Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!cmcl2!phri!roy From: roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Why do people pirate software? Message-ID: <1990Aug3.212613.5026@phri.nyu.edu> Date: 3 Aug 90 21:26:13 GMT References: <7120@helios.TAMU.EDU> Sender: news@phri.nyu.edu (News System) Distribution: usa Organization: Public Health Research Institute, New York City Lines: 30 In <7120@helios.TAMU.EDU> n138ct@tamuts.tamu.edu (Brent Burton) writes: > If I have been thinking about buying some program, I'll look/ask around > to see if anyone I know has it so I can use it. Not just try it out at > the lab for an hour, but really use it. I assume you mean "make a copy on my machine so I can really try it out." While this certainly violates the letter of the copyright law, and almost certainly the spirit as well, even a "goody two shoes" about pirating (like me) would have a hard time condemming it, if only the end point really were "buy a real copy or delete the hot one after a true and honest trial period." Now, I'm not suggesting that that's not the case with Brent, but in my experience, it all too often isn't. I'll tell you a funny story. My usual approach to fighting piracy is to offer to help people find the answer to their problem in their manual that came with the software. I usually have a pretty good idea what's hot and what's not, and my offer is largely just a way of confirming my hunches. If I become convinced that the person has no manual, sometimes I suggest that the program was installed wrong and offer to help re-install a clean copy from their original disk. Once it becomes obvious to me that it's hot and obvious to the party in question that I know, I refuse to provide any help, and suggest they call tech support with their question. I recently had somebody who actually did call tech support, and then had the balls to come to me to "borrow" my software registration number, so tech support would talk to them! -- 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!"