Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!wugate!uunet!cos!andrews
From: andrews@cos.com (Andrew R. Scholnick)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Software theives (Note to administrator)
Message-ID: <21868@cos.com>
Date: 24 Aug 89 14:51:23 GMT
References: <30706@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <6846@rpi.edu> <21818@cos.com> <12469@s.ms.uky.edu>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems, McLean, VA
Lines: 69

[various interesting tid-bits...]
> 
> Andrew's response, he libeled that person by publically calling them a
> criminal, and asked people to bombard that persons postmaster with
> requests to have his account revoked.
> 
> Hotheadedness is one thing, but this is really out of line.  That
> person admitted to no crime, but merely stated an opinion.  Postmasters
> and administrators are busy enough without being bothered by intolerant
> people like this.
> 
[other various interesting tid-bits...]
> 
> -- 
> ***  Sean Casey          sean@ms.uky.edu, sean@ukma.bitnet, ukma!sean
> ***  Copyright 1989 by Sean Casey. Only non-profit redistribution permitted.
> ***  ``Why can't anything be as simple as following the instructions???'' -me


This is the body of a note I just sent to sean@ms.uky.edu:


Um, I beg to differ, Mr. K  goes on to say in other postings:

> That actually makes a bit of sense. I've only once or twice (and that
> was in my Commodore 64 days) pirated something I've used every day.
> Usually I pirate some game to divert me for a day or two since there's
> no such thing as software rentals. (Hell, we've got 2 vcr's here most
> of the year and I've still never copied a tape I've rented....) The
> other option is that yes, I take a piece of productivity software
> (MicroFiche comes to mind) for a test drive. When I can afford it, if
> I've decided it's not a piece of crap, I buy it.
> (Simple analogy for the brain-dead: I see nothing wrong with eating liver.
> This does not mean I have any desire to do so myself.) 

Translation: I pirate stuff and only when I decide I will directly profit
from shelling out some cash will I pay the author for what I have stolen.

As I am sure you are aware, If a person talks another person into, say, robing
a bank the first person, under the right circumstances, can be found guilty of
something called 'conspiracy'.  If your neighbor tells you that he has killed
his first wife, and was never caught, your not telling the appropriate
officials (unless you have an extraordinarily good reason) what you know can
put you at risk of charges of 'accessory after-the-fact', 'harboring a criminal',
or any of a number of other charges.  Recently, there has been alot of activity in
federal, state and local governmental bodies which are attempting to define
what limits of liability and responsibility are appropriate for computer BBS
and similar electronic services.  IMHO, It is in the interest of the NET to
discourage these public admissions of felonious activity, as well as the open
and energetic encouragement of such activity.  The laws that are coming into
existance are already starting to get very restrictive.  Some small BBS and
email/news networks have already closed down because they simply don't want to
'take the risk' of being held accountable for someone like Mr. Kubla.

Perhapps you are right.  It is likely that I should have kept my response to
him on a more personal level rather than posting a FLAME.  I myself do not
generally encourage flames.  There were, however, too many aspects of this
posting that rubbed me wrong, so I flamed.  A more coherent response would, in
all likelihood, have been appropriate.

Hindsight is 20-20.

ARS.

-- 
- Andrew R. Scholnick @ Corp. for Open Systems, McLean, VA -- andrews@cos.com
- {uunet, sundc, decuac}!cos!andrews -- Everything I write blame on me, NOT
-- my employer. - "Adventure is when you toss your life on the scales of
-- chance and wait for the pointer to stop." - M. Leinster (First Contact)