a2aviator@gmail.com wrote:
On Aug 15, 8:46 pm, magnusfalkirk <dean.pha...@gmail.com> wrote:And just to point something else out here, Alex has copies of the Design Your Own Home series, Architecture, Interiors and Landscape, also published by Abracadata, available for download for the GS on his What Is The Apple IIGS site and apparently hasn't had any problems about hosting them.This means absolutely nothing other than if someone cared they have not "found" this archive yet. I'm not debating this site or not, I know it's got it's disclaimer that if you are the controller/owner/etc, of a certain title or titles and you desire to have them removed, or what not, just say so. It's called act now and ask for forgiveness later. It's not an indicator of it being "okay" or not. I realize that most publishers/authors/etc, just don't give a rats posterior.
I think the moral principle is that one should not knowingly take from another something that they value. The cost of "due diligence" is so much higher than the marginal value of virtually any of the old software we are discussing that it is quite rational to "act now and ask for forgiveness later", just as it is rational for the owner(s) (whoever they may be) to not bother to look for "violations". One major problem that many copyright owners have with releasing old software is that they cannot be sure that they are not bound as a licensee not to release without the permission of licensors. As a result, "plausible deniability" is their best defense. Simply ignoring both requests for release and unauthorized releases is the way they preserve this defense without incurring any additional costs.
I also think the workmanship and effort put into the WITAIIGS site just plain kicks rats posteriors all over the tarmac. Over and over again. So...
Agreed. -michael AppleCrate II: An Apple II "blade server"! Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/ "The wastebasket is our most important design tool--and it's seriously underused."