hhgroup.doc

String Manipulation Routines

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     For group advertisements in which specific products are mentioned in
     detail, advertising costs are pro-rated according to the cost of the
     product. That is, if your product sells for $50, your account will be
     debited half as much of the ad cost as a product that sells for $100.
     The cost of general ads, which are essentially ads for THHG as a group,
     are shared equally by all members but prorated by product sale price.
     Specific ads for one product are born by that product. 

     We all gain by having the ads done through the group because all
     responses to all ads receive information concerning ALL of the products
     sold though the group, not just the specific product requested.
     Depending on your product agreement with THHG, you may or may not
     actually pay any of the ad costs. Your account will ALWAYS be debited by
     the appropriate amount, but if your product has no sales, you don't have
     to pay anything unless that is part of the up front agreement. 

     It is a requirement that there be a demo version of your product,
     suitable for uploading to bulletin boards. There can be some very
     reasonable limits to the useability of the demo. In other words, the
     demo should be the full product, but with a limit on, for example, how
     many files it will deal with, or how many data records, or the number of
     graphics file types, or some similar feature. The intent is that the
     demo give the user the exact sense of what the program does and how it
     does it (the "look and feel") and whet his/her appitite to buy the real
     thing. Our first distributed product is a C/C++ language function
     library dealing with character and string manipulation. The "demo"
     consists of everything that the full version does, except that only the
     tiny memory model is provided, and no source code is provided. 

     The demo, in other words, is NOT the real thing. We are NOT doing
     shareware here. We admire the shareware concept but our VERY strong
     perception is that for every sale made through shareware, there are
     another 20 or 30 copies of the program being used for free. We are
     capitalists, and that doesn't appeal to us. 

     One approach that we like, however, is to develop a product which is
     modular in a way that allows you to essentially give away, via a working
     demo version, a portion of the whole in order to convince the user that
     your product is useful. Then have a "professional" version which is
     available only via purchase but which has more/better features so that
     users are likely to upgrade to it from the shareware version (which most
     of them won't pay for otherwise). 

     As a member of THHG, you are required to upload both your own product
     demo as well as those of other members, to the bulletin boards you
     normally deal with. We also encourage all members to upload all of the
     Hobbit House Group software to as many boards as possible. If you don't
     deal with any bulletin boards, you should certainly contact the main
     ones in your geographical area if and when you have a product to sell
     (this is true whether or not you join the Hobbit House Group). We also
     encourage you to upload outside your geographical area. THHG will
     co-ordinate BBS uploading by geographical area. 

     We also will request that you upload a THHG-provided file to BBSs. This
     file will explain the operation of THHG and solicit new members as well
     as advertising existing products. The more members there are, the lower
     all of our operational costs go, and the bigger ads we can afford
     together. We will NOT, however, allow new members just for the sake of
     having more members/products. Only quality products with excellent
     documentation and user support will be admitted to THHG. 

     benefits of joining:

        o save on advertising and be a part of bigger ads that are
          likely to draw more attention than the smaller single-product
          ads we can each afford individually

        o save on production costs. Disks, software duplication, labels,
          mailers, and even postage costs, are reduced by bulk purchases ---
          a top-quality (physical) product becomes possible at a reasonable
          price

        o other members will act as beta testers for your products and
          refinements on your existing products

        o other members will upload demos of your product to bulletin
          boards in their geographic area

        o THHG will provide guidance and direct effort in assisting you to
          bring your product into compliance with our standards. We will work
          with you to comment your
          source code so as
          to be in compliance with THHG standards.

        o THHG will help you write new product announcements, and will
          distribute them to the appropriate magazines

        o If you have only the Borland or only the Microsoft compiler, but
          source code is part of your product, THHG will work with you to make
          your code compatible with the other compiler. This is essential,
          since with only one of them you lose half of your potential market.
          The experts I've talked to all estimate that BC and MSC each have
          roughly 40% of the market, with the other 20% spread among Watcom,
          Zortech, and a few others.

     the bad news:

        o you are required to test software produced by other members

        o you are required to upload other member's demos to BBSs

        o some of the profits on your product go to THHG (details
          elsewhere)

     your product (particularly the source code, whether or not it is sold as
     part of, or as an option with, your package) will be required to meet
     THHG documentation standards and your product will be required to meet
     THHG standards for both user-friendliness and documentation. This can be
     a giant-killer. The enclosed HHSTRING library source code, test file,
     and on-line function finder are provided primarily to show you the
     quality expected of a THHG product (except of course in the case where
     you are receiving the hhstring product or demo because that's what you
     ordered, in which case this information file regarding THHG is provided
     to acquaint you with THHG). This requirement alone may very well be
     enough to convince you that you do NOT want to become a THHG member.
     Check it out. If you simply have a C-language product that you want to
     sell, but you are not willing/able to meet our standards, we cannot work
     together. THHG is only interested in quality products and in members who
     are willing to fully document and support their products. 

     ========================================================================

     you will provide all source code for your product to THHG. THHG will
     then compile the program, test it, and produce a "Golden Master" for use
     in software reproduction. The master copy will, of course, include any
     ancillary files which you want included in addition to the .EXE file.
     Whether or not the source code is included in the package is a whole
     'nother story. The "readme.1st" file, or its equivalent, will originate
     with THHG, but will be written in co-ordination with you. 

     When submitting a product for membership in THHG, you will be required
     to sign a contract which states the following: 

     o you agree to a price structure which is based on a number of issues,
     including whether or not you market the product, and/or upgrades of the
     product, and/or variations on the product, in any way other than through
     THHG. We aren't dumb enough to try to keep you from doing what you want
     to do (and which you are, of course, going to do in any case), but we
     want for both of us to understand up front what the deal is. 

     o although you retain ownership of your software, should you decline, at
     any time, to provide full user support for the product, or in the event
     of your demise or incapacitation, THHG automatically assumes full rights
     to the program and becomes the sole arbiter of the distribution of
     proceeds from any sale of the product by THHG. We're not out to screw
     anybody here; the intent is to protect THHG's image by not allowing
     products to become unsupported or otherwise "dead". If you die or become
     incapacitated, we will extend every effort to continue to support your
     product and to send to the person you designate a fair share of any
     profits from same. 

     o THHG agrees to make arrangements such that in the event of the death
     or incapacitation of Paul Hinds, all information relevant to the
     operation of THHG will be distributed to all members so that they may
     jointly decide how to proceed. This should be unnecessary (but will be
     provided anyway) since it is our intent to keep all members fully
     informed as to all relevant circumstances and conditions of THHG
     operations. We're going to spell out all the details of who we do
     business with and how much everything costs. The main thing this part of
     the agreement is intended to cover is the customer list. More about that
     elsewhere. 

     ========================================================================

     customer lists:
     ---------------

     From the point of view of the co-ordinator of THHG, I am vehemently
     opposed to distributing the customer list. I don't want the customers to
     be contacted directly by members, for two reasons. First, if we bother
     them too much, they will start to ignore the group as a whole. Second,
     if you deal with the customers directly, you are defeating the whole
     purpose of the group. You're either in THHG or you're not. If you're in,
     you don't need the customer list. 

     From the point of view of a developer of my own software, however, I
     find it unacceptable that I not have a list of the people who have my
     product. I expect that many of you will feel the same way. On the other
     hand, as long as I am satisfied with THHG's operation, I am willing to
     let them handle my mailings. 

     As a compromise, I will NOT distribute the customer list, but I will
     make it part of the package that will go to all members in the event of
     my incapacitation. Furthermore, if you decide to leave the group, then,
     assuming your departure is on amicable terms (which means we aren't
     suing each other), you will get a list of all those who have purchased
     any of your products. 

     All members of THHG will be made known to each other, so that you can be
     sure that if I do anything any one of you doesn't like you can at least
     be sure of your ability to inform others in THHG. Remember, this is a
     cooperative venture, not a situation where THHG simply provides a
     service to you as a client. I don't want clients, I want partners. Then,
     together, we can go out and get customers! 

     ========================================================================

     Part of your share of the profits will be held "in escrow" pending any
     product returns and/or any need for THHG to support the product beyond
     your own ability/desire to support it. You can walk away from the
     product any time you choose to, but THHG can't. The good name of THHG
     rests on every single product which we promote and we cannot simply
     "drop" a product just because you die or move to Oakland. To do so would
     give THHG a bad reputation and would hurt the sales of all other
     products. It cannot, and will not, be allowed. 


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     Current Member's evaluation of a proposed product:
     -------------------------------------------------- 

     [this may be extended in the future. It appears just to show you the
     kind of thing you may be asked about other products]. 

     What products are you aware of that would be competition for this
     product? 


     What do you think of the quality of the documentation for this product?


     Is it "user-friendly" enough for today's market?


     What do you see as the best place to advertise this product?


     What do you see as a reasonable sale price for the product?