Re: CD of all Files on Asimov

[GUDATH@EZINFO.VMSMAIL.ETHZ.CH (Henrik 'Ratte' Gudat)]

In <323d2aeb.5909893@news.goodnet.com> have@it.com writes:

> 	The big problem I have with this thread is the simplistic view
> so many people seem to have about software and "piracy."  If I have a

Well, so much for simplifications. You attitude seems to be: as long as nobody
sues me, it's ok. Furthermore, why shoudl stealing be limited to physical
things? I guess you're just trying to avoid words that perfectly describe your
actions. If you can steal ideas, you can also steal software which are
basically binary ideas.

> copy of a program that costs thousands of dollars, just to play with
> it, and I make no profit from it, I am not depriving anyone of income.

Yes you do. The programmer wrote the program to be licensed to others. The
license agreement does not say that you'll get a full refund if doesn't make
you rich. It's your personal decision to think about which programs are worth
your money - not the programmer's.

> 	The dirty little secret of the software industry is that a
> little piracy is good for it. People have been burned too many times

Sure. Have you ever been thinking about the fact that if software piracy
weren't an issue, software companies could sell the software at lower prices.
Fact is that those dumbheads who legally acquire software are paying your
pirated copies.

> 	Well, I hope this somewhat rambling treatise made sense, and I
> welcome all reason-based rebuttals. :-)


It didn't. You should always ask what happened if all the folks out
there acted like yourself. If everyone said that a little piracy would not
harm, I doubt the whole system worked.

henrik