[REBOL] Re: free REBOL?
From: greggirwin:mindspring at: 1-Aug-2003 12:26
Hi Mike,
mcn> Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to provoke any ire here. I was just wondering
mcn> about it.
No problem. This comes up from time to time and people have strong
feelings on both sides. Please don't hesitate to express your opinions
here. Even the heated discussions never get *too* hot :) and, as I
said, it's good for RT to know how we all feel.
You're not alone in your thinking on this, though I'm with Max and
Elan myself. We all have different backgrounds and viewpoints. What we
have in common is that we all like REBOL and want it to succeed.
mcn> I was under the impression that a percentage of the profits from selling a
mcn> commerical application written in rebol and encapped go back to RT. I thought I
mcn> read somewhere, but I could be misinformed.
That's correct. I'm not a big fan of royalties myself, but REBOL is so
insanely great (IMHO) that I--even with my background, where it would
have been a deal-breaker--will not begrudge them one red cent.
For someone like a shareware author, or small-time vendor, the royalty
system can work better than paying a large sum up front, whether you
end up selling any product or not. This way, you pay less, and if you
end up making lots of money, you might just raise your price a little
to cover the royalty (if you want).
For some folks, the principle is still a deal breaker. Even a .1%
royalty wouldn't work for them, and that's OK. For me, I'm OK with it,
and if I had an issue, I'd talk to RT to see what I could work out
with them.
mcn> Anyway, sorry if that was a sensitive topic. I wasn't harping on RT or REBOL,
mcn> and I don't intend to suggest RT has no right to make money. I think it comes
mcn> down to how much of their profits are tied to selling View/Pro versus how many
mcn> more developers they might potentially get if it were free. I don't know that
mcn> answer, that's why I wrote my original email.
Again, we all want the same thing in the end, and RT *is* opening up
more and more features in the free versions. It's all a balancing act
and, even though my view is different than yours, I appreciate your
input. If there are things keeping *anyone* from using REBOL, we need
to know what they are.
-- Gregg
