quote:
Originally posted by CookieRevised
As for the sponsor, which I'm sure was the main subject: the sponsor was and always will be optional and is never ever forced upon the user. The two choices in the setup are extremely clear. Way more clear than what software from MS itself presents to the user. (...) As for what the sponsor actually is: it is adware, yes.
That begs for the question: for what reason would someone, knowingly and with full understanding of what they are doing, opt to install adware on their system?
Adware has no benefit for the user, only downsides. If nothing worse, it will inundate the user with ads, as well as consume some system resources. Some adware may carry with it fewer downsides and risks than other adware, but no adware comes with any desireable functionality whatsoever. It is logical to conclude that given the choice (which I agree Messenger Plus! installer offers), no fully informed user would elect to install adware.
If no one ever installed the adware, then I would imagine C2Media would have called the deal off. They have not, so there must be people who install it. That brings us back the original question. Why would someone do that?
I strongly suspect the answer is they are
not fully informed and
do not fully understand what it is they are opting for. Whether there is anything else Patchou can do to educate them ("Warning! Choosing this option will result in reduced system performance and obnoxious ads!" dialog box comes to mind) is a different question, but I suspect most of the people out there who installed the "sponsor" did so unwittingly in that they either were negligent and not paying attention, or did not understand what would come with it. When they later experience the effects of the adware, they may not even link it to Messenger Plus! and the choice they made during install.
Ideally, a company like C2Media would not exist as a lawful enterprise and we wouldn't even have this problem.
quote:
Originally posted by CookieRevised
Nothing is ticked by default, which is something you can't say from certain MS products.
Has it always been not ticked by default?
The only time I ever installed the "sponsor" was several years ago, completely accidental and caused by not paying attention. It was also not an original install, but an update -- I was prompted to update Messenger Plus! and did so, although I had several other things going on at the time. I don't blame anyone for that (and promptly got rid of it upon realizing the mistake), but I don't think I was distracted enough to tick the wrong box -- click through, "Next", "Next", "Finish", if the box was already ticked, sure.
That brings another feature suggestion to mind -- perhaps the installer could be improved to recognize (when upgrading) that the user previously chose to not install the adware and not even offer it.
