Re: CD of all Files on Asimov

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <5181eg$ssp@kettle.magna.com.au>, Deth <deth@magna.com.au> wrote:
>I'm going to put together a CD of all files on Asimov if anyone is
>interested in purchasing it. I should be able to fit every file and
>emulator on the CD all unzipped so you will be able to run all dsk
>files off the CD. I know having all these files on HD just takes up
>too much space, so if you are interested, drop me a line. Later....

   Hmmm. First piracy, now bootlegging. The legal penalties are
higher, now that you're not just content to steal, you're stealing
_AND_ making money off it. I'm glad to see that there are some
consciouses beginning to twitch by realizing that Asimov might be shut
down. Why? BECAUSE IT'S F***ING ILLEGAL! However, what do these people
do? Write off their conscience as a bad dream, and go on.

   This also manages to totally repudiate all of the "oh, my disk
failed and I just wanted a replacement" argument also, unless your
collection of legit stuff manages to EXACTLY mirror what's on the CD.
You'll be getting stuff you have zero legal right to posess. Can we
trust every single person who ever buys or is lent such a CD not to
touch anything they didn't pay for the first time? If so, I've got a
lot of real estate you can invest in.

   Copyrights do NOT disappear when not enforced with jack-booted
government cops busting down the doors of anyone who says they're
even considering copying something illegally.

   I own a car. I _expect_ that it'll eventually break down and become
unusuable. (Entropy, wear and tear, Acts of God, collisions, etc) What
do I do? Break in to a Saturn dealership and steal another one,
claiming that my original one doesn't work anymore? That's idiotic.
Why? Because people have realistic expectations about the lifetime of
cars, and when one dies, they get something comparable (rarely
identical), and hopefully a good bit better. Same thing with most of
the applicances I around my house. I hope that they last a darn long
time, but if they don't, I'll get new things.

   Sounds perfectly reasonable, right? THEN WHY THE HELL DO PEOPLE
EXPECT THAT THEIR COMPUTER DISKS ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE? Why the heck
does a disk that goes bad surprise people, and require a replacement,
free of charge? Things fall apart. People move on. You buy another,
just like in the real world. What the heck is so hard with this
line of reasoning, unless you're so blinded by the desire to pirate
you can't see the truth.

   Or, for less pricey examples, what about books? Through reasonable
wear and tear, some of my books are falling apart. Am I owed a new
copy? Hell no. Do I try and take good care of them, and if they do
totally fall apart do I throw it out and look for a copy in a used
book store? Yes. Same thing with the original computer disks I have
that I care about (unlike free AOL coasters or frisbees). I don't
store them near excessive hear or cold, and don't put them near
speakers. Guess what? Almost zero problems. 

   A comparable version of this is the movie industry. From the 1930s
to the mid-70s, films were shown in theaters for their useful run,
then were occasionally found at art houses, revivals, or the like.  If
you couldn't find something, you were pretty much out of luck.  Then
VCRs were produced in mass quantities. Guess what happened to all the
old classics? They were suddenly made reavailable, and people could
buy them AGAIN, and watch them whenever they wanted. There's a nice
little friendly message from the FBI on each videotape telling you
that you can't copy things.

   In the 1980s, computer software was available in stores for its
useful run, then occasionally found at garage sales, shrinkwrapped
from Joe Kohn, or the like. Will something happen that they'll be sold
again? Microsoft, Activision, and other companies are already doing
that to some pieces of software. You'd be stupid to expect this not to
happen to more. Guess what? Microsoft's got lots of lawyers. I'm going
to stay on their good side. I will keep warning you folks, but when
you get nailed by them, don't come crying to me.

Nathan Mates

--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  -R.A. Heinlein