Re: NATHAN MATES - You should read this now...

[swhite@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu (Steve White)]

In article <54g532$1qi@client2.news.psi.net>, smentzer@pacbell.net (Steve
Mentzer) wrote:

> It seems that you and others like you can only resort to one argument. That I
> am a thief. Fine, if that is what I am, then that is what I am. But dont sit
> here and tell me how horrified you are by my actions. I bet somewhere in your
> house or apartment there is some sort of analog or digital recording 
> that you did not pay for. Whether it be a taped made for TV movie on VHS
> or a collection of old dr. demento tunes on cassette.


You'd be wrong. How much did you bet? Pay up.


> I am not trying to justify what I did, and continue to do. I know that the
> fact is that what I do is an infringement on united state copyright laws. It
> is considered theft on the eyes of the moral majority.


You are trying to justify it, see your next paragraph.

Yes, the law and most moral and ethical people consider it theft.


> 
> But who am I hurting?  When I could, I bought apple II software. I have tried
> today. I attempted to buy a copy of GBBS/ACOS recently.. and I failed to 
> locate a vendor. I want the software and I made an attempt to locate it. I 
> couldn't find it. Now I will try to get a pirated version of it.


No, you said you were a pirate when you were 13 because you had no money.
You still pirate.

That you occasionally obeyed the law is not an excuse for failing to do so
today.


> I dont want you to accept what I do, but do all of us a favor and quit the
> tireless complaining about the existence of "pirate" apple II sites. In all
> reality, they really dont hurt the remaining (and futile) future of the apple 
> II.


You hurt the copyright holders of the software you have stolen, first and
foremost. You discourage remaining Apple II programmers, distributors and
writers from staying in the market -- they won't get paid so why stay
around?

What Nathan does is his business. I will certainly continue to regard you
as a low-life thief.


>       Pirate sites were everywhere during the early 80's.
>       Law enforcement agencies everywhere tried to stop them
>       and while they nailed a few, they failed most of the time.
>       If you kill asimov, sites will start to spring up everywhere.
>       Instead of having one site to attack you will have hundreds.
>       And getting rid of things like the /business directory will
>       be nearly impossible..
> 
>       This is fact, this is inevitable, this is the way it is..


Yes, criminiality will always be amongst us.




steve