True, I agree that they are free, and in a couple of cases charitable. My point is, if I have to BUY Blackboard versus accessing Moodle for FREE, doesn't that directly impact my retail purchasing? Also, simply because something is free or low cost does not imply lower quality or creativity. That was the original point to which I was presenting counterexamples. Today's economy does drive people to seek to stretch their dollars further, and finding ways to do that while still supporting local businesses is something that is do-able, I think.

Best,
Alison

Firefox browser, Moodle teaching website, Drupal communities, the Society for Creative Anachronism, the American Red Cross, RIPE Altadena.... are all wonderful examples of things that are FREE or CHARITABLE. They do not have anything to do with CHEAP or retail purchasing habits.