[Since this posting attacks L-Soft and LISTSERV (IMHO) I think some dis-
cussion is merited here]
Jim Conklin for Ken King <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> One of the goals of the CREN software acquisition effort is to
> protect its members from the rampant greed of monopolists. For those
> considering doing business with a company that operates in the style of
> L-Soft, the following advice may be helpful.
Exactly what are you alleging here?
> 1. Look at Schedule "C" of the CREN/L-Soft Agreement. That schedule
> states the prices L-Soft was proposing to charge CREN members before the
> Listproc acquisition was announced. At that point in time, the CREN
> transition plan from NJE to IP was presumably hostage to an IP version of
> LISTSERV.
CREN folks seem to have been the only ones that had the impression that the
TCP/IP version was a freebie to existing customers. I certainly remember post-
ings from Eric which predated the CREN negotiations which said that the TCP/IP
version was a separately licensed offering.
> 2. Be wary of prices to be set later when they have "more experience".
> For example, if a maintenance price is to be set later, and you're
> committed at that time, you may be subject to the rules described in item
> number 1.
I would expect that the "more experience" relates to dealing with vendors
for support of OS problems (especially on the various Unix platforms). The
various Unixes from different vendors have *very* different levels of vendor
support. If LISTSERV were to suffer from a Unix vendor's problem, end users
don't care that it isn't LISTSERV's fault.
I asked Eric for some prices for various platforms for both initial licenses
and for support, and got realistic numbers in a rapid time frame (far more
rapidly than I've had *any* question answered by CREN/BITNIC, BTW).
> 3. Get a complete definition of what a perpetual license means that
> distinguishes between a new release and a new product. For example,
> remember LISTSERV VM-TCP/IP is a new product requiring a new license, not
> an upgrade from LISTSERV VM-NJE.
Again, you folks seem to be the only ones that think follow-on offerings
should be free. Certainly it hasn't been my experience in the VMS product
space, and for that matter, when we had an IBM system here and we needed
new functionality it often necessitated a purchase of a new product.
> 4. Remember that dropping CREN membership will result in your removal
> from the BITNET routing tables.
Boo hoo. I'm crushed. In SPC's case, removing us from the routing tables
simply gets rid of a bunch of passthrough traffic which will be routed else-
where when we leave (currently planned for October/November '94 when our
membership expires). Given that CREN keeps going on about how NJE is passe'
and how CREN is developing all these wonderful new IP services that we'll
all kill for, I find it odd that CREN is saying that NJE and BITNET routing
are major features of CREN membership. Could it depend on what point CREN
is trying to make at any given time, perhaps?
> 5. In the next few weeks there may be some CREN announcements that
> will help you get an even better deal. Watch BITNEWS.
Maybe that's one of those wonderful new IP services I keep hearing about
but have never seen.
Anyway, I already have mailing list processors and file servers here, in
many different flavors. What I need is access to LISTSERV's distribute pro-
cessor and the command set and features which users have come to expect. If
and when CREN has such a product, post an announcement with pricing and other
info and I'll evaluate it. However, I expect we'll be running LISTSERV long
before CREN has that feature set completed.
Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing
[log in to unmask] St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
+1 201 915 9381 (voice) +1 201 435-3662 (FAX)
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