[MxxCon]

this is original msg posted by xeio at
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail.php3?fid=929855618

It is the best FTP, with the worst case of ethics I have ever seen. This author has become pompous with his success. Would you chop off every man's penis because he might be a rapist? No. In effect, he wants control of the software you bought. Its bad enough he doesn’t give you the source when you buy it to see whatever else he may be pulling off in the background. This, without source and various undocumented behaviors, makes for bad taste in my mouth. See, to me its about being devious. If he can't accept his role as a vendor and has to hyperextend himself into my affairs, he wont stop at protecting his intellectual property. How do I know he doesn’t take 90% of his ideas from the ncftp source? How do we know he is the original progenitor of the code in the first place? I don’t mind paying for stuff, but to have even the slightest possibility of your license being revoked is unacceptable. Another thing is that when I was looking into buying it, it required my name and a credit card number. Sorry. If I saw this in a box at a software store on Amazon, I might buy it. I do not want my name branded to something. And, since I am buying a license, what if I want to sell the software to another? My car doesn’t have my name branded into the hood. I resent the people in this thread who paint me as a thief when I want to preserve my property rights and to remain private and anonymous. The only reason the people who made my car know who I am is because I get a WARRANTY from them, something no software vendor has ever had the balls to do, actually guarantee merchantability. If we the computing public do not demand excellence, honesty and disclosure from our vendors, the level of mediocrity, collateral market and bloat will continue to rise ad infinitum. So, to those who haven’t tried it, do so, and make sure to tell Charles de Shylock you wont buy it unless he doesn’t know who you are or what IP address you use.

In effect, he wants control of the software you bought. Its bad enough he doesn’t give you the source when you buy it to see whatever else he may be pulling off in the background.

source code is owned by Charles. it's his work, his time, his "baby". if he was giving out source code with every copy there would be no point in sell FlashFXP anymore. anybody would compile and distribute their own copy. for you this might be perfectly fine, but for him it won't pay the bills or put food on the table. if you are so paranoid about what's going on in the background, monitor FlashFXP with network sniffer and see for yourself. and you are welcome to discuss posibility of purchasing complete source code.

How do I know he doesn’t take 90% of his ideas from the ncftp source?

becuase ncftp is *nix and is written in C. and Charles doesn't know either. don't belive me? look at how long it took to implement SSL support for this very reason. FlashFXP is written in Delphi. most features in FlashFXP are totally unique. not in ideas but in implementation.

How do we know he is the original progenitor of the code in the first place?

do you see any other software that act and look like FlashFXP? it's one and only.

I don’t mind paying for stuff, but to have even the slightest possibility of your license being revoked is unacceptable.

there is no reason why your license would be revoked unless you make it public or there's problem with your payment. you could easily take legal actions if your lisence was revoked w/o a valid reason. 99% of all EULA mention that developer/publisher reserve the right to revoke a license. even windows you are using right now...

Another thing is that when I was looking into buying it, it required my name and a credit card number. Sorry. If I saw this in a box at a software store on Amazon, I might buy it. I do not want my name branded to something.

you don't provide your credit card directly to FlashFXP. all purchases are handled securely thru ShareIt!, a company specialy designed to handle secure orders for small developers, or thru PayPal. now if you don't trust those 2 companies i highly doubt you buy anything online. your name is not "branded" to flashfxp. the only place it apear is on Help/About box. and that's purely for user conviniece or to brag that they bought FlashFXP i don't see any reason why you would be afraid to use your real name.

And, since I am buying a license, what if I want to sell the software to another? My car doesn’t have my name branded into the hood.

indeed, you are buying a license, to use FlashFXP after 30 days of evaluation. you are not buying software itself or right resell it, tho i'm sure that can be arranged. compare it not to buying a car, but rather getting a license plate. you can use as long as you want unless you break a law..this isn't any different. you are getting a car for free(flashfxp itself), but you need to pay a fee to get a license plate to offset printing and material costs.

The only reason the people who made my car know who I am is because I get a WARRANTY from them, something no software vendor has ever had the balls to do, actually guarantee merchantability.

if this was the case there would be absolutely no support for FlashFXP. but actualy it's far far from it. just look at this forum or number of emails support@flashfxp.com is getting. if FlashFXP didn't have any support i wouldn't be talking to you.

If we the computing public do not demand excellence, honesty and disclosure from our vendors, the level of mediocrity, collateral market and bloat will continue to rise ad infinitum.

amen to that. that's why FlashFXP doesn't have features just for sake of features. sometimes it takes a few people to show interest in a given feature for it to be added. case and point SSL support. something needs to be actually usefull and usable, not an idea that came to user's mind after a hangover, to be added.

what FlashFXP is doing during registration is no differnt from what most other applications are doing. protecting it's invested time. none of your privacy is compromised. no private or user identifnable info is transmited, obviously no usage is tracked. once again, if you don't belive me, run a network sniffer and see for yourself. there are no encrypted(other than one-way hash of your reg key to protect it from being intercepted on inet) or encapsulated packets that can steal your info. everything is plain text.

like somebody else posted it seems like you are just looking for excuses not to register it. and i sustect if that's your attitude toward all software that you personaly bought very few programs or using them unregistred past evaluation period(illigaly). but you are more than welcome to prove me otherwise.
also if you know a secure registration way that eliminate problem of publicly leaked registration keys, feel free to share.

and fyi, i get no finantial compensation from doing any of this. it's pure volulteer work. same as most people that contribute to the project.