"he defines this as a hobby.. not a living... "

from http://www.mirc.com/khaled/faq.html

Question: What was your initial motivation for creating mIRC?
Answer: The first IRC client written for Windows, WinIRC, was missing support for some basic IRC client features. So initially, necessity was the motivation. Later, it was challenge that kept me working on it, and the enjoyment of knowing that people appreciated it.

Question: Will you be releasing the mIRC source code under CopyLeft/GPL at some point?
Answer: I might, however mIRC is the way I make a living. It only happened by chance, and I've always expected to move on at some point, but it's still hard to give that up.

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You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but IMO, when someone spends much of his time over several years creating something, and expending effort to satisfy the "must needs" many ppl want, that person has a right to request compensation for their efforts. If anyone chooses to not use it because they dont want to pay for it, that is their choice. mIRC has grown far from a minimal time consuming "hobby", but look around you... many many ppl are paid for the results of their "hobbies" and lots go on to create a business from it that sustains their daily needs. Why resent someone for doing something they enjoy that happily can keep a roof over their head?

ParaBrat @#mIRCAide DALnet