Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
cranioscopical:
Busted! ;D
Target:
Busted! ;D
-cranioscopical (February 14, 2011, 10:56 PM)
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<sigh> I've told you and told you, I just don't see the the pornt....
Renegade:
Was someone asking about skinning the Internet again? :huh:
vlastimil:
I have been thinking about what was said about transparency for a while and here is a summary:
Freeware works like this:
user arrives on a web page -> they read the headlines, look at images -> they decide that the software may solve their problem -> they download the tool -> they use the tool -> they are amazed -> they keep using it and being amazed long enough -> they donate
What would be the right place to be clear about the intent (free licensing)? I do not know. At which point do the people care about it and giving that info would increase the number of people that reach the last step? I still do not know. Each of the -> is a breaking point, some users may leave. Substituting a headline that explains benefits of the software by a headline that says something complicated about licensing may turn down some people. We need a real world experiment and someone with scientific genes to perform it and interpret the results. What we have now are just speculations and singular examples.
Looking at my web pages, I actually am open about the licensing, but it is not emphasized. I guess it is fine this way, but who knows for sure...
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BTW, there is also an alternative way to receive donation - it happened to me at least twice:
someone with authority recommends a tool to a computer newbie -> they download it -> they try to use it and fail -> the GUI only has 3 buttons and one of them is 'Donate' -> out of desperation they donate -> they write an email to the author stating the software still doesn't work although they donated -> author explains they should really read what is written in the help
Renegade:
BTW, there is also an alternative way to receive donation - it happened to me at least twice:
someone with authority recommends a tool to a computer newbie -> they download it -> they try to use it and fail -> the GUI only has 3 buttons and one of them is 'Donate' -> out of desperation they donate -> they write an email to the author stating the software still doesn't work although they donated -> author explains they should really read what is written in the help
-vlastimil (February 15, 2011, 04:04 AM)
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Hahahahaha~! I love it~! That's hilarious! :D :Thmbsup:
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