I am Richard, and I'm the curator and operator of this website, the Amiga Freeware Archive.
For some time I have been wanting to pull together the Amiga's PD libraries - a vital free software distribution network in the pre-Internet era - into a single website with an easy-to-use interface and the ability to download. Whilst Aminet has all new Amiga software since the mid-1990s, that still leaves over 10 years of software that was distributed in more old-fashioned ways. Those were the PD libraries and user groups, which operating by duplicating disks and swapping them either face-to-face or through the postal system for a small charge. Much of this software is hard to find these days - embedded in DMS files inside ISO files on archive websites, and with little search capability.
This website aims to change that. I want to find these old PD library and user group content and make them easily accessible. It should be possible to browse the different libraries (and learn a little bit about them) and their content, download anything of interest, and back it up with a site-wide search facility.
The PD libraries and user groups were a key part of the Amiga's culture in the 1980s and 1990s, but the insight into these communities is diminishing and at risk of loss. I hope through this website to be able to preserve this culture for the long term.
Today, the website is loaded with content from 17 Bit, Fred Fish, LSD Compendium, and several smaller user group and PD library collections. My aim is to expand this site with as many collections as I can find and preserve them for the future.
If you have any comments or questions, or can help with sourcing obscure PD libraries or disk collections, please contact curators@amigafreeware.downer.tech.