.

Welcome to planet Earth, not sure where you're from but it sounds great!

It's hardly uncommon for large corporations to make poor decisions on designs. It could be a cost cut on a filter for a heater that ends up causing people to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Having the all the plans for everything available to everyone isn't necessarily the answer.

My point is this, I wouldn't read the entire technical design spec for my TV to find out if it called home using it's new digital connection. It might have a little camera built in and spies on me too but packaging the design spec of that wouldn't help me as I don't read it. Likewise, most of your users probably won't want a copy of the source code, nor care whether it's offered. They may care more about whether you are a real company that will take responsibility for any wrong doings that are discovered, and not just a backyard job from Mother Russia (no offence intended to real Russian software companies)

In your case, you are a software developer buying software. A TV designer buying a TV might want the specs of a TV to be public too. Your customers might have other things on their minds.

This doesn't keep me up at night

Your TV has a camera in it too??? Se I know they can see me! Thats why I don't sit naked in front of the TV anymore... I am shy!

Not even when Olivia Munn is on!!!

veganisafreak wrote:I am really concerned about the moral implications of closed source software.

What????

Why the people that work coding software should be different that any other kind of job?

I dont see any moral implication in receiving some payment for the hard job in software, or in the dentist, etc.

Forget about making monet with donations. This is just like any other business.