Re: Think About It

[jeffr@bnr.ca (Jeffrey Robertson)]

In article <4t33j6$grr@crl3.crl.com>, Joe Kohn <joko@crl.com> wrote:
>Will Baguhn (wbaguhn@nyx10.cs.du.edu) wrote:
>
>>> Yes, you can have it both ways.
>
>No you can't. 
>
>In recent months, many long time participants of csa2 have gotten fed up 
>with the constant bickering and have simply left.

Joe, I think the recent bickering has been about more than just
the definition of pirating.  It is unfortunate that the "Lost Classics"
approach to preserving and distributing out-of-print software is
being tarred with the same brush that Dr. Tom oh-so-richly deserves.

Did you read my proposal for "acceptable pirating"?  It hinges
on the distinction between commerical available software (and/or
software whose copyright holder still cares about it) versus
old stuff like "Alien Rain" or "David's Midnight Pinball" which
is no longer available, and whose copyright holders cannot be
traced.

The "don't ask; don't tell" analogy has been advanced, but is not
a very good argument, IMHO.  In my proposal, it's more like "ask,
but if no-one replies, go ahead."

Copyright law has a lot to say about the holder's responsibility
to defend it.  My favourite example of this is the way Charles
Schultz has to (reluctantly) enforce his copyright on the play
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" against public schools wanting
to put it on without paying royalties.  If he didn't, then
someone could put it on for serious money, and he couldn't
complain.  (I take this example from the definitive biography
of Schultz by Johnson.)

If the pirates/preservationists aren't trying to make money,
have made every reasonable attempt to contact the copyright
holder, and copyright notices are preserved, then I can't
be too critical of their actions.

I write software for a living.  I oppose piracy.  To me, this
kind of preservation effort is not piracy.  As I understand
it, the Asimov site is/was *NOT* such a preservation effort,
and Dr. Tom is not as scrupulous as my proposal requires.
So condemn them, not the philosoply.

(Of course, if you want to debate the actual philosophy, I'd
be more than happy... in email or in csa2.)
-- 
-------------------------------------+----------------+-----------------
Jeffrey Robertson                    |  jeffr@bnr.ca  |      BNR, Ottawa
"I speak for myself, not BNR" - Me   +----------------+       (Meriline)
"Verbing weirds language" - Calvin                      OC-48 FiberWorld