Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!texbell!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: Your articles sold for cash. Message-ID: <6--4A8C@xds13.ferranti.com> Date: 31 Jul 90 22:33:03 GMT References: <5414@castle.ed.ac.uk> <26259@usc.edu> <26149@nigel.udel.EDU> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 15 I wrote a soft shareware program for the Amiga called "browser". After a while, I recieved mail from someone in Germany to the effect that someone was selling a disk that contained several such programs for more than the $5 that Fred Fish charges for his Amiga PD collection, with the implication that I should be horrified at his abuse of my work. I'm afraid that I disappointed this worthy gentleman, because I really didn't care. So long as the package stayed together so my begging letter was included, I didn't care if they required a 5 year indenture to get my code. I'd already by publishing it agreed to let anyone distribute it with no fee. I still fail to understand how something you've given away for free suddenly becomes valuable intellectual property when someone else finds they can sell it. All this does is give you a bigger audience. What's the big deal? -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U`