🚀 go-pugleaf

Regarding the statement
>if free, then act like it
and other related postings on law and ethics found recently on the
CoCo list.

Freedom - the right to do whatever one pleases - is not something
that works well in a world with a population other than 1. Contrary
to popular belief, the US and Canada are not "free" countries.

What we have is "liberty". Liberty is a steady-state condition
involving negotiation for rights and mutual respect for each
other's rights, as codified in "law", which changes over time.
Given my liberty, I can't do whatever I please, if it interferes
with someone else's rights - whether they be "self-evident" or
legislated rights.

CopyRIGHT is a legislated right. The right to copy, and to exclude
others from copying, a pattern - image, text, software, whatever. It
presently supercedes (in part) our rights to freedom of press
and speech. On the other hand, it does not supercede our right to
challenge current law or to advocate change through speech or press.

Failure to obey law is tantamount, in my opinion, to lack of
respect for liberty; it is a self-serving quest for freedom. Acts of
civil disobedience, even if moral, are illegal. So sure, advocate
for change to laws which you believe are not in the best interest of
LIBERTY. But until those laws are changed, we are not FREE to do
anything which violates them - including violating someone else's
copy-rights.

Chris Burke
(I represent only myself in this matter)