The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) was formed in April 1987 to strengthen the future of try-before-you-buy software as an alternative to conventional retail software. Its members, all of whom subscribe to a code of ethics, are committed to the concept of shareware as a method of marketing.

The ASP's Mission Statement:

• To inform users about shareware programs and about shareware as a method of distributing and marketing software;
• To encourage broader distribution of shareware through organizations who agree to identify and explain the nature of shareware;
• To assist members in marketing their software;
• To provide a forum through which ASP members may communicate, share ideas, and learn from each other; and
• To foster a high degree of professionalism among shareware authors by setting programming, marketing and support standards for ASP members to follow.

Today, it's a vibrant international organization with over fourteen hundred members, including shareware authors, distributors, and marketers who can help shareware professionals create and run their businesses. The ASP's members create and market some of the finest software available today.

ASP members' software spans the spectrum, from high-quality accounting and inventory programs for business, to award-winning utilities and games for all computer users. While some of our members' programs, such as WinZip and Paint Shop Pro, are international best-sellers, there are thousands of other excellent business tools, Internet applications, games, educational programs, graphics and multimedia programs that are top-shelf, and available at moderate prices.

Shareware is a method of software distribution, and not a type of program. In fact, try-before-you-buy software has been discovered by traditional "shelfware" companies, and will soon dominate the marketplace.

Do you have questions about specific shareware programs, or about shareware in general? The ASP maintains several public newsgroups on our news server. You're welcome to visit the newsgroup, and post your questions or comments. Hundreds of our members visit this newsgroup every month, and would be happy to try to answer your questions.

We hope you'll consider joining the ASP. We offer a wealth of information about how to start a software business and how to market shareware, as well as technical programming information. Our members' online resources have the answers to the questions you're asking, and the questions you haven't thought of yet, including every area of program development, software marketing, and the business of running a software company. Our members have asked all those questions, and they're answered on our website, in the ASPects newsletter or in the ASPects back-issue online archive, or in the private ASP newsgroups.