Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!we13!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!amd70!fortune!hpda!hplabs!sri-unix!Ewing@YALE.ARPA From: Ewing@YALE.ARPA Newsgroups: net.micro Subject: Software piracy from a pirate's standpoint Message-ID: <12085@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Sun, 8-Apr-84 15:56:54 EST Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12085 Posted: Sun Apr 8 15:56:54 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Apr-84 09:30:09 EST Lines: 29 From: Ricky Ewing This may sound surprising coming from a die-hard software pirate as myself, but Brad Templeton's comments about software piracy couldn't have been more true. I don't deal in a lot of the business software in my library but I keep it around just in case anyone might want it. Most of my library is games, tons of games. Most people that I know and especially kids think nothing of any moral or legal implications when one is offered a copy of "Choplifter!" I and two other friends eventually got tired of 30-minute copying sessions to try to copy one protected program (using a pirated disk nibble copier) and decided that it was time to start cracking programs ourselves so that we and others could copy more freely. The passion for cracking programs (which stands at more thean 50 different programs) turned into a battle of wits betwwen us and the software companies with them always being the enemy while our merry band of outlaws would play Robin Hood with our software. We have slacked off our antics in the past year but we still sometimes find the time to crack a program or two. Our group will probably never be cured of the piracy bug anytime soon, but we really need to teach our kids who have just gotten their new Apple //e, C64 or Atari about the ethics they should know about how to use computer software. I can just imagine what kinds off activities that kids' software piracy can lead to in adulthood if certain our our principles aren't turned around (this also goes for adults, anyway). At least one good thing has come out of my cracking programs; I've learned an awful lot about computers and complicated programming techniques. Ricky Ewing Yale University EWING@YALE.ARPA -------