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Adware is not freeware, right?

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TaoPhoenix:
(Mirroring Mouser's Post)

I'm afraid it's even worse than you are describing.  :(

It's not just that ad supported software is becoming the accepted synonym with "free", now we have Cloud-As-A-Licensed-Service (With Ads!!) becoming the accepted synonym for "software". Now if you don't authorize every byte you download or you are a day late on your payment you lose your license.

(See Microsoft's experimentation with "remote kills" on your Windows 8 Metro Apps.)

Renegade:
Adware is not freeware. Someone is paying for it, just like someone is paying for shareware...it's just not the end user that is doing the paying.

If you are ok with someone else paying for your software and having to see the credit they get for doing so (that's all an ad is) then there is nothing wrong with it, as long as the developer is up front about it so that you can make an informed decision. If you are going to be the product, with your info sold to someone else, you should know about that in advance, as well.
-app103 (December 23, 2011, 08:55 AM)
--- End quote ---

app! That's what I've been trying to say for a long time!

Let people know. Be honest. Don't hide things.

I just hate the old world connotations where the douches that used to serve ads never told anyone. That's then. This is now. I think we need to re-evaluate things.

mouser:
Adware is not freeware. Someone is paying for it, just like someone is paying for shareware...it's just not the end user that is doing the paying.
--- End quote ---

I think the important concept that we are only beginning to come to terms with is that there are significant implications when "someone else pays" for your software.

Remember the illustration that zaine posted:


From my standpoint, the problem with ad-supported software model is not that users see ads, it's that software is no longer designed to please users -- it's designed to deliver ads.  And there is a difference.  We had a similar debate regarding printers and ink cartridges.  I just think the more convoluted the chain of processes that are involved in making money, the more f*cked up it is for our mental health.

cyberdiva:
I just had an experience that I think is somewhat relevant to this discussion.  On another forum, I posted a message about a podcast that I had found useful.  I provided a link to the podcast; I didn't make the word "podcast" a live link but instead wrote out the URL and made it a live link.  Later, someone quoted my message and thanked me.  I noticed that in his quoting, the word "podcast" was a link, not to the podcast but to itunes.apple.com.  Then I saw that in my original message "podcast" was also a link.  I was perplexed, and I sent a message to the forum explaining that I had not made that link.  Sure enough, my message explaining this contained even more links to itunes.apple.com.  I put my cursor over one of the links, and it said "Link added by VigLink."  Apparently VigLink is a company that places these links in people's messages whether or not they want them.  The top hit to VigLink in Google said "Your links can be doing more. Unlock the power of your site's links and earn extra money from your site automatically, transparently and honestly."  Transparently?  Honestly???   I wrote to one of the forum's moderators, but I doubt that it's the forum that is making $$, and I also doubt that they'll be willing to move to a different host.

Is this adding of links to stuff that people write without their permission widespread?  I confess that I had never encountered it before, and I strongly object to it.  

vlastimil:
I have seen these automatically added links on many web sites, it has been here for years. But it is nice to see that people are noticing it.

The forum owner is most likely getting cut of the profit from VigLink or another link-broker company. If it is some kind of free forum (running on a sub-domain), the moderator is most likely not the owner though.

BTW are you sure you did not give your permission when agreeing to the forum TOS?

The "free" word is so empty these days. I never use it on my web. Despite that, I got an funny email from an angry user few days ago, because I did not warn him that some of my software was not free.  :-\

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