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- Path: sparky!uunet!comp.vuw.ac.nz!newshost.wcc.govt.nz!fmcg!equinox!nebula!phill
- From: phill@nebula.equinox.gen.nz (Phillip Coxon)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
- Subject: Re: I found a pirate - what shall I do?
- Message-ID: <phill.01vi@nebula.equinox.gen.nz>
- Date: 9 Nov 92 11:28:41 +1200
- References: <1992Nov5.183457.17779@doug.cae.wisc.edu>
- Organization: Editor, Amiga Christchurch Inc.
- X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
- Lines: 102
-
- Joel Kolstad (kolstad@cae.wisc.edu) wrote:
-
- > You're quite right. I don't feel so great when I've just gone out and paid
- > good money for a program and come back to a person who says, "Oh yeah!
- > I got that a long time ago! It's a really great program!" I still know
- > that the program really is worth the money, but it seems sort of unfair
- > to those of us with decent MORALS out here. I suppose I could simply
- > compromise my morals... :-)
-
- I used to be a right little pegleg myself, but I've changed my ways over
- the last couple of years. There's nothing I find more satisfying than
- looking at my bookshelf and seeing an increasing amount of it filled
- with original software titles.
-
- Yeah, it is disheartening when someone says "You bought xyz for how much?
- I could have given you a copy for free!", but being able to refer to a
- manual or receive backup/updates makes up for the cost. Still, I often
- wish software wasn't so expensive - there's much I'd like to buy, but
- little I can afford when I have to pay for Uni fees, hardware etc first...
-
- IMO there are three types of piracy:
-
-
- Ignorant piracy: those people that copy software without ever thinking
- about what they are doing. I remember the days of my Speccy and C64 - I
- copied and used games aplenty without the slightest realisation that I was
- contributing to a problem and cheating numerous authors out of a hard
- earned source of income. These people need to be educated - shown that
- someone spent a great deal of time and effort producing that software and
- if it is going to be used, then it should be payed for.
-
-
- Diliberate piracy: those people who know full well that they are ripping
- authors off but just don't care. Worse still, they spread it as far and as
- wide as possible. I recieved this a few days ago:
-
- -----------------
-
- FEDERATION AGAINST STEFAN BOBERG
- --------------------------------
-
- presents
-
- LHA 1.40r "Extended ShareWare Version"
-
-
- The concept of Extended ShareWare:
- ----------------------------------
-
- Extended ShareWare means _real_ ShareWare - you share the program
- with your friends and everyone willing to join in the FEDERATION
- AGAINST STEFAN BOBERG (FASB).
-
- To register your copy, just get a picture of Stefan Boberg and
- take a shit on it - then you're licensed to use his fucking
- programs without paying any fee.
-
- If you're interested in further information on FASB or if you want
- to get Stefan's new releases just before the registered users
- know that there's a new release, write to:
-
- FEDERATION AGAINST STEFAN BOBERG,
- [Address deleted]
-
- Installation of LhA 1.40:
- -------------------------
-
- Just copy the l/LhA.key file to your l: directory, and the
- LhA executable to your c: directory.
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
- Look out for our next releases - soon coming LhA 2.00 and others..
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- These kind of idiots really, really piss me off. Obviously they use LhA,
- but feel no obligation to pay the *very* reasonable shareware fee requested
- by Stefan. $US 20 is awesome value for what the LhA utils can do - I can't
- wait for my registered copy to arrive.
-
- Of course, these are the same fools that will be moaning about what a dead
- machine the Amiga is once they force such talented programmers as Stefan
- out of the Amiga community.
-
-
- Commercial piracy: These guys are the lowest of the low. Making money
- selling software other people have written. Here in New Zealand we have at
- least two Amiga mail-order companies selling the latest titles for $US 2.5.
- They even advertise in the main newspapers. What can we do about it?
- Stuff all - no organisation seems willing to take a stand against it. And
- then we have individuals here selling software (for a copying fee) on the
- pretence it is PD or shareware...
-
- After saying all that, I have to admit piracy isn't _all_ bad. How many of
- us bought our first computer(s) just because we knew how many freely
- available games we could get right away to play? Piracy has helped Amiga
- and other computer sales immensely. I wonder where the Amiga would be
- today if piracy was near non-existant?
-
- Remember:
- * A program WORTH using is WORTH buying!
- * Support Shareware & PD!
-
-