Morgan Bonar wrote:
>
> once again, kerry's wisdom shines thru.
> it is my mistake for not clarify that the source code was not promised to
> the client (actually, our contracts state this, albeit in fine print). it
> just happens fairly frequently that the client requests the source (usually
> the day before delivery!), and i do accomodate them as much as possible, but
> giving source code for free is tough to swallow.
>
> so, i guess a better question would be, do you feel that the "spirit" of
> delivering a project includes the source code??
No, I don't think so. Very often, a source code is much more than the
hours paid for it. And very rarely really every hour has been paid for,
letting aside the thousands of hours one spends learning. So I think
that if the source code is wanted by the customer, this should be stated
in the agreement and be paid for extra.
I consider my work as somehow "creative" and I think, the comparison
with a designer or a photographer ist not so wrong after all. When I
ordered the logo for my very first company, I paid 800,- DM for the logo
and 2400,- DM for publishing rights level 3 (international).
Maybe Al and Kerry are in the lucky position of having reliable and fair
customers and to a certain extent this is definitely a result of their
customer-friendly-behaviour, but I have had other customers too.
Customers who ripped me off, work that has been increased in the
process, but never been paid for and so on.
I have learned one thing: make a very detailled and intelligent
contract, then questions like this one will not arise at all.
On the other hand, I don't know how complex your code is, but it is
usually quite difficult to "read" a large code anyway. If you want to
make it more difficult, leave away the comments and use the "Find and
replace" dialogue to make variables sound very similar like aa, aaa,
aaaa or ahghagftgquag and so on.
regards, Florian
>
> > There's a pretty simple solution for that. You can put the source code in
> > escrow with a third party if the client's main concern is your
> > being hit by
> > a truck.
> >
> > I'm afraid I'm with Al on this, though. I was trying to think of a way to
> > phrase it diplomatically, but Al expressed my reservations well.
> >
> > I like to think through the ethics of something like this. I don't know
> > your particular situation, so I can't criticize your approach.
> > You'll have
> > to come to your own decisions.
> >
> > In general, though, when I negotiate a contract, if the client wants the
> > source code, they get it--for a price. In any event, my own
> > personal ethics
> > would balk at providing the customer with anything less than I agreed to,
> > both in the letter and the spirit.
> >
> > That fits in with your photography metaphor, too. If the contract
> > calls for
> > you to deliver the negative, I wouldn't scratch it up before delivery.
> >
> > In the long run, it does help to keep relations with customers on a
> > positive note, and ends up making me more money in repeat business.
>
> [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to
> http://www.penworks.com/LUJ/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list,
> email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED])
> Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
[To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to
http://www.penworks.com/LUJ/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list,
email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
