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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!pilchuck!dataio!bright
From: bright@dataio.Data-IO.COM (Walter Bright)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Empire
Message-ID: <1410@dataio.Data-IO.COM>
Date: Tue, 3-Nov-87 14:24:18 EST
Article-I.D.: dataio.1410
Posted: Tue Nov  3 14:24:18 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Nov-87 03:47:52 EST
References: <351:maden@rzsin.sin.ch>
Reply-To: bright@dataio.UUCP (Walter Bright)
Organization: Data I/O Corporation; Redmond, WA
Lines: 32

In article <351:maden@rzsin.sin.ch> maden@rzsin.sin.ch (David Maden) writes:
>First, I don't see how Walter Bright can restrict distribution of a program
>which he once put into the PD (I assume that DECUS received its copy of the
>source for the VAX version of Empire from him, or at least with his blessing -
>if not, I retract the following comments).

I suggest you retract them. DECUS received Empire from Herb Jacobs and
Dave Mitton, who then worked for DEC. I have talked to Herb and Dave, they
admitted to not knowing where their version of Empire came from, and to
misleading DECUS into thinking that it was PD. As a result of this, DECUS
stopped distributing the sources, and in the DECUS catalog now correctly
lists me as the author.

As to how the original sources got passed around, that is a mystery. The
sources originally were developed on a PDP-10. Evidently, someone defeated
the protection mechanism (some people made careers out of this) and passed
it around.

>It appears, though, that in a
>moment of weakness or whatever, Mr Bright released the said source to the PD,
>later realised that he had, perhaps, made a mistake in giving away something
>which had commercial value and has since been trying to minimise the damage. It
>sounds to me rather like crying over spilled milk, an occupation which is not
>normally considered to be good business practice.

It's normally considered good practice to check your facts before
broadcasting them.

>BTW. There is a commented out format statement in the source saying to send bug
>     reports to ELROND::EMPIRE. Does anyone know who/where this is?).

No.