CompuServe Messages

WAYNE!!! Obviously you have gotten in late on this discussion or you are in need of a serious attitude adjustment. Hopefully it's the former not the latter <g>. This is a spirited thread and I think you sucessfully got my goat by implying that I am a thief, so excuse me while I break out the torch. I DO NOT nor have I EVER implied that it's ok to steal software. I have been stating a case for Newtek to do SITE LICENSING!!! Go back and read my previous postings and I think you will begin to understand why I FLAME ON when somebody thinks I am promoting piracy. I PLAY BY THE RULES!! I OWN TWO REGISTERED VERSIONS OF LIGHTWAVE ON TWO SEPERATE TOASTER SYSTEMS!!!!! That doesn't mean that I can't see the value of the site licensing concept. I would like you to consider putting aside your guilt trip for just a wee moment and open up your mind to some important logic Perhaps others (perhaps not you specifically) should stop living in a fantasy world where they honestly think everyone OBEYS the license agreement simply because it's printed on the envelope that the software comes in. Even though I do, as well as many others who use their software in professional applications, it's not too much of a stretch to see that Newtek is missing out on some very important income oppourtunities when it's more affordable to pirate (ala LightRave) than it is to register. Not to mention the overall BAD PR it promotes to take a punitive approach to this situation, when it would be so much easier (and more profitable) to learn the lessons that other more mature software companies have. When you site license, you defeat over 90% of casual piracy (the majority source of lost sales). Those people who are bent on not paying for something for whatever reason will ALWAYS find a way to steal. Direct your punitive actions toward those that are truly dishonest. The people who are buying LightRave are people who have demonstrated the ability and the DESIRE to PAY FOR PRODUCT! That's as strong an incentive for the site license concept if there ever was one. Beyond the initial cost of product development, there are horrendous costs associated with support of your existing your customer base. Site licenses make a lot of financial sense. for the following reasons; For Newtek to issue site licenses for multiple non-Toaster Amigas where there is at least one Toaster installed unit, there would be very little if any marketing costs (which accounts for at least 30% of their product expenses). Zero expense for documentation. Minimal technical support for ongoing customers who have already passed the learing curve. Immediate cash flow from willing and eager customers who already own and like your product. And as a nice side benefit, it diffuses the illegal infringement on their intellectual property by undercutting companies like Warm & Fuzzy that have obviously seen a hole in the marketplace and seek to fill it. It also does little to inhibit new sales of Toasters, on the contrary ; It promotes the perception to the professional user that they are dealing with a sucessful ongoing concern that is in step with the majority of sofytware companies that they deal with all the time. NOT A PETTY, ANAL RETENTIVE ALAGARCHY! So all I ask at this point is WHERE'S THE DOWNSIDE FOR NEWTEK IN SITE LICENSING? In short Wayne.. I am NOT trying to rationalize software piracy. I am putting forth a suggestion for a reasonable approach to a serious situation that needs to be addressed. Forgive me for saying, but your comments to Rick, Jerry, and myself are akin to the head-in-the-sand ostrich attitudes that sunk more than a few technology companies that failed to use the same innovation in their management policies that was used in developing their products. I appreciate your chiming [continued in the reply]