Re: Another Modest Proposal: Pirating vs Archiving

[jeffr@bnr.ca (Jeffrey Robertson)]

In article <31F4F57C.6C4@nowhere.gone>,
David Edwards  <none@nowhere.gone> wrote:
>Nathan Mates wrote:
>> (snip)
>> 
>> > 1. The program is no longer commercially available on this
>> >    platform.
>> 
>>    Joe Kohn/SSII still sells Atarisoft originals (shrinkwrapped, new),
>> incluing Pac-Man. Guess what. The index file said that there's a file
>> pub/apple_II/images/games/action/Pac_Man.dsk.gz, and that file existed
>> last time I checked.  No, I didn't bother downloading to verify it,
>> but are the odds pretty darn good that it's Pac-Man? You bet. Thus,
>> condition 1 fails your test.
>> 
>
>Open up your eyes and ears, bozo. Commercially available, in this case, 
>is in reference to the fact that the software in question IS NO LONGER 
>BEING PRODUCED by the parent company. There will always be originals 
>available, but this is existing stock. And even if the Atarisoft 
>originals above are being produced by someone as new product, that does 
>not mean that EVERYTHING else in the software universe "fails your test" 
>as you put it.

Uuuh, if I might be allowed to state what I meant by my rule,
instead of being told what I meant, I'd have to agree with Nathan.

Someone is selling brand-new copies of the software commercially
(ie, for profit).  Offering the software free on the 'net would
be cutting into his sales... which isn't fair.

However, if after a year or so after Joe Kohn sells all his
copies, and no one else starts selling them, *then* the program
is truly "no longer commercially available".
-- 
-------------------------------------+----------------+-----------------
Jeffrey Robertson                    |  jeffr@bnr.ca  |      BNR, Ottawa
"I speak for myself, not BNR" - Me   +----------------+       (Meriline)
"Verbing weirds language" - Calvin                      OC-48 FiberWorld