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From: hzink@pro-nucleus.cts.com (Harry Zink)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: More on the ever popular subjet of Piracy...
Message-ID: <8905280816.AA04235@crash.cts.com>
Date: 27 May 89 22:57:21 GMT
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Network Comment: to #1097 by pnet01!crash!cunyvm.cuny.edu!SEWALL%UCONNVM.BITNET

Never thought this discussion would stretch out that far, but I guess that's
how ideological discussions go...

Anyway, a couple of points were made by Don Elton and Murph Sewall, which I
would like to comment on.

Concerning International sales and availability:  Of course you have sold your
program, TIC, all over the world Don, because it is a shareware package, and
available on every single information service and BBS around (there has yet to
be a BBS that doesn't have TIC in the transfer section).  That is how I found
out about TIC originally.  You neglect the fact that the distribution of your
program is not subject to localized distributors and/or local mores/customs. 
Using that as an argument against the lack of international availability of
software is rather moot.  In fact, you supported my earlier argument about
'acquiring' the program first, and only purchasing it once its usefulness has
been established.  After all, how do you think all these people who did buy
the program found out about it - that's right!  They had a copy of it, played
with it, liked it and sent in the money to get the legit copy (that's how it
was with me).  This means that they used a copy they have acquired through
whatever channels for evaluation first, before purchasing the actual program. 
If we were to replace TIC with a commercial package in this example, suddenly
the act of previewing is termed piracy and scoffed at by you.  (Note: In this
argument, I am assuming that the preview of the package will lead to a
purchase - I know that it is not always so).  So, as much as I respect your
work and your opinion, I have to disagree with your evaluation of the
situation.  The problem does not lie so much in the impossibility to acquire
the package (like I said earlier, mail order houses will gladly send the
programs overseas) but in the problem of potentially buying a 'dud' - as there
are many out there.  If you do buy the program overseas from a mail order
house in the US, returning it is nearly impossible.  Local distributors
usually are not very active, and like I said earlier, sometimes certain
programs are just not even allowed to be sold in a country.  Unfortunately you
have not addressed the issue clearly Don, merely told us about your
experiences with your own product (which, as I pointed out, is a completely
different matter to commercial software).

Murph mentions that we should trust magazine reviews.  This kind of made me
chuckle.  The magazines I read were A+ (R.I.P.), Computer Shopper, maybe
Incider (when I have nothing better to do).  All of these are great in
eulogizing the programs of the publishers that advertize in their pages. 
There have been some pretty horrible software packages out for the GS, all of
which have received reviews ranging from 'Good' to 'Excellent' in these
magazine.  So, if we had trusted these reviews, we would have ended up being
shafted nonetheless.  The worst case of pseudo-reviews I have seen so far has
been by some character called P. Chien who seems to think that anything ever
made for the Apple is the current seventh plane of bliss (irregardless of the
worthlessness of the product).  I have come to regard his recommendations as
seals of non-worth of any product.  Unfortunately, you can't trust magazine
reviews all the time.

Murph also mentions word of mouth (namely this newsgroup).  Unfortunately, how
many average consumers have access to it?  Very few, I suppose.  Sure word of
mouth will help in user groups and the likes, but it protects very few of
those who read a review and purchase the program through mail order.  It
protects to an even lesser degree those living abroad, as the magazines are
either late or unavailable.

What it really boils down to (in my book), is a matter of civil
responsibility.  We should support software companies that produce high
quality products at reasonable prices (emphasis on reasonable prices - I do
not believe in paying 3-400 bucks for a word processor).  We should most
definitely do our best to warn the public and our fellow men (and women) about
software that doesn't deserve that designation.

One last question concerning the issue of 'software collecting'.  It is true
that the majority of pirates collects without use, thus, since he never would
hve bought the programs to start with, nor does he use them, WHO GETS HURT. 
The way I see it, nobody really gets hurt or looses money.  On the contrary,
since this same pirate is able to show these programs to others, who might
decided that this is something they need, a sale could be generated through
this practice, if we are dealing with reasonably responsible people.  Once
again, in this specific example, I would like to ask WHO GET'S HURT?

I still have somehwhere in this house several boxes with a couple of hundred
programs (several ones of which I did purchase because the programs were
useful and I use them) which I used to use to demonstrate programs to people
who were interested in some program or another.  Through this practice I have
generated quite a few sales for the publishers of the good programs -
converseley I have 'saved' quite a few people form shoddy products.

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