Fair use policy

UPDATE: Based on experience so far I now believe this restriction is unnecessary on the licensed versions (OE and Pro), so from version 0.9.8 (pre-release), this system of credit points will no longer be used. The new, simpler Fair Usage policy is as follows:

Deliberate misuse (eg. automatic "leeching") is not allowed.

The points system described below will be used in future (with much less generous allowances) for a demo version of the SonoAnalyzer program and possibly, depending on demand, for an alternative Pay-As-You-Go licensing model.

This policy has been formulated to ensure fair and balanced use of the online computing resources accessed by the SonoAnalyzer OE program.

A "currency" of credit points is used - each subscriber is allocated points at regular intervals, and each analysis they request results in a debit from their balance. Different analyses cost more or less, depending on their complexity. For the three initially-available models the online database anayses cost 1 point while the online FEA analyses cost 9 points. All credit points allocated have an expiry date, and if unused on expiry they will be removed.

Credit points are allocated automatically to each subscriber on the following schedule:

On first setup: 1000 points (1 year expiry)
Every day: +30 points (2 day expiry)
Every week: +100 points (8 day expiry)
Every month: +300 points (32 day expiry)

This means that if usage is spread evenly over the entire month, the total number of usable points would be: 300 + 100 x 4 + 30 x 31 = 1630

While the maximum number of points usable on a single day (once a month) would be: 300 + 100 x 4 + 30 = 730

Every new purchase also receives a first allocation of 1000 points with a 1 year expiry - this provides an extra "float" in addition to all of the above. Points with the shortest expiry are always used first.

These allocations are intended to be generous enough so that any normal user should not worry about running out, but still protect the system against misuse (eg. automated "leeching").

The allocations listed above may be revised in future in light of actual usage, but subscribers will always be given at least the allocations current at the time of their initial purchase.