Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!sumax!polari!6sceng!blm
From: blm@6sceng.UUCP (Brian Matthews)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: StuffIt Deluxe (Compactor)
Keywords: StuffIt, Compactor
Message-ID: <508@6sceng.UUCP>
Date: 4 Sep 90 22:48:15 GMT
References: <4390@sage.cc.purdue.edu> <504@6sceng.UUCP> <4405@sage.cc.purdue.edu>
Organization: Six Sigma CASE, Inc.
Lines: 38

In article <4405@sage.cc.purdue.edu> ar4@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Piper Keairnes) writes:
|In <504@6sceng.UUCP> blm@6sceng.UUCP (Brian Matthews) writes:
|>Add to that StuffIt's (and StuffIt Deluxe's) horrible user interface, and
|>Compactor is looking much better.  Now if Bill (Goodman, the author of
|>Compactor) would release the file format or source code to do the
|>compaction/decompaction, I could see Compactor becoming the new
|>standard.
|I find it very hard to believe that there are users out in the community who
|EXPECT that an author will do exactly what they want. Criticism, critique,
|and suggestion may help the author continue a product, but flamming will
|not.

Huh?  How do you get from what I wrote to my flamming (whatever that is)
that I EXPECT an author to do what I want?  I simply said that if
Bill releases the file format, Compactor would stand a good chance
of becoming the Mac archiving standard.  If that's not what Bill wants,
that's his choice.  But then users also have the choice not to use his
software.

|If YOU were an author who had spent countless hours/weeks/years developing
|a program which you graciously donated to society, would you be so quick to
|make the source code public property as well?

Who said anything about making the source code public property?  You can
release source code and retain copyright on the code.

|I would think that maybe the posting of the distinct details that would
|allow new DECOMPRESSION programs to be written, but I believe that any
|author has the complete right and privilege to keep his work private. 

Did you actually bother to read what I wrote?  It appears not, so I'll
quote a relevant portion again: "if Bill [...] would release the file
format".  In other words, exactly what you suggested.

If you're not going to bother to take the time to read what someone
writes, don't waste everyone else's time following up to it.
-- 
Brian L. Matthews	blm@6sceng.UUCP