careware
Enable an agent to recognise careware and determine how its charitable contribution arrangement relates to acquiring, using and redistributing the software.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 14 findings · 24 questions
Careware identity Establish what makes the offering careware and which software it covers.
Term and boundary
Resolve the intended sense without silently changing registry identity.
Charitable software sense
The working interpretation is software associated with a charitable contribution arrangement. A primary example is Vim's own charityware designation. [Vim: About](https://www.vim.org/about.php)
- Does the registry's originating record identify careware as the software distribution concept? provenance
- Should this entry's PHY / PHY.OBJ assignment be corrected while retaining vr.tr.careware? boundary
Designation coverage
Bind the charitable designation to the offering that actually carries it.
Release-specific evidence
Record the provider statement and its coverage rather than automatically extending a careware designation to every edition, fork or distributor.
- Which release, edition or distribution carries the careware statement? boundary
- Who issued that statement, and where can its original wording be read? provenance
Appeals and permissions Determine how charitable language relates to permission to use and distribute the software.
Contribution language
Identify the force and trigger of the charitable statement.
Appeal or condition
Preserve the distinction between encouragement, a stated condition and ambiguous wording without asserting legal enforceability.
- What exact language presents the contribution as optional, expected or required? definition
- What event activates the appeal or stated condition? action
License relationship
Link the charitable arrangement to the applicable software terms.
Independent permission evidence
Determine software permissions from the relevant terms. Careware status alone does not establish source availability, modification rights or redistribution rights.
- Which license applies to the identified release, and does it incorporate the charitable statement? provenance
- Which requested software action requires checking terms beyond the careware designation? action
Charitable benefit Describe the intended beneficiary and what contribution the arrangement requests.
Beneficiary choice
Identify who receives the intended charitable benefit and who selects them.
Recipient selection rule
Record named beneficiaries or documented criteria for user selection, keeping the beneficiary distinct from the software author.
- Does the provider nominate a beneficiary or allow the user to choose one? definition
- What evidence identifies the named recipient or establishes the selection criteria? provenance
Contribution basis
Capture the requested contribution without supplying missing amounts.
Amount and frequency
Distinguish discretionary donations from fixed amounts or percentage levies, and capture any documented frequency.
- What amount, currency or percentage base is specified, if any? measurement
- Is the contribution requested once, per acquisition, periodically or on another stated basis? definition
Contribution routing Connect the charitable arrangement to a verifiable contribution route.
Collection path
Identify how the contribution reaches its intended beneficiary.
Direct or intermediated contribution
Record whether users contribute directly or a distributor collects and forwards a charitable component.
- Who receives the user's payment, and who is supposed to transfer any charitable share? definition
- Which provider or beneficiary source verifies the contribution route? provenance
Benefit evidence
Separate promised charitable benefit from evidenced transfer.
Claim and delivery
A careware designation describes an arrangement; it does not itself demonstrate that funds were transferred or outcomes achieved.
- What evidence supports any claim that the charitable share was delivered? provenance
- Should the agent describe the benefit as promised, transfer-evidenced or unresolved? action
Arrangement continuity Track whether the careware arrangement remains applicable as software and beneficiaries change.
Release and channel changes
Compare charitable terms across versions and distribution channels.
Arrangement inheritance
Require evidence before carrying a predecessor's charitable arrangement into a fork, commercial edition or repackaged distribution.
- Does this release or distributor retain, replace or omit the earlier charitable arrangement? boundary
- Which dated statement supports the change or continuity? provenance
Recipient and link changes
Manage obsolete or conflicting contribution instructions.
Current instruction confidence
Record when instructions were verified and preserve uncertainty when a recipient changes or authoritative sources disagree.
- When were the recipient identity and contribution route last verified? measurement
- What authoritative update is needed before the agent can present replacement contribution instructions? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of careware this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of careware this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of careware this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of careware this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
- Other names and narrower kinds
- Greenware
What it is Filled
Careware is software distributed under an arrangement that asks users to support a charitable cause or perform a beneficial act, often instead of paying the software author.
In scope
- Evidence that a software release is offered as careware
- Requested or required charitable contributions associated with distribution or use
- Beneficiary selection and contribution routing
- Distinction between charitable appeals and software permission conditions
- Changes to the careware arrangement across releases and distributors
Out of scope
- Software functionality, architecture and runtime performance
- Physical storage media and computing hardware
- Charity governance and general programme operations
- Generic payment processing and personal donation records
- Healthcare software identified only by a similar product name
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise careware and determine how its charitable contribution arrangement relates to acquiring, using and redistributing the software.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The charitable connection is evidenced in the software's distribution materials or provider statements, rather than inferred from a socially useful function.
- An appeal for money solely to support the developer does not establish careware status without evidence of a charitable arrangement.
- Free distribution alone does not establish careware status; Vim demonstrates free distribution accompanied by a charitable appeal. [Vim: About](https://www.vim.org/about.php)
- A charitable arrangement may involve a suggested donation or a charity-directed distribution levy; the careware label alone does not identify which applies. [Jargon File: careware](https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/C/careware.html)
- The entry describes a software distribution category, provisionally distinguished from physical care equipment and similarly named software products.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Claim that a program is careware or that a charity endorses it without the author's terms.
- Redirect donations meant for a named cause to anyone else.
- Pressure users with guilt or false urgency to donate.
- Distribute modified copies against the author's licence.
Only with a human decision
- Making a donation or commitment on a user's behalf.
May
- Describe careware and how its charitable requests work, citing the author's terms.
- Report the licence terms and the cause an author names for a careware program.
Moral aspects Filled
- Careware relies on trust; misusing the charity link deceives users and harms causes.
- Users who cannot pay should not be shamed.
Who is affected
- Users
- Software authors
- Charities named
Owners Filled
Steward
The software author who sets the terms.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q7397 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.careware
- Wikidata: Q1035935 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1035935)
Direct properties required Filled
- Careware designation evidence: Software release linked to an attributable careware statement
- Contribution mechanism: Suggested direct donation; stated donation condition; included charitable levy; other documented mechanism; unresolved
- Contribution force: Voluntary appeal; stated contractual condition; ambiguous; unspecified
- Beneficiary selection: Provider-nominated; user-selected within stated criteria; unspecified
- Contribution recipient: Named beneficiary or intermediary linked to its stated role
- Contribution amount rule: Currency amount, percentage with calculation base, user-selected amount, or unspecified
- Contribution trigger: Acquisition; use; continued use; redistribution; sale; other documented trigger; unspecified
- Arrangement verification state: Verified for identified release; historical evidence only; conflicting evidence; unresolved
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Careware is a distribution arrangement established through its terms rather than through the software's visual appearance.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Classify a software offering as careware when attributable evidence supports the designation.
- Explain the charitable appeal separately from the release's software permissions.
- Identify the nominated beneficiary or evaluate a user-selected recipient against stated criteria.
- Calculate a documented charitable levy from its amount rule and calculation base.
- Prepare contribution instructions for user review using verified recipient information.
- Compare releases or distribution channels for changes in their charitable arrangements.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Fake charity requests can be used to scam users.
- Vague terms leave users unsure what is asked of them.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The WIPO Copyright Treaty, adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization, requires computer programs to receive copyright protection as literary works and provides a legal framework relevant to careware licensing.
Context of use required Filled
- Careware is encountered in software distribution arrangements that connect use of a program with support for a charitable cause or beneficial activity.
- Users and redistributors consult the actual license to distinguish enforceable conditions from voluntary requests for contributions.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1035935: careware - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Careware - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the originating registry record confirm the software meaning of careware, and what plane and domain should replace PHY / PHY.OBJ if so?
- Does an existing Vercy software or licensing model already own this concept, requiring a link instead of a separate publication?
- Should nonmonetary good-deed requests qualify as careware in this registry, and which primary examples establish that boundary?
- Where should this registry draw the boundary between careware, developer-support donationware and commercial software with incidental charitable promotions?
- Which primary examples establish mandatory contribution arrangements, and how should their stated conditions be represented without assuming enforceability?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1035935/spec.json