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Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#91

Post by abcd_f »

charlesdm wrote: post #85
huhtenberg wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put it bluntly and I mean no offense whatsoever - you come across as completely nuts trying to charge 10 EUR for a damn color scheme . That's basically what 200K people think when dismissing your nag.

The fact that 200k people have downloaded it means it has value. I'm actually more surprised 200k people have downloaded a custom colour scheme. But since they have, I don't think 10 EUR is excessive to charge for something like that.

They downloaded it because it was free.

Its value is in the fact that it's free.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#92

Post by monokai_nl »

huhtenberg wrote: post #87
monokai_nl wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a color scheme, user interface theme and icon set in one. Why do you think it's nuts to charge €10 for that? Do you think it should be free?

Rationally it makes some sense, but irrationally - charging money for such triviality as a choice of colors is ridiculous. I can see buying _icons_ being a bit more justified, because it implies at least some amount of non-trivial work on your end, but I don't really know anyone willing to pay for better code editor icons. Also the fact that you offering to buy a "license" is off-putting, again considering the contex…

I understand charging for a code editor theme is not common practice. However, I don't see much difference between the work that goes into designing and developing a simple (Wordpress) web theme and a code editor theme. In the end a web theme is also a set of RGB values and other styling settings. And charging for that is acceptable.

I think it depends on what you think is trivial and what is not. I think designing a coherent theme is not trivial.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#93

Post by delroth »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #67
john_moscow wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one big catch there - once you reach a "fair" income level, many people will think that you are already getting enough and won't bother to sponsor you. Look at the statistics [0]: unless you are in the top 100 creators, you'll get far less than your regular FAANG pay. [0]: https://graphtreon.com/patreon-creators

Looking at that list it seems to be all podcasts and porn, no developers.

https://www.patreon.com/seriallos (number 17) is software. So is https://www.patreon.com/RaiderIO (number 99).

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#94

Post by eps »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #78
TAForObvReasons wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that the tool is being used in a business setting, but the phrase "free for personal use, contact me for a commercial license" does not obligate the users to obtain a different license. They are likely not selling the tool or distributing it, but merely using it. If you really want a legal way to get companies to pay, phrase it as "free for non-commercial use" and include that in the public documentati…

> Non-commercial includes the indirect commercial cases that would apply to the tool. // AIUI that is wrong in USA and UK (don't know about other countries). At least if using the "non-commercial" definition used in IP law. For example, you create an advert for free for an event that charges money, that's commercial. You give stuff away that impacts someone else's ability to sell, that's commercial. You do a free eve…

WTH is AIUI pls?

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#95

Post by jolmg »

IloveHN84 wrote: post #36
jolmg wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I didn't know Patreon published info on what creators are earning. Wouldn't that be a design flaw? What's the benefit to anybody? It seems to only deter potential sponsors.

Design flaw? No, I think it's called "transparency"

"Transparency" is a pretty word, and I like transparency in a lot of things, but not in everything, and I don't think it's good here. I've given my reasons in another comment close to this one:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18468332

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#96

Post by aasasd »

darkr wrote: post #90
aasasd wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Carmacks had themselves each a Ferrari before they put out Doom. “Commander Keen” bought those Ferraris. Though I'm sure it was always a game of chance like everywhere in business.

You mean both Johns? (Carmack & Romero)

Well, I had Adrian Carmack and John Carmack in mind, but frankly I don't really recall who it was, just that there were two of them.

Wikipedia mentions that “by mid-1994 John Carmack had purchased two Ferrari Testarossas,” so it's possible he was both of the guys. But I'm sure others did well too.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#97

Post by tincholio »

darkr wrote: post #90
aasasd wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Carmacks had themselves each a Ferrari before they put out Doom. “Commander Keen” bought those Ferraris. Though I'm sure it was always a game of chance like everywhere in business.

You mean both Johns? (Carmack & Romero)

He probably meant John and Adrian... both Carmacks and founders if ID

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#98

Post by imhoguy »

huhtenberg wrote: post #87
monokai_nl wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a color scheme, user interface theme and icon set in one. Why do you think it's nuts to charge €10 for that? Do you think it should be free?

Rationally it makes some sense, but irrationally - charging money for such triviality as a choice of colors is ridiculous. I can see buying _icons_ being a bit more justified, because it implies at least some amount of non-trivial work on your end, but I don't really know anyone willing to pay for better code editor icons. Also the fact that you offering to buy a "license" is off-putting, again considering the contex…

Off-putting? You should check PANTONE and their licensing business. Anyway it's all about mixing electromagnetic waves.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#99

Post by anoncake »

jolmg wrote: post #89
anoncake wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So people can avoid sponsoring creators that already have a fair income level.

Like john_moscow has pointed out, though, that deters people from becoming Patreon creators. It's very normal for people to underestimate the difficulty of what others do or the real worth of their work. Besides that, supporting someone economically in a capitalist environment is giving them your vote for them to continue doing what they're doing. Not voting for them, when you otherwise would, solely because you can…

What deters people from becoming Patreon creators is not being supported. I certainly would never voluntarily support someone if I for all I know they could already be grossly overpaid for what they do.

If supporting someone with X€ is any kind of "vote", it's a vote that they should get X€ more than they currently get for their work. It may be hard to make an educated decision about that, but it's impossible without knowing a creator's current income level to begin with.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#100

Post by rusk »

jabl wrote: post #86
rusk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

.. and knowing at the end of it that we paid 3x the market price to get it from our 'Preferred Supplier’ Very clear what’s going on there once you get to the end. Somebody’s got themselves a nice cash cow sewn up.

Doesn't need to be a conspiracy, where somebody is getting rich at the company's expense. At work we have something similar, where every few years the IT department tenders the 'preferred supplier' for general IT stuff. The logic is basically that by promising the vendors exclusivity, they will bid lower. So yes, sometimes that means we'll pay 3x for a keyboard compared to the price we'd pay at the local discount com…

I wouldn't say it's a conspiracy so much as "how business is done"
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