1. Selling sizzle
- Posted by George Henry <ghenryca at HOTMAIL.COM>
Nov 24, 2000
-
Last edited Nov 25, 2000
>From: =A9koda <tone.skoda at SIOL.NET>
>My code is for a particular purpose.
I understand. But EULA disclaimers typically say that the code one has
purchased or elected to use is not *warranted* to be fit for any particul=
ar
purpose -- use it at your own risk, etc.
If you are willing to state that your code WILL (unequivocally) do a
particular thing satisfactorily, you are willing to stick your neck out
farther than most software developers, and probably farther than your law=
yer
would recommend....
I was not impugning your code. It's probably very good code.
I suppose the point of my message was that it's hard to strike a balance
between expressing the feeling, which hopefully we have as authors, that =
our
code is good and worthy, and yet not overcommitting ourselves to the
production of *perfection* in any sense.
And I have seen a lot of programmers being overly apologetic lately. When
someone tells me about all the imperfections of their code -- unless they=
do
so very explicitly and dispassionately, as in a list of known bugs and
issues that conceivably could have been addressed but weren't, for whatev=
er
reason -- it makes me feel, "Well, if even you the author don't think any
more highly of it than that, why should I take the risk of running it on =
my
computer, when it sounds like the least damage it's likely to do is waste=
my
time, relative to other stuff I'd probably rather be doing?"
Sell the sizzle. I know it's hard to do, and believe me if I had to make =
a
living selling, I would starve (been there, done that), but you gotta mak=
e
people WANT to sample your wares. Make us FEEL as if you have promised us
the world, when you have actually promised us nothing - or something like
that. 8^)
Best regards,
George Henry
Computers save time the way kudzu prevents soil erosion. -- Al Castanoli
_________________________________________________________________________=
____________
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.=
com
2. Re: Selling sizzle
- Posted by Ray & Debbie Smith <smithr at IX.NET.AU>
Nov 25, 2000
-
Last edited Nov 26, 2000
Hi George,
> I understand. But EULA disclaimers typically say that the code one has
> purchased or elected to use is not *warranted* to be fit for any
particular
> purpose -- use it at your own risk, etc.
As EULA go, a simple "I'm not responsible for anything" sentence is all
that is required. Even this I think means very little legally ... but is
always good to say ... so the person using your software is aware of the
conditions. The only other option is go to a lawyer and pay him/her
thousands of dollars to write an essay meaning the same thing ... and is
probably just as legally useless.
> Sell the sizzle. I know it's hard to do, and believe me if I had to make a
> living selling, I would starve (been there, done that), but you gotta make
> people WANT to sample your wares. Make us FEEL as if you have promised us
> the world, when you have actually promised us nothing - or something like
> that. 8^)
My personal preference is for people to be as honest as possible about
what they have to offer. I don't want people to tell me about the shiny
lights
only to discover it's all show and no go.
I beleive the Euphoria community is more based around a bunch of people
with a passion for programming. I don't really think anyone is using
Euphoria to get rich or become famous!!!!
With regard to releasing software:
It's always a major high to write something that impresses someone else,
and I'd be pretty sure most people could do much more testing and
documenting before putting there code on a web page or sending it
off to RDS. But the simple fact is ... it isn't a business and when you
write code for fun you aren't going to do days/weeks of testing.
Obviosuly if someone consistently releases bad software people will
stop downloading it and wasting there time so the pressure is still there
to write quality software.
I imagine alot of the software people discuss on the list is beta/test
quality programs anyway ... to try out new ideas, and see if they
work in different conditions. Don't expect to only hear about about fully
tested release quality software on the Euphoria list.
Saying all that everyone should do as much as possible themselves before
dumping anything onto other people. I have a half dozen half written
projects that I won't release because they just aren't finished ... and
probably
not likely to be finished anytime soon.
Ray Smith
