Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga:13616 comp.sys.misc:1043 comp.sys.ibm.pc:11058 comp.sys.mac:11594 comp.sys.atari.st:7135
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!phri!roy
From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Software (and other kinds of) copying
Message-ID: <3125@phri.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jan 88 16:19:49 GMT
References: <21754@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> <229@wright.EDU> <886@xn.LL.MIT.EDU> <160@octopus.UUCP>
Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 20


	Consider the following analogies:

	I own a rare postage stamp.  It is the only stamp of its kind known
to exist, and its value is a strong function of its rarity.  If you now
discover another instance of my stamp, the value of my copy goes down.

	I own another rare postage stamp, but not as rare as the first one;
there is another known instance of that stamp, which you own.  There is a
fire in your home and your copy of the stamp is destroyed.  The value of my
copy goes up because its rarity has just increased.

	Perhaps the analogy between the stamps and making copies of
software is a bit strained, but the point is clear; the value of something
I own can decrease simply because it becomes more common and easy to get,
without anything actually happening to my copy or copies.
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016