Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder4.news.weretis.net!feeder2.ecngs.de!ecngs!feeder.ecngs.de!Xl.tags.giganews.com!border1.nntp.ams.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local2.nntp.ams.giganews.com!nntp.bt.com!news.bt.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:32:34 -0600 From: "Chris Uppal" Newsgroups: comp.lang.java.programmer References: Subject: Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2012 18:31:13 -0000 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5512 Message-ID: Lines: 22 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-AuthenticatedUsername: NoAuthUser X-Trace: sv3-BLac+gTUvrO8tdKMrqg39cLsMExtp2EYBK8TJ09FFae+foE+zWOFJqbQuxPm3FUnmvbAttnEYGRPiI9!xXejSwwEr6cvjkqJ+LN2Yw1Gq3z8XI6Tq9bgrp2q6qHvxrt3+E0FrlZqN8EICZoWX+heoUglz+0= X-Complaints-To: abuse@btinternet.com X-DMCA-Complaints-To: abuse@btinternet.com X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 X-Original-Bytes: 2121 Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.java.programmer:20097 Roedy Green wrote: > Then I started to wonder what such a service could to prevent people > from getting endless free trials. Software you install can hide > something in the registry, but what can online software do? Another possibility: make the cost to the user of applying for the free trial higher than the benefit of using the service for trial days. Similarly, increase the cost to the user of each use of the free trial, which alsoo adjusts the balance in your favour. E.g. Make them solve some difficult capchas (or similar) before they can sign up for the trial, then make them solve yet more captchas each time they log in after the first time (or first very few times). Or make them wait for an inconveniently long time between logging in and actually using the service (except for the first time). Maybe have their browser do some heavy number crunching for you while they're waiting. -- chris