Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!motsj1!motbos!shino
From: shino@motbos.UUCP (Rei Shinozuka MCD SE)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Piracy
Summary: what did the pot call the kettle?
Keywords: copy protection piracy
Message-ID: <384@motbos.UUCP>
Date: 19 May 88 20:27:54 GMT
References: <9160@cisunx.UUCP> <1801@uhccux.UUCP> <807@netxcom.UUCP> <177@proxftl.UUCP>
Organization: Motorola SPS Sales Office, Woburn, Ma., 01801
Lines: 30

In article <177@proxftl.UUCP>, bill@proxftl.UUCP (T. William Wells) writes:

> You goofed.
> The point you overlook is this: Lotus (and possibly others, but I
> will say `Lotus' to keep things simple) owns the software.  No
> one, other than Lotus has any right whatsoever to the software.
> A minor joke here, to make my point:
  ...joke deleted 
> (I seem to remember that this came from _Up the Organization_,
> whose author I do not remember.)
> A software pirate is a thief; anything he says to justify himself
> is a rationalization for doing what HE wants to do.  His being a
> thief is a consequence of his morality and has nothing to do with
> the price of the goods he steals.

Uh, excuse me, but you DID lift that joke, presumably without the
author's permission (since you don't even remember his name).

You goofed.

The point you overlook is this: the author of that joke owns the joke. 
No one, other than the author has any right whatsoever to the joke.
 
A joke pirate is a thief; anything he says to justify himself
is a rationalization for doing what HE wants to do.  His being a
thief is a consequence of his morality and has nothing to do with
the price of the goods he steals.

I'm sorry, I could not resist.  No hard feelings.

-rei