Can I ask online marketing related questions here?

Question

I was wondering if webmasters is the right site to ask a question about online marketing.

The question would be:

Is it reasonable, not to allow trial-download of expensive enterprise software because the competitors might get their hands on it?

It would be more detailed then this ofc, but im just asking if I should ask it here or not.

Also if not any idea where this question might fit? UX maybe?

thx

Answer 1

It appears as though this question actually concerns weighing the viability of a business policy.

In its simplest form:

"Does the value of making our application available as a trial download outweigh the potential detriment of letting competitors have the files to reverse-engineer it?"

As I see it, this question (in its simplest form) does not have a practical answer - there are too many variables to factor in.

• Is the software open or closed source?
• Could analysis of the software expose any vulnerabilities or proprietary resources which malicious users could abuse?
• Would an online demo be sufficient to let users determine whether the software will solve the need they are shopping to fill?

... et cetera.

I would not consider business policy questions appropriate to Pro Webmasters or UX: OnStartups would be a better fit if you can revise the question to accommodate the quality guidelines there.

Be wary of subjective qualifiers like "is it reasonable" - a good question can be answered with factual information which leaves little room for opinion.