Re: Asimov Mirror Sites Access Information

[cturley2@aol.com (Cturley2)]

<<Subject: Re:  Asimov Mirror Sites Access Information
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Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 18:25:34 GMT
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Organization: RoadRunner - Richmond

RoadRunner - (I conclude) from mediaone.net - using a PC - wrote:


<<I believe I'm showing a complete lapse of judgement in posting to an obvious
flame war, but I can no longer resist. That being said, I'll say my piece.

Laws have NOTHING to do with ethics, morals, or right/wrong. If at some time
in the distant past, they happened to coincide with laws, it was due to the
efforts of extraordinarily wise and righteous people. Those people are dead.>>

This is indeed very correct.

<<The laws they enacted have long since been amended, altered, and/or
repealed into nothing that resembles their former glory. Copyright law
itself has been altered too many times to count. Why? Copyright laws were
created to encourage authors to write original works, with the understanding
that after they had earned their fair and justified profits from that work,
then that work would belong to the public domain. In the USA, that time was
set at 14 years, which was deemed appropriate over 200 years ago!!>>

Correct again!

<<Correct me If I'm wrong, but much of the a2 software you are bitching and
moaning
about being 'stolen' falls well within that time frame. And that's in
meatspace years, guys... it isn't unfair to say that to correct it for
Internet years, that's more like a couple of centuries. Add to the fact,
that you cannot possibly argue that they are losing any kind of sales, and
what have you? Another of these victimless crimes that intellectual property
fascists are always rallying about. Some of the true hobbyists, the people
who really love these machines would GLADLY buy this software retail, were
it offered. Not only the software, but all of the registration perks that
were offered, all of the documentation that is hard to come by, and even
harder to live without... that would be a godsend.>>

Fully agreed!

<<If there is a moral/ethical crime being committed, if there is SIN here, it's
the
companies that refuse to release these 'copyrighted' works even after they
can no longer profit by them, just out of spitefulness. Sure, maybe some
don't realize they are still in demand, and out of forgetfulness, don't give
it away. That can be forgiven. But those who do it out of some reptilian
urge to protect their 'territory' simply because they failed to evolve like
DECENT human beings, they can go fuck themselves.>>

Most of them have done exactly that already and just don't know it yet.

<<There is 'some' reason for copyright law, and those reasons should be 
appreciated, even if there were no 'laws' to 'protect' them. But how far will 
you people take it?>>

As far as the silent majority in the community will tolerate - it seems.

<<It is only data now, only sequences of bits, only ideas, only knowledge. The 
day is coming when 'pirates' will be able to copy anything and everything...
little
molecule sized robots, creating exact replicas of yachts, ferraris and the
crown jewels.>>

It does seem to be in the works toward that sort of technology.

<<That will be illegal copyright infringement too. And you'll
justify that too. The poor were meant to be poor, right? Ha ha, flame
me all you want. And eat shit and die, while you're at it.>>

Justification is what those sort of people (the Usenet lamer or should 
I say flamer) lives for.  It's all that drives them and keeps them going 
with their compulsive and obsessive ways. In the final act, they most 
likely will eat what you suggest they eat and end as you suggest they 
will end.  

As to your saying: "The poor were meant to be poor, right?" - well, a 
person is only as poor as they perceive they are.  A person can have very 
little money on hand and still be very rich in many other ways.

As to all the rants and fuss about the pirate sites and their illegal archives,
FYI, currently - there are NO such sites in the Apple II community that are 
online for public access (unless you happen to live in Australia and can thus 
access the Asimov mirror site - there).  If it's still online for the public 
access - it's restricted to public access from only within Australia.

As to what the future holds with it all, well...it's all well preserved on
CD's.
Will any of it ever become available online for public access world wide again
from such sites as it was in the past?

I'd guess time will tell and we shall see!

Cheers,
Tom