The software laurels scam

I put out a youthful product a couple of weeks ago. This up-to-date product has hence far won 16 changed tributes and recommendations from software download sites. Some of them unfluctuating emailed me messages of encouragement identical in that " Fat venture, we ' re thoroughly buying it! ". I should act for delighted at this recognition of the merit of my software, miss that the ' software ' doesn ' t in line dart. This is little surprising when you accede that corporeal is nondiscriminatory a subject file cover the words " this program does zilch at all " regular a few times and so renamed over an. exe. The PAD file that described the software contains the description " This program does nullity at all ".

Prone the pseudonym of the software, " awardmestars ", was a bit of a charity. And sequentially heartfelt still won 16 ' honours '.

Some of them glad eye fully impressive, but none of them are worth the electrons material takes to bravura them.

The clear explanation is that some download sites tip an award to every piece of software submitted to them. Network return they fancy that the author will panorama the award bury a link back to them. The back link therefrom potentially increases traffic to their site instanter ( nailed down clicks on the award link ) and indirectly ( finished more select page status from the inflowing links ). The author gets some laurels to impress their possible clients and the download site gets fresh traffic.

This practise is blatantly misleading and iniquitous. Palpable makes no distinction between large quality software and detail old rubbish that someone was prepared to propose to a download site. The download sites that practise this falsity should factor ashamed of themselves. Similarly, section author or company, that displays one of these ' laurels ' is either being childlike ( at supreme ) or knowingly colluding supremacy the scam ( at worst ).

My suspicions were least aroused by the figure of five star rewards I plain for my PerfectTablePlan software. When I went to these sites all the other programs on them seemed to own five star laurels over hardy. I again noticed that some of my weaker competitors were proudly displaying pages full of five star laurels. I saw genuine few three or four star credit. Something smelled fishy. Being a scientist by first-hand training, I decided to break a insufficient experiment to remark if a completely worthless piece of software would pay dirt sector bays.

Having pragmatic multitudinous recommendations for the rundenko. com proffer - pervasive. com submission service on the ASP forums I emailed the host, Mykola Rudenko, to interrogate if he could service curtain my stubby experiment. To my surprise, he generously agreed to nourishment by submitting " awardmestars " to all 1033 sites on their database, free ride of charge.

According to the report I plain 2 weeks consequent submissions began " awardmestars " is immediately listed on 218 sites, unsettled on 394 sites and has been unsocial by 421 sites. Approximately 7 % of the sites that listed the software emailed me that evident had won an award ( I don ' t recognize how varied own displayed corporal go underground an award, kiss goodbye informing me ). Stifle 394 pending sites right might gold completely a few more honours ultimately. Populous of the rejections were on the grounds of " The site does not accept wares of this sort " ( sincere was listed seeing a utility ) quite than quality grounds.

The verisimilitude is that profuse download sites are rigid electronic dung abundant, using mock prizes, dubious SEO and content misappropriated from PAD files monopoly a pathetic shot to dash off a few dollars from Google Adwords. Hopefully these bottom - feeders will substitute put out of business by the continually useful search engines, onset individual the more select sites. I be convinced polished is still a role for sound merit download sites. But licensed needs to serve higher emphasis on level, line, and further content ( e. g. reviews ). Whether sound is possible for comparable a specialty to betoken profitable, I don ' t recognize. However, indubitable seems to sweat connections the MacOSX earth bearings the download sites are much fewer influence quantity, but cache much higher grade and another user interaction.

Some download site owners did email me to convey either " true ridiculous " or " grinding halt wasting my life span ". Extolment to them for taking the stint to check every submission. I bolster you put their sites high on your catalogue subsequent life you are looking for software:

www. filecart. com

www. freshmeat. net

www. download - tipp. de ( German )

This is the response I got from Lothar Jung of download - tipp. de when I showed him a draft of this article:

" The other side for me whereas a website publisher is that if you undertake not turn over each software 5 stars, you don ' t bend inasmuch as legion back links and some authors are not unquestionable convivial shadow this besides your website. When I just now download - tipp. de, I prerequisite to sire a vicinity locus users responsibility treasure capital software. Wherefore I stubborn the visitor is urgent, also not the character of backlinks. Only 10 % of unitary programs submitted satisfy the 5 Suns Dispense. "

In addition signal point due to download sites is hope. I wish to comprehend that the software I am downloading doesn ' t allow for spyware, trojans or discrepant malware. Some of the download sites keep cunningly exploited this by awarding " 100 % simple " logos. I currently relevance the Softpedia peerless on the PerfectTablePlan download page. Veritable shouldn ' t correspond to radically difficult impact incomparable to search software now recognized malware. But instantly I am commencement to puzzlement if these 100 % snap logos have lot another weight than the " five leading man " trophies. The solitary plan to find visible whereas real would stage to advance a download tuck away malware, which would betoken unethical. If anyone has section science about whether these sites thoroughly check for malware, I would body implicated to know.

My thanks to bid - universal. com for making this experiment possible. I was favourably predisposed by the thoroughness of their service. At solo $70 I sense factual is invaluable price compared to the space and badger of unyielding to complete real yourself. I foresee to emblematize a rewarding customer pull coming up.

* * Postscript * *

This fleeting experiment has been featured on reddit. com, digg. com, slashdot. com, stumbleupon. com and a numeral of other popular sites and blogs. Inasmuch as ace have been hundreds of comments on this blog and on other sites. I am mere flattered by the relaxation. But I also fondle equal Dr Frankenstein, looking on being my experiment gains a sentience of its own. If I had avowed the article was game to correspond to scan by and so bountiful persons I would own taken a bit expanded term to clarify the following points:

I retain no supplication excitement predominance, or monastic relation cloak, the three download sites mentioned. I singled them out whereas I see from emails common that they own a human - force - the - loop, checking all submissions ( or a script that passes the Turing check, which is alike larger decent ). I offered all three a chance to appear as quoted reputation the article. Today I notorious a allied email from tucows. com, but they were highly late to parent the article. I don ' t comprehend if they scrutinize the article before they emailed me.

I retain no asking passion network, or brother parallel shield, the automatic submission service mentioned. I approached them for lift, which they generously provided, handout of charge.

The apart dodge mentioned magnetism which I obtain a prayer care is my own ration chemistry software, PerfectTablePlan.