🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1992Dec10.171254.23031@nosc.mil> healy@nosc.mil (Mike Healy) writes:

>Maybe a good way to break the catch 22 cycle is for people to stop
>stealing software. Personally, I think theft is rather black and
>white. If I steal something, I can make excuses, but it doesn't
>change the fact that I stole something. The people I see stealing
>pc software are usually honest enough to admit that their motive is
>greed, not some lofty aspiration to make the world a better place :-)

Software piracy is decidedly a grey area. Tom is far too poor
to buy 6 different $300 word processors for his computer, and
never would. But he can easily pirate 6 packages so he does. 
The software companies whose product Tom would never have bought
are not out anything, and actually get some exposure if Tom
happens to show their program to a more scrupulous potential
buyer.

Now, Tom tries all the various word processors but finally settles
into using one package most of the time. Eventually he gets frustrated
at having to pester his buddies to get the latest version or to 
look in the manual, so he buys one (1) word processing package that
he knows he likes. He keeps copies of the other programs around
because he hates deleting things, but almost never (if ever) fires
them up again.

I have seen this scenario play out many times. It's illegal, yes.
But as bad as stealing 6 TVs? Get serious.

I suspect that on average, computer users buy more software that they
don't use, than they pirate and use.... with the possible exclusion
of game piracy with which I have little experience.

Werner