Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!amdahl!oliveb!sun!plaid!chuq
From: chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: v11INF3:  Poll on copyrights
Message-ID: <31885@sun.uucp>
Date: Fri, 23-Oct-87 19:24:28 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.31885
Posted: Fri Oct 23 19:24:28 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 18:37:27 EST
References: <4899@ncoast.UUCP> <31209@sun.uucp> <31218@sun.uucp> <31219@sun.uucp> <519@necis.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Organization: Fictional Reality, uLtd
Lines: 49

>My understanding of Root Boy's message was that he was refering to software that
>was placed into his hands by the author (with or without those silly copywrong
>notices).

>If you post software to a public forum such as Usenet it's not fair to expect
>people not to do with it as they choose (short of selling it as their own).
>It's like dangling candy in front of your kid sister and snaching it away when
>she grabs for it.

Um, I don't have much sympathy for this. A piece of software has been posted
with a legal copyright on it. You now claim that the author should expect
you to break the law because you can't help yourself? He posts it in good
faith that you'll hold your end of the bargain, and he's to blame when you
don't?  No, I'm sorry. If you can't live with the restrictions the author
puts on his software, you have two choices. Don't use it, or break the law.

You can't rationalize theft. Many have tried, but breaking the law is
breaking the law.

>Also,
>you seem to be forgetting that there have been laws against all sorts of things,
>like blacks wanting to sit in the front of a bus, or against people who wish to
>consume alcohol.

Fine, so software theft is unfair, just like racist. You know what people
did to racist laws? They fought to have them changed. If you don't like the
law, get it changed. You can't just claim that you're above it.

>These two examples are, fortunately, no longer on the books.

yup. I'm glad you can't make fun of the blacks anymore (in case anyone
cares). it has nothing to do with this discussion, though...

>Today, copyright and patent laws are used to limit or prevent the distribution
>of these creations.  In my view, this is no longer serving the public good.

It doesn't serve YOUR good, perhaps. But it serves the authors good. Imagine
how many authors would bother to write anything if folks could just walk up
and take it away from them? I wouldn't. Without the right to license or
limit access to the software, the software has no value. Without value, why
bother to do anything?

I'm sorry if my being able to protect my investment is inconvenient to you,
but I don't really care. If YOU created something of value and I came and
took it away from you, you'd feel differently, too.

chuq
Chuq Von Rospach					chuq@sun.COM
Editor, OtherRealms					Delphi: CHUQ