Re: CD of all Files on Asimov

[jcompton@flood.xnet.com (Jason Compton)]

markhass@calweb.com wrote:
: Hi Folks!

: This is great stuff! and for only $19.95 a month. I'm glad there's a crt
: between me and the action though, I don't like getting splattered with
: blood. 

Which raises the age-old question, "With all this fun, who needs Doom?" :)

I just thought I'd two-cents the discussion.

This issue will never be resolved to the satisfaction of all sides of the 
argument.

Is is piracy?  Legally, yes.

Is it wrong and evil?  Well, I'll just share that this sort of thing also
goes on over in the Commodore 64 community.  The 64 scene, too, has its
active retailers of old software (sold off in massive lots by the
publisher, or major chains that gave up on the 8-bit market) as well as
new creations.  And yes, it hurts these dedicated people if you're
snagging something they're still selling. 

But to me, the REAL crime would be to let classic computer software die. 
It's an entire era the likes of which will likely never be seen again. 
Modern commercial software is created by teams of people, many of which
may never even meet each other, and many of which may not even really care
about the finished product besides their salary and whatever small royalty
cut they get, as it's just another project in their IN bin.

But the software we're talking about here was written by an individual, 
or a tightly-knit group of people who shared common interests and goals.  
They poured their lives out in assembly onto the video displays of the 
64, the Apple, the Atari, and so on.  I don't know about you, but I can 
FEEL the lifeblood poured out by Richard Garriott in the early Ultima 
games.  I do not get the same sensation from the modern Ultimas which are 
"Executive Producer, Richard Garriott" overseeing a host of others.  And 
Ultima is by far not my favorite game of all time--but it's a good 
example.  You can come up with your own.

Much as artists often don't appreciate their own work, we've seen that 
even those who did the creating don't find much value in the effort they 
made.  (Didn't I see Chuckles selling off all his 8-bit equipment earlier 
this year?)  For those that do find value in it, the preservation of an 
entire era is more important than worry about being flagellated by 
self-appointed FBI and SPA representatives.

(And, oh yeah, CD-ROM is a decent way to preserve data for a reasonable 
period of time.)

--
Jason Compton                                  jcompton@xnet.com
Communications Manager - Amiga, VIScorp        http://www.vistv.com/
Editor-in-Chief, Amiga Report Magazine         (847) 741-0689 FAX
I know what I like.                            And I like what I know.
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