First, I think a lot of this discussion comes down to the fact that this site was very anti-ads when I first started and then a few programs like Foxit and Opera added low-key ads. Both were great programs that probably would have been ignored if they had started out that way, but all this trouble went into adding them so I think the "adware" tag was just a way of coping with that.
Second, the database may one day add a way to sort entries by their license type. If so, we'd want to keep everything under one term. Ad-supported and adware would need to come with an additional explanation to explain the difference, which is something that should be rare in a website interface. This unfortunately means more discussions like this one concerning what exactly represents open source, freeware, etc.
Third, I worry about the term getting watered down. In the mobile space for example, most free programs includes some kind of advertisement banner. I have a great flashlight and timer program that all have banner ads in them and that's just normal now -- freeware on iOS is almost always adware. They even avoid any of the terms that have come up in this thread because Apple doesn't want anyone to clarify how much of their OS is dependent upon ad revenue. One of my favorite mobile programs for example "Overcast" doesn't mention adware or ad-supported either on the home page or on Apple's site. It's "
free with in-app purchases" (you can pay to disable the ads) or "
supported by small visual ads to promote podcasts" (things you might like).
vevy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:29 am
These are multiple different types of software that are referred to as adware in different contexts...
That's a very good analysis and I'll likely reference that in the future. It also leads into my next point ...
vevy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 2:46 am
Nagware have one main form. A window (with varying timing and frequency) in the way of what you are doing, asking you to cough up. "Adware" have many across multiple scales. See the previous posts.
I've run into some cases of nagware having variations. There was a download manager that would prompt users to donate after ~100 downloads / 10 gigs. The idea here being that nags were comiserate to usage - if you're not using the program much, I have no business bothering you. If very frequently, I should get to ask you for some $. Using the same reasoning, if it's super rare, do we call it nag-supported or maybe popupware if it's too frequent?
The question is - (as I think Midas was saying) at what where you'd draw the line? Also, is it possible that popupware has a positive connotation and nag-supported actually sounds worse?