Re: A2 Trade/Swap???? site discovered ... another Vogon success story

[pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <54X85.55024$Ey2.392283@news1.sttls1.wa.home.com>,
Ernest <ernestls@home.com> wrote:
 
> Paul Schlyter wrote in message <8jqao3$lah$1@merope.saaf.se>...
>>In article <jeff-D77D29.17413902072000@nntp.cts.com>,
>>Jeff Jungblut  <jeff@nospam.soapzone.com> wrote:
>>
>>> In article <8jod24$kq$1@merope.saaf.se>, pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul
>>> Schlyter) wrote:
>>>
>>>> Another activity to fight piracy is to try to make software available
>>>> legally for free.  If a legal and free software alternative is
>>>> available, then it becomes uninteresting to try to pirate a software
>>>> product.
>>>
>>> Er, what?  I don't know anyone who uses pirated A2 software for *fun* or
>>> because it's *more interesting.*  It's used because (a) it may perform
>>> whatever functions the user wants to perform, and (b) it's no longer
>>> available for sale.
> 
> Whatever A2 software I happen to be using, I use it for fun, even if it's
> doing something practical like keeping track of my record collection, etc..
 
And why do you have a record collection?  I bet it's for fun ... right?
 
> Let's face it, most of us use our Apple II's because we enjoy it, not
> because we, sigh... have work to do.
 
True -- when we have work to do, we use a more modern computer, because
almost always the work will demand that.
 
>>You can deal with (b) in two ways:
>>
>>1. Contact the original author and ask if it's now OK to redistribute
>>his program for free -- like I did with the authors of S-C Assembler
>>and Flash!
> 
> Yes, the original owners are always very easy to find, too.
 
No they aren't -- but they aren't always impossible to find either!
I mean you can make SOME effort in trying to find them, don't you
think so?
 
>>2. Find another, equivalent, piece of software which can be redistributed
>>for free, legally.
> 
> Yes, there are lots and lots of free equivilents to to every single piece of
> ancient Apple II software. The net is sick with it, and you only have to
> spend a few years of your life looking for it. If you can't find what you're
> looking for after the first few years, be patient. Maybe someone will die
> and will their Apple II software collection to you, or if you shit long
> enough in the right ear (see copywrite holder,) or secretly pay off one of
> the morally upstanding controllers... er, ah, defenders, of ancient software
> to get a copy, just remember, before you simply click, download, and move
> on... there are alternatives!
 
95% of all this old Apple II software are games, right?  What's the
purpuse of games?  Why do you run them?  You do it for fun, right?
Finding an equivalent game then means finding a game which entertains
you as mocuh, but not necessarily a game that's exactly the same.
 
And you also have option 1. -- to find the copyright holder and ask
him to reclassify the game as freeware.  You could even consider this
a game by itself: if you manage to find the copyright holder and to
convince him to reclassify the game, you will have "won" another
game, and that too is an acheivement, don't you think so?
 
 
>>> People may have lots of different reasons for using unlicensed A2
>>> software, but *sport* really isn't one of the believable ones.
> 
> Using unlicensed A2 software is a true sport for me, let me tell ya! I get a
> real adrenaline rush from downloading a really old A2 game from some free
> site.
 
You could also consider getting the game reclassified as freeware a
sport: it takes cleverness, skill, etc to succeed in THAT game.
You're absolutely sure you don't wanna play?
 
>>Then how come uncracked A-II games quite often bears a note saying
>>something like  "Cracked by <some_name>" ?
>>
>>And since the vast majority of Apple II software were games, the
>>focus of the typical Apple II user clearly was entertainment rather
>>than usefullness.
> 
> I know. Isn't it a real shame that everyone can't be so serious and
> purposeful?
 
If all Apple II gamers were purposeful TOO, then we'd probably see
many more old II games reclassified as freeware.  But perhaps your
adrenaline rush gets even stronger if you know you're doing something
illegal?  If so, you're probably an adrenaline addict....
 
 
 
-- 
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Paul Schlyter,  Swedish Amateur Astronomer's Society (SAAF)
Grev Turegatan 40,  S-114 38 Stockholm,  SWEDEN
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