Dear Shareware Professional: The Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors (ASAD) was established in July of 1992 to promulgate the marketing concept of shareware and to assist members in reaching their professional and personnel business goals. ASADs membership is currently being filled by shareware authors, distributors, BBSs, user groups, computer related companies and concerned individuals who all have at least one common goal -- to make the concept of shareware work! BACKGROUND INFORMATION ASAD was not designed to replace or degrade any existing organizations in the shareware industry. In fact, at the time of this writing, over 60% of our members are also members of another organization. If it is true that emulation is one of the greatest forms of flattery, then the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) should feel flattered by the way in which ASAD is being organized and by the standards we are trying to establish. As with any truly professional organization, we fully believe that established rules, regulations and standards of conduct are a necessity. However, we also believe that these rules and regulations must be flexible and reasonable enough to allow authors, vendors, BBSs, etc. the ability to control their own programming, business or bulletin board. We have included in this mailing two attachments that we hope will be beneficial to you in deciding if membership in ASAD is right for you. First, is a copy of a recent press release ASAD mailed to several national and international magazines describing the formation and major goals of ASAD. Secondly, we have provided a copy of our current ASAD BYLAWS, version 1.2 of August 1992. Please keep in mind that this version of our bylaws is only being used as a baseline. Each of the first 100 charter members of ASAD are receiving two copies of the bylaws, one copy to keep and one copy to edit, make suggestions on, or rewrite and return for possible incorporation in the next version. ASAD POLICIES Each member of ASAD, be it an author, distributor, BBS SysOp, or user group president, has an equal vote in the operation and management of the association, with their elected representative or officer acting in their behalf for non-voting actions. ASAD does NOT and WILL NOT make the rules. ASAD WILL compile the rules that members deem essential to the operation of their business, the organization of their programs, or the marketing and distribution of their products for the overall benefit of the shareware industry. ASAD is NOT building an association -- the members are! ASAD will also act as Ombudsman for any problems arising in the shareware community and specifically as it relates to ASAD members, but basically, ASAD will act as a central clearing house or hub for the members. ASAD WILL NOT act as a reigning monarch of the shareware community, that dictates what authors and vendors must do in order to be associated with the ASAD name. What ASAD WILL do is establish a medium whereby persons in the shareware community can join together to establish a group that they can be a part of, strive to constantly educate the public and help strengthen sharewares' position in the computer industry. TIMELINE OF EVENTS PHASE ONE -- Concept and Design -- August & September '92 1. Formation of initial baseline bylaws and modification of same by Charter Members 2. Initial membership drive -- Emphasis on authors 3. ASADs mother node or home office, multi-node BBS setup 4. Establishment of an ASAD forum area on CompuServe 5. Press releases sent out to major magazines/newsletters PHASE TWO -- Setup and Evaluation -- October & November '92 1. Fully operation BBS with ASADnet established nationwide -- includes hubs in each state plus Canada 2. On-line BBS advertisements established nationwide 3. Continued membership drive -- Emphasis on vendors 4. Advertisements placed in magazines to draw attention to ASAD and stimulate membership 5. Formation of monthly program mailing packages to vendors, BBSs, and user groups 6. Feedback from members evaluated and changes voted on PHASE THREE -- Modification and Enhancement -- December '92 1. Changes resulting from member feedback and vote implemented and approved programs initiated 2. Continued membership drive -- All areas 3. Continued feedback monitoring and evaluation PHASE FOUR -- Full Operation -- January '93 1. Full-time secretary on staff for phones, database maintenance, and mailings 2. US Postal bulk mail permit obtained 3. Establishment of 1-800 telephone Hot-Line 4. Establishment of Master Card/Visa acceptance account 5. Continued feedback monitoring and evaluation 6. Continued membership drive -- Emphasis on affiliated members and secondary nodes for regional BBSs 7. Election of officers for 1993 & 1994 NOTE ... Regardless of when you joined prior to January '93, your one year period for dues begins January 1st. FUTURE PROGRAMS TO BE INITIATED FOR MEMBERS (Phase Four continued) 1. Co-op Mailing ... Members may choose to have either flyers, bulletins, catalog disks, etc. included in mailings from the ASAD home office via bulk mail permit. 2. Registration of Programs ... Member authors may choose to have the ASAD home office accept registrations of your programs, either on-line via the BBS or by mail, thus allowing the use of Master Card and Visa for orders. 3. Shared Mailing List ... Databases for names will be established for members wishing to share/swap names for mailings with other members. 4. Education Package ... ASAD is currently working on an educational package for persons new to the shareware concept. This package will not only be furnished to persons responding from national classified ads for ASAD, but will also be made available for members to furnish to new customers. PHASE FIVE -- IT'S UP TO YOU As we hope we have shown, ASAD has great plans for the future and you and your company can be a part of it. We have made every attempt to keep the price of membership to a bare minimum in an effort to allow everyone to have access. Membership is open to all persons involved in the shareware community and everyone, with the exception of affiliated members, will have an equal vote or say in ASADs operation. Although rules, regulations and standards of ethics are being established, they are being established by individuals like yourself -- NOT ASADs home office. We hope that seeing the ASAD logo on a catalog or in a program disk will not merely be seen as the author or vendor having met the minimum requirements to use the logo. What we hope is that the logo proves that the author or vendor cares about the shareware community and that they and people like them built the association that the logo represents. Naive? Perhaps, but you and others can make it happen by joining ASAD! If ASAD sounds like an association you would like to become involved in, please fill out the application on the rear today. Your comments and suggestions are not only appreciated, but encouraged. Remember, members and involvement make an association. Respectfully, B. Lee Williams Executive Director Association of Shareware Authors and Distributors P.S. If you have a mailing list of authors, vendors, BBSs, user groups, etc. that you would like to ensure receive a package like this, mail them to ASAD. We will have a package out to them within 48 hours and you will have our THANKS!