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Censorship Picture Comes Into Sharper Image | 41 comments (41 topical) | Post A Comment
limited review EULAs[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#3)
by dmittleman on Tue Nov 16, 2004 at 12:16:21 PM PDT

What I don't understand - and maybe Ed can address - is why the computer magazines like InfoWorld the the ZD rags don't establish a policy of simply not reviewing any product that has an EULA that limits right to freely evaluate and review. If the magazines had this policy and reviewed several competitors but left the column blank on others (with a recommendation not to purchase those), it seems to me that those companies would realize lost sales and would alter their EULAs to permit review. My guess is that the magazines fear losing ad revenue. But if the two or three major publishers decided together to enact such a policy, where are those advertising dollars going to go?

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Re: limited review EULAs[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#5)
by Ed Foster on Tue Nov 16, 2004 at 01:50:08 PM PDT

The short answer is that any company that has a censorship clause in its EULA is probably willing to forego participating in a comparison that it can't control. Oracle in particular has a history of refusing to participate in reviews, and it's Oracle that really invented the censorship clause in the first place. And even if the publication was willing to defy the censorship clause -- as InfoWorld once did when Oracle tried to invoke it -- from a practical point of view it can be very hard to fairly evaluate high-end server software without the vendor's tech support. -- Ed Foster

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A few more questions[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#7)
by Anonymous User on Wed Nov 17, 2004 at 12:06:51 AM PDT

Ed, since you've experience in the world of IT journalism, why is it that so few seem to publish restrictive DRM methods? Further, why don't they seem to take serious points off on their reviews because such practices are employed. A cynical mind says they are afraid of hurting advertising revenue, but I cannot help but wonder if nasty EULAs, DRM, and the like are simply considered as acceptable practices by most reviewers. In either case, what can be done to change this?

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Re: A few more questions[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#9)
by Ed Foster on Wed Nov 17, 2004 at 12:34:00 AM PDT

Well, one of the main reasons is because software reviews are usually done on the basis of pre-release versions of the product that don't have the EULA or DRM attached. That way the publication can have the review ready to go the moment the product is released, which is when people want to read it.

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Re: limited review EULAs[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#10)
by Anonymous User on Wed Nov 17, 2004 at 07:49:07 AM PDT

Ed, you missed this point in Danny's commentary:

If the magazines had this policy and reviewed several competitors but left the column blank on others (with a recommendation not to purchase those), it seems to me that those companies would realize lost sales and would alter their EULAs to permit review.

Instead of completely omitting a product with a draconian EULA, the magazines should publicize this fact. If enough people were made aware of the company's practice, the unwanted attention might just result in an "attitude adjustment".

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Re: limited review EULAs[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#11)
by Ed Foster on Wed Nov 17, 2004 at 10:37:28 AM PDT

I know at least one time PC Magazine published a separate story detailing why they could not include Oracle in a database comparison. Outside of Oracle, this isn't an issue that has come up very often with the major computer publications because most vendors will cooperate in the review process. The publication therefore won't even be aware of the fact that the product's EULA has a censorship clause. It's smaller publications, independent labs, academics and corporate customers who are more likely to be intimidated by these clauses. -- Ed

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Censorship Picture Comes Into Sharper Image | 41 comments (41 topical) | Post A Comment
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