A rough description of the conscienceware concept and how it relates to mSQL
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The Concept :
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Conscienceware is a compromise between reality and ideology.  The
cooperative ethos of the Internet revolves around the use and sharing of
large amounts of high quality, freely available software so that
everyone can do whatever they want to do without the need for large
amounts of financial backing.  This ethic is visible in the work of the
FSF, the Linux community, BSD, X and many other projects.

Reality comes into play when a "product" becomes very popular and
requires a large amount of time and effort to be spent maintaining and
developing the software.  In some situations, a person's employer such as
a University allows them to work on the project in business hours.
Other times, the software is totally developed in a person's private
time.

The latter of the above cases is true for mSQL.  It is not a University
backed project and is developed totally out of business hours.  The time
that is being spent on mSQL development is at the expense of other,
fund-raising activities such as consulting and contract development work.
So, the net effect of continuing the development of mSQL is that I have
less time to actually earn a living for myself.

Conscienceware tries to maintain the spirit of freely available software
while still allowing me to earn a living.  The concept is that you can
obtain the software for free, use it for any purpose that you like
(other than selling it), and not _have_ to make a financial contribution
to the development of the product.  On the other hand, if you are using
mSQL for some purpose that may have previously required the purchase of
commercial software, or you just like it a lot and would like to help
out, you can make a contribution.  Unlike shareware where you _must_ make 
a contribution, there is no need to do so although it would obviously be 
greatly appreciated.



The Details :
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If you would like to make a contribution to the development of mSQL you
can send it to the address below.  Any contribution would be appreciated
but a suggestion would be Aus$200.  (That's about US$130 or 100 UK pounds)
In return you'll receive a "certificate" to prove that you've been supportive 
and also a clear conscience :).

	David J. Hughes
	Fiddich Technologies
	P.O. Box 55
	Bond University
	Gold Coast, Qld  4229
	AUSTRALIA
