i love it reading stuff like that! and so nice when someone finds a program useful.
ok let me explain the new license key idea we are trying.
basically our intention is to keep the software freeware but encourage people to donate (we have learned that without active encouragement no one does).
so basically it works like this, if you make a donation to the site of any amount (even of 1 dollar), you get a single universal license key for all our apps that never expire.
if you don't want to donate, or aren't ready to, that's ok too. to get a key in that case, you sign up at the forum, which you already have, and then visit the license key page here:
https://www.donationcoder.com/Keys/as a non-donating member you then select which app you want a key for and it will generate one for you on that page, based on your forum login name. You then paste that into the program's about box.
the freeware license key's currently last 180 days from generation, after which you must visit that Keys page again to download a new one (or download a new one whenever you want, there is no limit).
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i should say two things, first this freeware license key thing is new for us, and we are open to adjusting it based on feedback - we want to encourage people to donate but not punish people for not donating. So youll see on that page it says that if you have decided not to donate, just email me and tell me why and i will give you full license.
we may also remove the 180 day expiration on freeware keys if it proves too painful for people.
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in summary - we want our programs to operate as freeware, with no nags and no limit to usage. we are currently experimenting with the idea of freeware license keys that last for 180 days (6 months) as a way of periodically having users come back and visit the site and to get them to consider making a donation.
i look forward to any feedback you might have.
and i'd love to hear any suggestions you might have for it.
by the way, it's designed for commandline use as well, and we have a beta version of a plugin for thebat that makes it super easy to generate replies from within the bat, if you're interested.
ps2.
i have made you an honorary member of the site, in recognition of your website dedicated to freeware
