🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2847@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> alanf@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Alan Grant Finlay) writes:
>I suggest this is too close to the truth for comfort.  What we should really do
>is ban the copyright of software altogether.  Over the past few years I have
>seen more harm than good come out of software copyrightability.

Please name a couple of examples where a copyrighted program has caused
problems for someone other than someone with a legal licence.

>                                                                 I know many 
>will disagree but I am serious - think about it!  What we should pay for is
>the support.  Consumers should refuse to buy (or use!) copyright software and
>insist on source code for the software they do use.  If we had no such thing
>as copyright for software then public domain or GNU would really go places.

The problem with 'paying for support' is that to have an effective support
group at a software publishers costs money up front!  If this was the only
way to get paid, then I think you'd see more bugs in programs, worse manuals,
and generally a 'harder to use' interface to generate revenue.  (Gee, then
Ashton-Tate would be doing just great now!  (sorry, I had too ;-))

What we should pay for is the usefullness of the program.  

>The real problem with the software industry is distribution.  "The Lord of the
>Rings" took J.R.R Tolkien 20 years (part time) to write.  I can buy the book
>for about $30, paperback.  Software of this standard costs thousands of dollars

If I could expect to sell over 1 million copies, I could afford to sell
software for $30 a copy.  There just isn't that kind of quantity on most
computer software.  Also, when was the last time you saw a full page add
for the "Lord of the Rings"?  Full page adds are a necessary requirement to
sell software now, and they are not cheap.

>                          Software of this standard costs thousands of dollars
>and has conditions attached analogous to the purchaser being able to read
>the book once only or pay a rereading fee.

I beleive everyone should be able to use licenced software on one machine at
a time.  You should be able to copy it onto as many machines as you need, but
just use it once.  I do not believe in forcing this rule with a dongle, since
all that does is punish the legal user and gives hackers something to figure
out.

>                 I know software writers have to be paid, but the current
>system is just not cost effective.  There must be a better way!  We don't
>expect mathematicians to copyright their proofs, and yet mathematics
>progresses.  The current software industry is like the pop music industry,
>it's not the best music that gets backed, its the most profitable crap that
>gets "marketed".

When was the last time you bought a proof?  Mathematicians do not 'sell'
their proofs to make money, they are hired to work on the proofs, and by
becoming well known in their field will get better offers.  While this 
sounds great, it wouldn't work with software if you only paid for service.

If it's lousy software, you have to make sure people find out.  In the music
business, there are many 'review' magazines, which can be used to estimate
in advance what music will sound like.  There are many PC magazines doing
the same thing for software.  One thing that would be nice is a way to sell
back software that doesn't work or isn't right for you, like you can do with
CD's now.

>N.B. The term "pirate" should be reserved for those criminals that SELL
>software they don't have the right to.

Right, and someone who uses something they have no right to is a thief.

I agree the current system isn't perfect, but humans are not either.  I
would love to see a system where you could try out software yourself, before
buying (and not a crippled demo), and then return the purchase if you didn't
like it.  Maybe also have different tiers of payment for different levels
of support (none, email, phone, etc.).  

Bill
-- 
Bill Marsh, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA
{arpa,mil}net: bmarsh@cod.nosc.mil
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"If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane."