Donationware意思

"Donationware" is a business model or practice where software is provided to users for free, but the developer or publisher encourages users to donate money if they find the software useful or if they wish to support its continued development. It is a form of voluntary software licensing where the user is not required to pay for the software, but is encouraged to do so out of generosity or a sense of moral obligation.

In a donationware model, the software is typically distributed without any form of copy protection or activation, and users are trusted to make a donation if they choose to do so. The amount of the donation is often left to the user's discretion, and there is no fixed price for the software.

Donationware is similar to shareware, where users are given a trial period to try the software before deciding whether to purchase it, but in the case of donationware, there is no time limit, and the user is not required to pay anything to continue using the software.

The donationware model is often used by independent developers or small software companies as a way to generate revenue for their software without the need for a large marketing budget or complex licensing schemes. It also allows users to try out software without any financial commitment, which can lead to more widespread adoption and word-of-mouth recommendations.