hmmm, ok Cyclocide

Fair enough....
.... truth is i havent downloaded Bearshare to check out which spyware programs it contains or what the "opt out of spyware" options are like.
I have been reading alot about spyware recently & was very disapointed to find out that bearshare contained some.
Since i did not know what spyware was until recently, i was curious as to how many bearshare users know about it.... hence the survey.
You say the spyware is decribed during the install process... is it described in the 19th paragraph of the 23 paragraph user license agreement written in that tiny text that no-one ever bothers to read ?
I doubt bearshare goes out of its way to inform users about it. Of course I havent even checked for myself so,
bearshare users,
please feel free to enlighten me on this subject...

Does it explain _clearly_ so that someone who doesnt know about spyware will be educated enough about it that they can make an informed decision?
From what i can gather on the subject, most instances of spyware are on the shady side and they bank on the fact that you wont notice it or trust you the program enough to click "OK" on all the options .
Im not against Bearshare making some money for all their effort & time.
I am against software makers abusing consumer trust.
and ZeroShadow, dont worry about falling to my level cause I have been elevated to a higher level by Cyclo's helpful & educational attitude.
we're on the same team here, what am i? an RIAA employee? : )
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Under S. 3180, of the proposed "Spyware Control and Privacy Protection Act," manufacturers that build spyware into their products must give consumers clear and conspicuous notice - at the time of installation -
that the software contains spyware. Such a notice would describe what information would be collected and to whom it would be sent. The spyware would then be forced to lie dormant unless the consumer chooses to enable it.