Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!dan-hankins From: dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Software Development And Piracy (somewhat lengthy and hot s Message-ID: <12399@cup.portal.com> Date: 10 Dec 88 04:12:41 GMT References: <5866@louie.udel.EDU> <1341@leah.Albany.Edu> <3071@sugar.uu.net> Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 26 Information should be free. Software authors should be compensated for their work. How do we reconcile the two? Today, pirates live the first and tell themselves little white lies about the second. Authors live the second and try to stop the first. The two concepts exist in a constant state of conflict. The two can cooperate to create a society where technological progress is double (a very conservative effort) what it is today. Information can be free while authors (and even software companies) make money. However, those who are less than excellent are quickly weeded out by such a system. It is difficult to hide kludges when the source is free. Will it happen? Highly unlikely - unless a grass roots movement can be started to seed the idea. If I get enough mail on this, I will post the idea to the net soon. I may anyway. I've never read it, but I suspect the idea is similar to Stallman's GNU Manifesto. In a society where 90% cooperate, the 10% who maintain secrecy will be left behind. Dan Hankins