🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <11438@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> warwick@cs.uq.oz.au writes:
>So, Dave, what's YOUR solution... or don't you mind people pirating your stuff?

Actually, I don't mind people pirating my software, provided enough
people buy my stuff so that I can make a decent profit.  Given the
extremely slim chance that we'll see uncopyable media ever, I
accept piracy as a fact of like, just as I accept the fact that,
at least in the Atari world, shareware = freeware.

>I find little credence in an argument that says "You're wrong", but then
>gives no alternative solution.  The current software system DOESN'T WORK.

The current system works just fine, IMHO.  Your proposal would change
my business from being profitable enough to be practical, desptie
rampnat piracy, to being totally unprofitable.  (You did seem to
propose that we all write free software instead of distributing
commecially.)

>Shareware and copyleft may need some improvements, but do you see any
>FUNDAMENTAL flaws (comparable to the "People are too dishonest" and
>"Software is easy to copy").  

Yes, shareware is a complete and utter joke.  It's a delusion that
naive programmers (or very lucky ones) get sucked into.  Eventually
we learn how silly it all is.  Honestly, why should we expect people
to pay for something they already have anyway?  It's just insane to
think this system would work on a grand scale.

>Sure, you might say "people can pirate
>shareware".  Then use crippleware.  Crippleware is NOT possible with
>commercial s/w [athough some would quote Windows3 as crippleware that
>just sucks you in to NEEDING something better].

Crippleware -- how does that differ from commercial software?  If I
force you to buy it, what's the difference?  If MicroSquish released
all their software as crippleware, would you still not bash them at
every opportunity?

Dave Baggett
--
dmb@ai.mit.edu           MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory                  
ADVENTIONS: interactive fiction (text adventures) for the 90's!
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