Toolkit for DOOM/DOOMTOOL.ISO/news/2700/2738

Internet Message Format | 1994-09-04 | 7KB

Path: oz.cdrom.com!agate!spool.mu.edu!mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!nyx.cs.du.edu!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Name withheld by request)
Newsgroups: alt.games.doom
Subject: Ethics--If Someone offered me a free copy, Would I Really Refuse
Date: 4 Sep 1994 12:17:18 -0600
Organization: University of Denver, Math/CS Dept.
Lines: 156
Message-ID: <34d2ve$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: nyx.cs.du.edu

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Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
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    Dear Readers of the a.g.doom Group:


         In approaching the issue of what is right and wrong concerning
 software, commerce, personal ethics, justice, etc., there are several
 pitfalls, or traps, that I would like to commend to your attention:

         1. Haves/have-nots dimorphism:

                Those who don't, and those who do have the game, Doom ][,
         are spontaneously segregating themselves.  There is finger
         pointing of an affectedly indignant self-righteous nature on
         the one hand, and perhaps rationalization on the other.
         Is this not human nature?  See and understand this nature, do
         not condemn it.

         2. Use of Fear/Guilt Impelling Tactics.

              Example: Conjuring imagery of the SPA's "heels clicking
         down the hall", or the use of legalese, or implicit threats
         of legal action.

            Is this the way to deal with people?

             To carefully corral their thoughts with fear asymptotes,
         leaving only one direction of possible movement, towards your
         way of thinking?

         3. "Crusading" to Stomp Out those Pirates,
               Friends of the "Victim" Phenomena, etc.

             The antagonist/protagonist dimorphism is being amplified
         by painting people who have the software with the villain brush,
         and by painting ID with the good guy/victim brush--this makes it
         easier for all to jump on the bandwagon, and "defend" ID.

             This is very superficial, folks--let's look deeper.


     People, please hear me out, if you will, I seek a common thread here
   between all of you here in this newsgroup.

         And what is that thread?

           And why do you read this group?

              And what is the greatest Good that we all share?


      Why, the Game itself!  The game is the greatest good; most, if
   not every single one of us, really enjoy playing Doom, and probably
   also its predecessor, Wolf-3D.

      In fact, I believe, that we liked Wolf-3D so much that our desires
   were distilled and coalesced into this amazing game that does the
   impossible on the PC, Doom.

        Would Doom have been created without You, the players?

          No; your will, in the aggregate, caused it to be.


     ID software was the instrument of your will, and it magnified your
  collective will through its programming genius.

     There are other companies out there, crafty, unscrupulous companies
  that are slow, fat, lethargic, and mean--I am speaking of companies that
  systematically exploit and manipulate their customers, while monopolizing
  the market with a stranglehold that is antithetical to creative d
  development.  They hire many lawyers, and spend much time in court
  quibbling, hen-pecking customers and rivals alike, then afterwards,
  preening their feathers.

      Folks, Id Software is not like this; it is young, strong, and
  running lean--please give your support to Id to show that you appreciate
  their way of doing business.

      If you take advantage of them now, (and you very well can, neither
  right nor wrong, but there are consequences) they will go sour in
  Public Relations, get a team of lawyers, and become like the dog that
  was left out in the sun too long over the summer, teased by the n
  neighborhood kids: mean and cantankerous.

       Now forget right and wrong; think only of consequences of actions
  on a large scale.

         The game is the greatest Good, we enjoy playing it, and we
      want to see more great games like this.

         Knowing this, what then can we do?

         What should we avoid doing?


      Think, when you go to buy the game, you are not really paying
  for Doom ][, but for Quake--imagine a comment for every ten lines of
  the Quake code which says, "This program segment brought to you by
  Ralph Johnson." (this hypothetical, of course, the .exe probably
  wouldn't be readable, or have outstanding text of this type)

     Please keep in mind, copying software is not wrong, and avoiding
  copying software is not right--right and wrong are aritrary values
  assigned by the powers that be depending upon their needs.

       But here is another way of looking at it:

        You have a garden, with a row of tomatoe bushes in the front,
  and some sunflowers in the back.  It is dry where you live.  Since
  you like tomatoes with your BLT's, you want them to be big beefsteak
  tomatoes, so you water the garden every day--then pick some big, red,
  juicy tomatoes--but then you notice long shadows looming across the
  yard as you go back into the house: you turn around, and see that
  the sunflowers are about 8 feet tall, because when you were watering
  the tomatoes, some of the water was also going to the sunflowers.

      The tomatoes are Doom ][, the best of their kind, but the
 sunflowers are Quake, towering over the garden--or would you rather
 have a small, starved radish?

     If you have Doom ][ now, please make a commitment to yourself:

        I will not give this game to anyone else; I will not spread it.

     And suppose a friend learns somehow that you have the game,
 can you refuse to give it to him?  No--so what should you do?

        Erase the game.  Erase copies.  Do it now.  Then you tell
 your friends that you are looking foward to an even better game,
 and you would rather support Id's development, then some behemoth
 company that doesn't listen to its customers, and doesn't care about
 what they say, unlike Id.

   To all, especially those with copies, I appreciate that you have
 read this--and please don't buy into guilt or fear as a source of
 motivation:

            You like these awesome games,
            there's more where they came from
            if you show your appreciation;
            Now show your appreciation to Id,
                    you know how.


                     Thank you.