Dear Mr. Dickson,
Today I was sickened to see exerpts from what was purported to be a
message prepared by "Simtel Net" and sent to the people who wrote the
software currently stored on "Simtel" servers.
That message seemed to imply that henceforth any and all files uploaded
to Simtel would be tracked, and the software author billed for any and
all downloads of his/her software.
Let me point out a few things:
No one who writes freeware is going to PAY to make it available to the
public.
No one who writes shareware is going to PAY to make it available to the
public.
No one is going to pay anything to anyone for any public domain software
that currently resides on "Simtel" servers.
If this "plan" for using ftp.cdrom.com as broadband [immaterial if
person connecting isn't broadband] source of "Simtel" software is real,
I hope you are prepared to lose your entire investment in acquiring the
Domain and setting it up. Not only that, I hope you are prepared to see
any and all companies and domains associated with "Simtel Net" or
"CDROM.com" lose all respect [meaning all business/income] within the
internet & software development community.
Someone somewhere in your organization had a "bright idea" that isn't
going to fly; thank goodness there are enough mirror sites out there
still that can simply be renamed and turned into another archive
resource for developers and end users. "Simtel Net" doesn't own the
software, nor does it own ANY *rights* to the software, so "Simtel Net"
cannot do a damn thing legally nor practically to stop the creation of a
replacement for the "Simtel Net" your group has effectively destroyed
with its latest money grubbing ideas. You can damn well bet that
Association of Shareware Professionals will NOT want to participate in
your plan to fleece them in advance of any actual sales.
I know this guy over at ZDNet who absolutely LOVES to expose idiots,
fools, and rip-offs. I think I'll forward to him what I received, and
ask that he consider doing a bit of research and publishing what he
finds out.
You better check your "Golden Parachute" ... you may be needing it far
sooner than you could imagine.
Most sincerely,
l.d.
L.D. Best
Ohio
-- Arachne V1.70;rev.3, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
