Helping People Who Cannot Afford Your Software
Today a discussion in the ASP Newsgroups started about potential users who feel it may be ok to steal software if they can not afford it. Unfortunantly, not everyone is able to have the opportunity to purchase your software, and thats normal for any product. The problem is that because software is so easy to steal, customers don’t really understand the consequences of their actions. Its not as if these same people would rob a Sony store for a 50 inch plasma TV just because they want it but cant afford it.
For the users like this who can not afford to buy your software, surely they must understand the risks of downloading illegal cracks with the potential of viruses or spyware. Even more so, they may be willing to donate some money, but without any push, they quickly forget.
An obvious reaction would be to try and do everything you can to prevent these users from being able to steal your software. Using dongles, online validation, multiple registration checks etc… are a few ways developers can fight this problem. However, do we really want to put ourselves in the same situation as the Music Industry put themselves?
I believe we can turn these users into our beta testers and get their valuable feedback. In return, these users will get substantial discounts or free copies of their favorite products. These users are not thieves or pirates. They are everyday people who do not have the means to pay for your software for whatever reason. What if we could say to them “Try our software, tell us what you think, and we’ll give you a free version with no viruses or spyware”? This would provide a win-win situation for both software developers and software users.