User Example wrote:
Doug Kanter wrote:

"User Example" wrote in message
. ..

So the purchasers of the software you write should obviously be writing
their own as they're paying for the business license of of your
employer
as well as the secretary and your benefit and fringe package and the
machine and tools you're using to develop with. Right! NOW I get
it...


That's not the same. They are paying for a product and they are have
to pay for R&D. That goes for anything you buy off the shelf whether
it is software, a toilet valve, or an A/C. I am not complaining
about the price of building supplies, now.

I have done contract work where I had to go to the customer's site to
write software. But even then, we negotiated on a rate (time and
materials) and that's all I charged for. Granted my rate was very
high but they knew that going into the deal.



Your rate was high....for what? You have no materials, unless you
print out your code for reference purposes. If that's the case, what's
a case of 500 sheets of paper? $25.00? Your expertise is worthless.
Unless you print out your code, you should work for free. Since it's
nobody's business how much money you need to pay your mortgage and
other expenses, or what your education cost, you're certainly not
going to reveal that to them. So, you have no way of justifying
anything other than pro bono work.

I didn't set my rate. My company did.

And yes, it was a ripoff...