FSUIPC; Is it bad to be a capitalist now?

[Guest AAF]

I haven't followed this whole issue with FSUIPC going to payware very intensely. But what slightly irks me is that so many people seemingly fail to see Pete's side of the situation. Apparently, he has provided this product for a number of years, put his blood, sweat, etc. in to it, and provided very good support. So he decides to make a little bit of money off of his fantastic product. Now, I could see why so many people would be slightly offed by his decision; granted that they shared a right to the product as well. But it is Pete's product, and Pete's right alone to decide what he will do with it. So could someone please explain to me why so many people are angry? And please do not choose your words in a degenerate manner, I would prefer it if this topic not be locked...Thank you from a confused simmer.Joe Gonzalez

[rcbarend 37]

Joe,If you would have read all those reactions, you'll find that allmost nobody (including me) blames Peter for going payware wih FSUIPC, and that almost everybody has the highest respect for what Peter has done so far as freeware (and will do as payware). Whether everybody is blindly going to buy FSUIPC (or FS2004 for that matter) is another thing.What a lot of people (including me) speak their concern or even dislike about, is the trend in this hobby that once freeware packages become popular, they suddenly go payware. Again, that's not blaming the individual author but just signalling a trend that me (and others) don't like. Remember that Peter did have an alternative if he felt he couldn't continue his massive work on FSUIPC for free: he could have passed on the FSUIPC-stick to someone else that was willing and able to do it and keep it freeware; I'm sure there would have been volunteers. But he chose differently, and, again, that's his decision and his alone.By itself, I find nothing wrong with the principles of capitalisme, and therefore with the fact that more and more designers are trying to make a buck with their flightsim addons, for whatever reason. I'm not naiive, and understand how the world works.But, four years ago I started making freeware contributions to this hobby (scenery, panels, gauges) myself, just because of the fact that so many others were doing that and I wanted to return the favor. It was this altruistic attitude in the flightsim community that's got me really hooked on this hobby, and I just find it disappointing to see that trend (IMO) is rapidly changing. Regards,Rob Barendregt

[Guest]

IMHO, its really a no-brainer why this is causing such a reaction.Look at it this way -- let's say you've been receiving something for free for quite a long period of time. This is something that you use frequently, and it has really wormed its way into becoming indispensible to you. All of a sudden, you're told that you can no longer receive this item for free, and that if you want to use it anymore, you'll have to pay for it. I would be willing to bet that you would find yourself somewhat upset if this were to happen.To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other what happens with FSUIPC -- I don't use it at all, anyway. I also truly understand what Mr. Dowson is trying to do, and I don't blame him a bit for wanting to recoup something for everything he's put into it. However, I can also understand how some people could get upset by this situation. Whether they're right or wrong is not for me to decide, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion (at least in my opinion!!) ;)I don't post very often at all (I had to re-register to reply, because my account had been in-activated), but I read these forums very frequently. Quite often, the forums can get awfully entertaining, because I just can't help but marvel at how some people can get SOOOOO worked up about things! It is disconcerting, however, to see how quickly people are 'jumped on', ridiculed, derided (sp?), etc., when their opinion doesn't match their own. One of the reasons I read these forums (aside from getting great info on FS) is because of the diversity of opinions that can be found here. I sure wish everyone could just respect each other's opinions, regardless of how much we agree/disagree with said opinion.Oh well, I'm re-activated now, so I guess I'll go back into lurk mode!! :-wave

[Guest AAF]

You both have made some valid points, I thank you for your responses.