Re: Self Destruct code

on 08/05/02 4:55 PM, PHPCoder (internet@vsa.co.za) wrote: > Much of the advise given are perfectly acceptible and make plenty of > sence, yet, even if you keep the code on your own server and demo the > app, they still might insist on payment AFTER you have given the > complete product ( I can also understand this, when I buy something, I > would also like to have the product before I give the money). To me, this seems like a deal breaker. If you and the client can't see eye-to-eye on payment, then there's a massive gap of trust. Personally, if I was as worried as you are about this particular client, I wouldn't have taken the job. In any commerce deal (purchase), there is trust. If I buy a chocolate ice cream, the server hands the ice-cream over, I hand the money over. Sure, they might snatch the ice-cream back as soon as the money is in their hand, but there's a certain level of trust. I pay for my cable internet a month in advance, trusting that the ISP will make good on their promise of service, as set-out in my contract with them. I used to get paid on a bi-weekly basis in my last full-time job... I trusted the employer to pay me for the last two weeks work each wednesday. I just bought a new car. I signed away a lot of money, handed the dealer a cheque, we filled out a few more papers, and eventually they gave me the keys. There was a grace period of trust. There is trust in every transaction to some degree. Even if they do give you the cheque up front, they've got 3-4 days to cancel it with their bank!!! Or is this paranoia going to extend to a briefcase full of cash? Why can't you plug-in at their office one day, grab the FTP passwords as needed, install the code, you both sign something, you take the cheque off them, and they change the FTP passwords? It all sounds way too dramatic though -- like a hostage negotiation!!! If the client isn't prepared to make at least half payment, based upon viewing the code on a test server, then I'd walk away from it. Sorry, but almost anyone can afford to pick and choose jobs, based on an evaluation of the risk. If a client won't sign a simple contract, or meet any other normal, industry-standard deals, then they're not worth it, no matter how hungry you are IMHO. We've all said it before. Your solution is prevention, and prevention is not through a code bomb (I think we've all tried to think of ways to hide a bomb in code, and any half-decent programmer can figure out where it is), but through preparation, a well formed contract (which will serve as a template for almost all jobs), and if need be, a solicitor. The most I've had to do so far is get a solicitor to form a nasty letter. Faced with a decent contract and a strong letter from a solicitor, most will pay. It's not an opensource issue either (99% of my code is copyright protected, NOT open source, even if it isn't encrypted). If the general response on this list was that your problem can be solved through documentation and written agreements, then I believe you should take this on board, accept that this IS a working model that we all use, and move on. Invest a small amount of money in something/someone to help you form clear contracts (I think there is a product advertised on sitepoint.com a fair bit) from a template, and assert your rights, rather than being walked over. Walk away from any client who won't sign a fair deal, because they clearly don't want to play fair. Justin French