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From: roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Why do people pirate software?
Message-ID: <1990Aug2.152426.25372@phri.nyu.edu>
Date: 2 Aug 90 15:24:26 GMT
References: <1441fullerr@yvax.byu.edu>
Sender: news@phri.nyu.edu (News System)
Organization: Public Health Research Institute, New York City
Lines: 27

fullerr@yvax.byu.edu writes:
> I am interested why people pirate software.  Is it just because of the
> cost of most software or is it for other reasons as well?

	Oooh!  You hit one of my pet peeves.  I don't think price has
anything to do with it.  I've seen people pirate $500 programs and I've
seen them pirate $30 ones.  Amongst the reasons I've had people tell me, or
that I've infered myself are:

	1) The know they will never get caught.  Hard to argue with that
one on factual grounds.

	2) They honestly don't think they are hurting anybody.

	3) They realize they are hurting somebody but since that person is
either anonymous or very rich, they don't care.  The "why should I make
Bill Gates any richer" syndrome.

	4) They don't think copyright laws apply to them because they are a
non-profit organization, only making a copy for their personal use, and/or
"I've already bought a copy, I just want to install it on my other
machine".
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu -OR- {att,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
"Arcane?  Did you say arcane?  It wouldn't be Unix if it wasn't arcane!"