Proxomitron (Should be OT)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Paul Blarmy
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Paul Blarmy

After reading of the passing of Scott Lemmon, I took a look at various
pages and noticed that Proxomitron is NOT freeware. (Apologies if others
knew this already but it was news to me.)

http://computercops.biz/proxomitron-License.html

States that:
The Proxomitron has no time limit, no nag screens, and no registrations
keys - all features are full functional now and forever. It is not
Shareware, Demoware, Careware, Crippleware, or even TupperWare™.

Although it's Free, It's not Freeware either.... The Proxomitron is,
in fact, Shonenware!
Click to expand...

The next few lines on the page seem interesting though:
Under the terms of Shonenware, you can use the program as often
as you like for as long as you like. You are under no restriction
to stop using it after so many days, or indeed ever! You can also,
of course, freely copy it as long as you abide by certain conditions
see below). However, If you find the program useful you're
encouraged to "register" it.
Click to expand...

Apparently if you like Proximitron you are 'encouraged' to go out and buy
a CD from a female Japanese group to 'register' the program. According to
the above, this seems to be only a 'request', but, strictly speaking this
program is not really the freeware that I once thought it to be.

Comments?!
 
Paul said:
Apparently if you like Proximitron you are 'encouraged' to go out and buy
a CD from a female Japanese group to 'register' the program. According to
the above, this seems to be only a 'request', but, strictly speaking this
program is not really the freeware that I once thought it to be.

Comments?!
Click to expand...

For all practical purposes it is freeware.

I was present in the prox mailing list for years and Scott never made
any fuss about this, I cannot even remember him mentioning it.

He liked this japanese pop band and used prox to give them some PR but
it was more of a joke than seriousness.

I don't think he ever said (wrote) that you actually had to buy a CD to
fill the "registration" requirements, it could be enough if you asked
about Shonen Knife at your local music store, for example.

When he was asked if he would consider publishing the source code and
let others help out with the development, making it open source, he
usually said that he was a bit ashamed of how messy it was and hesitated
to show anyone this mess.
As many programmers he probably also felt that prox was his baby, he
wanted to have full control over it as long as he lived.
 
After reading of the passing of Scott Lemmon, I took a look at various
pages and noticed that Proxomitron is NOT freeware. (Apologies if others
knew this already but it was news to me.)

http://computercops.biz/proxomitron-License.html

States that:
Click to expand...

In light of this, & UNLESS the pricelessware sites have any written permission
directly from Scott that says contrary, this program MUST be removed from ALL
freeware listings.

There is NO grey area here nor is there any need for discussion. It is NOT
freeware by the owners own words.

There will be no need for a vote on this or any need to prolong a lengthy
thread. It simply needs to be deleted from all listings.


pokeystar
 
In light of this, & UNLESS the pricelessware sites have any written permission
directly from Scott that says contrary, this program MUST be removed from ALL
freeware listings.

There is NO grey area here nor is there any need for discussion. It is NOT
freeware by the owners own words.

There will be no need for a vote on this or any need to prolong a lengthy
thread. It simply needs to be deleted from all listings.


pokeystar
Click to expand...


Absolute rubbish. We have been all around this debate, and coined
various terms for variants of freeware (as loosely defined)

There is a pure "freeware" - there is also open source (where source
code is freely available), and others such as postcardware,
donationware etc

All IMO variants of "freeware".

Proxomitron is freely downloadable, does not nag you, and the author
simply requests that if you *wish* to contribute, rather than send him
cash, go investigate this Japanese band.

I find this all quite distasteful, in light of the authors very recent
death - so much so that at first I was inclined just to let it go. But
couldn't resist.

This chap wrote a great programme, gave it away for those who wished
to use it, and has now sadly died. This is a time for thanking him,
not for knocking him.
 
Absolute rubbish. We have been all around this debate, and coined
various terms for variants of freeware (as loosely defined)

There is a pure "freeware" - there is also open source (where source
code is freely available), and others such as postcardware,
donationware etc

All IMO variants of "freeware".
Click to expand...

Perhaps you didn't read it correctly but the FACTS directly from the author:

"The Proxomitron has no time limit, no nag screens, and no registrations keys -
all features are full functional now and forever. It is not Shareware,
Demoware, Careware, Crippleware, or even TupperWare™.

Although it's Free, It's not Freeware either.... The Proxomitron is, in fact,
Shonenware!" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What part of "It's not Freeware either....." DON'T you understand?
Please do not inject YOUR moral values here.

Now please go back to John F's FAQ, re-read it, then go back & read the
author's license. A very simple NO-BRAINER. It's NOT FREEWARE.

Further to another recent post.... I agree that Scott's passing is a sad day
for all but I think we should at least honor his license.


pokeystar
 
Perhaps you didn't read it correctly but the FACTS directly from the
author:

"The Proxomitron has no time limit, no nag screens, and no
registrations keys - all features are full functional now and forever.
It is not Shareware, Demoware, Careware, Crippleware, or even
TupperWare™.

Although it's Free, It's not Freeware either.... The Proxomitron is,
in fact, Shonenware!" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What part of "It's not Freeware either....." DON'T you understand?
Please do not inject YOUR moral values here.

Now please go back to John F's FAQ, re-read it, then go back & read
the author's license. A very simple NO-BRAINER. It's NOT FREEWARE.

Further to another recent post.... I agree that Scott's passing is a
sad day for all but I think we should at least honor his license.


pokeystar
Click to expand...

What part of being an ass don'tyou understand?
 
What part of "It's not Freeware either....." DON'T you understand?
Please do not inject YOUR moral values here.

Now please go back to John F's FAQ, re-read it, then go back & read the
author's license. A very simple NO-BRAINER. It's NOT FREEWARE.
Click to expand...
pokeystar
Click to expand...
this is kinda anal-retentive quibbling over nomenclature, doncha
think?....98.237% of everyone is going to continue to treat "free" as
"freeware", no matter how often you scream at them that Scott said "it's
free, but it's not Freeware, it's Shonenware.." It fits ACF definitions,
no matter what cute words he used to publicize a band....
 
What part of being an ass don'tyou understand?
Click to expand...

No, he is not an ass, I doubt that he does even actually know
much about the issue except to argue. There is something
wrong with that post. Who would use an entire new identity to
make a post like that. I didn't remember the name pokeystar
has been involved in other discussions here, at all. There is
just something strange about the post and the tone of it -
sound fake.










--
RL
Unofficial Adaware Updater (+other goodies)
http://home.earthlink.net/~ringomei/page2.html
********************************
Pricelessware voting annual results and information:
http://www.pricelessware.org,
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org,
http://www.earths-ocular.com/mirror/www.pricelesswarehome.org/
 
Apparently if you like Proximitron you are 'encouraged' to
go out and buy a CD from a female Japanese group to
'register' the program. According to the above, this seems
to be only a 'request', but, strictly speaking this program
is not really the freeware that I once thought it to be.
Click to expand...


I just read the whole page from the help file, too. Strightly
speaking, it is sort of between "Requestware" and "freeware"
(check out any of the PLware page for ware types).
Requestware is usually by convention freeware in this group.

In addition, reading between the lines, Scott seemed to have
full intention to make it as much of a piece of freeware as
any others are, but just for the fun of it, he wanted to share
his beloved music with the world. That is, of course, just my
interpretation.






--
RL
Unofficial Adaware Updater (+other goodies)
http://home.earthlink.net/~ringomei/page2.html
********************************
Pricelessware voting annual results and information:
http://www.pricelessware.org,
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org,
http://www.earths-ocular.com/mirror/www.pricelesswarehome.org/
 
Roger Johansson wrote in
When he was asked if he would consider publishing the source code
and let others help out with the development, making it open
source, he usually said that he was a bit ashamed of how messy it
was and hesitated to show anyone this mess.
As many programmers he probably also felt that prox was his baby,
he wanted to have full control over it as long as he lived.
Click to expand...

You are quite correct. However, I may have missed it here in acf, but
there is a report in DSLreports that mentions the fact that Scott
passed away in May of this year. With that in mind, we will probably
not ever see the source code for Proxo. It also renders the arguement
of freeware/abandonware/postcardware some what pointless.
 
SNIP

Apparently if you like Proximitron you are 'encouraged' to go out and buy
a CD from a female Japanese group to 'register' the program. According to
the above, this seems to be only a 'request', but, strictly speaking this
program is not really the freeware that I once thought it to be.

Comments?!
Click to expand...

I find the last part of your message concerning that it is "certified virus free by *me* using nothing more than common sense" quite ironic & humerous.

On the day the creator of Proxomitron, one of the greatest programs ever written for protecting your PC from many nasties, passes away, you decide to post a very naive message which is pedantic about the validity of using Proxomitron. If you ever followed the history of the program, Scott pretty much abandoned it's further development several years ago & it has been for all purpose carried on by the next-generation of users in places such as the Yahoo group Prox-List.

It should be remembered that the actual program has not changed in several years (although some add-on patches to improve the interface display have been put out by others). A lot of people make the mistake of saying Proxomitron's not worth installing, because it is so old. Well I just installed the newest version written & distributed within the last 24 hours. How did I do that when I just said that development stopped several years ago?? That is because the actual work done by Proximitron is all through it's editable filters - these can be written whenever a new malicious feature is implemented by a web site. For example, I no longer have the Google "sponsored links" ads when I do a search - Proxomitron removes them from the page automatically. My version of Proxomitron also converts links written as text into clickable HTML links - saves a lot of highlighting, copying & pasting into address bars. Security wise, it detects things such as IE spoofed addresses, object data exploits etc. (I still refuse to use IE anyway & I never installed OE at all on my PC - they have just too many security problems).

It was actually Scott's good sense of humour that he decided to have a laugh at all those other "free" programs you are in fact prompted to register by making his "Shonenware" - after all there was already freeware, adware, shareware, trial-ware, malware, virus-ware etc, so he just decided to come up with another version.

In my opinion Proxomitron is up there with the big 7 (firewall, antivirus, Ad-Aware, Spybot, SpywareBlaster, Spywareguard & Script Defender) when it comes to protecting your PC. If you run all of these programs, then it is 99.99% impossible for any nasties to penetrate your system. In the 2 years I have used all of these products, I have not had a single virus/trojan/worm make it onto my PC via the internet or email.

The only times I have ever had any nasties arrive on my PC is when I have installed a program in Windows 98's "safe mode" (when the programs are not loaded). So, whenever I do an installation in safe mode I always run Ad-Aware & SpyBot immediately afterwards (& it's very interesting to see what comes loaded with many programs, & they are often not listed in the license).

Anyway, all I can say is give Proxomitron a try - once you have you'll never look back. If you want advice on new filters etc, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prox-list - it is a very active discussion group.
 
R. L. said:
No, he is not an ass, I doubt that he does even actually know
much about the issue except to argue. There is something
wrong with that post. Who would use an entire new identity to
make a post like that. I didn't remember the name pokeystar
has been involved in other discussions here, at all. There is
just something strange about the post and the tone of it -
sound fake.
Click to expand...
Could.....it......be?????!! A.....sock puppet???? Noooooooooo, of
course not! Just a concerned lurker!

Shee-it.

The only reason for the post was to beat JC and other purists over the
head with their own words. Sarcasm raised to a near art form.

In other words, to be a hit and run ass.

It's clear Scott had a sense of humor, unlike the OP.
 
Now please go back to John F's FAQ, re-read it, then go back & read the
author's license. A very simple NO-BRAINER. It's NOT FREEWARE.
Click to expand...

John F:s FAQ is not accepted by the majority of the participants of acf,
although he has been trying for years to peddle his own definition of
really "pure" freeware.

He and a few others are more interested in principles than in people and
their needs, and they usually intensify their efforts to gain more
control over the acf community in times of crisis, as we could see
recently.

Control freaks, who love to excercise power over other people want very
clear rules, so they can jump on offenders and feel very righteous when
they do it.
Real life people know that reality never is purely black and white, and
that we need to think for ourselves.
 
Perhaps you didn't read it correctly but the FACTS directly from the author:

"The Proxomitron has no time limit, no nag screens, and no registrations keys -
all features are full functional now and forever. It is not Shareware,
Demoware, Careware, Crippleware, or even TupperWare™.

Although it's Free, It's not Freeware either.... The Proxomitron is, in fact,
Shonenware!" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What part of "It's not Freeware either....." DON'T you understand?
Please do not inject YOUR moral values here.

Now please go back to John F's FAQ, re-read it, then go back & read the
author's license. A very simple NO-BRAINER. It's NOT FREEWARE.

Further to another recent post.... I agree that Scott's passing is a sad day
for all but I think we should at least honor his license.


pokeystar
Click to expand...

A "no-brainer" ? From reading other replies, seems like I am not the
only one with no brain... :-)

Or could it be you who has a problem ?

Hmmm :-)

end of debate for me I think,
 
R. L. said:
I didn't remember the name pokeystar
has been involved in other discussions here, at all. There is
just something strange about the post and the tone of it -
sound fake.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Troll's newsreader too.
 
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 17:43:41 +0200 (CEST), Anonymous wrote...

(long lines manually adjusted)
I find the last part of your message concerning that it is
"certified virus free by *me* using nothing more than common
sense" quite ironic & humerous.
Click to expand...

It's not part of the message, it's a signature file.
On the day the creator of Proxomitron, one of the greatest
programs ever written for protecting your PC from many nasties,
passes away, you decide to post a very naive message which is
pedantic about the validity of using Proxomitron.
Click to expand...

If you want pedantic, the creator of Proximitron actually passed away
earlier this year. It was just the news of his demise that seems to have
become knowledge on this group today.

<snip rest of post>

Look 'Anonymous', I didn't make the original post for any other reason
than that I personally was surprised to see Proximitron being classified
as anything other than freeware. I had always understood it to have been
true freeware in the strictest sense. When I saw that it was classified
(by the original author let's not forget) as something else, albeit not a
million miles away from freeware, I decided to post as a discussion point
/ point of interest only.

You know, there are only two things on this group that make me smile in
an ironic way. One is when morality issues raise their head and in the
next sentence P2P programs are discussed as if they are perfectly above
board and that is why people are using them, yeah, right:-) The other
thing is when people start discussing what is and what isn't freeware in
the strictest sense - hence my post on discovering that a program
previously thought of as freeware was strictly speaking, something else.

So, a discussion point. Not a knock against Proximitron, it's author (God
rest his soul) or indeed anyone on this group. Just, a discussion point.
 
Anonymous said:
On the day the creator of Proxomitron, one of the greatest programs
ever written for protecting your PC from many nasties, passes away,
you decide to post a very naive message which is pedantic about the
validity of using Proxomitron.
Click to expand...

Yep, sigh...when I posted the announcement, I envisioned a day of respect
for Scott. He may have passed away in May, but we just learned about it
yesterday. Scott was a GIANT in the world of freeware. His program is
truly innovative...there is no other program like it in the world of
software -- freeware or payware. (Many people know it only as an ad and
popup blocker...which is unfortunate, because that's only the tip of the
iceberg.) The program is extremely powerful, and Scott worked hard to help
people learn to use his program. I saw him in action on the Prox-List, so I
feel like I knew him. He will be sorely missed. But a lot of people are
carrying on his legacy, and figuring out NEW things to do with his
powerhouse program.
 
(e-mail address removed) wrote:
Click to expand...
John F:s FAQ is not accepted by the majority of the participants of acf,
Click to expand...

< snip >

Translation - Roger doesn't accept the FAQ so that means that the
majority of acf readers don't accept it.

Guess some people's focus is simply to knock people who try to help
others while contributing nothing but criticism themselves.
 
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