🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <dillon.0l5v@overload.Berkeley.CA.US>  
dillon@overload.Berkeley.CA.US (Matthew Dillon) writes:
> 
> Disagree.  The majority of people I know would buy it if they could
> afford it. It's more an issue of cost verses the financial standing of
> the majority of the consumer base expected to buy it.  If the cost is
> too far above this point you get Piracy... which would seem to indicate
> inappropriate pricing and indeed, from everything I've read on the net
> over the last month, this is apparently the case.
> 

While what you're saying does reflect the behavior of the society we're  
in, it unfortunately adds legitimacy to the idea that if something isn't  
priced the way you see fit you can steal it. Lowering the price to the  
point where everybody is comfortable buying a piece of software is  
financial suicide, particularly in small markets. If one took your  
thoughts to heart there would be little reason to continue developing  
software. If you price it at the point where you can AFFORD to continue  
making products, people will steal it? 

> Disagree.  Even if you are caught, something on the order of making a
> copy or two of software X cannot be equated to the market price of the
> software for each infraction in terms of legal recompense.	Unlike
> stealing a car, copying software on a small scale does not hurt the
> producer or original purchaser of said software in any way for the
> general consumer case... users who would have been unlikely to purchase
> multiple copies otherwise.	Support costs certainly don't double!

So there is some threshold below which loss of revenue doesn't injure me  
as a software developer? It's OK in small doses? Isn't that tantamount to  
saying "Hey - we only took the stereo - we didn't take the whole car!"?.  
The producer is DIRECTLY affected no matter what the quantity. Loss of  
revenue is loss of revenue. And it can very well affect the original  
purchaser if the producer can no longer afford to support the product that  
was purchased. And it affects the community as a whole if less software is  
developed.

It's amazing to me that people can sit back and calmly rationalize  
stealing at any level. Particularly in this community. I'm not aware of  
any NeXT software developers that are operating on high margins. Even the  
well-funded ones like Pages and AppSoft will need to pay back their  
investors at some point (which will be QUITE some time from now). I'm  
personally offended that there is intellectual debate that in any way  
justifies theft.

Most NeXT-related products are reasonably priced. This is pariculalrly  
amazing when you consider that developers are operating under tight  
financial circumstances to produce these products, looking forward to a  
day when the base is larger. That someone sits back and decides that the  
pricing is 'inappropriate' and therefore it's somehow OK to give out a few  
copies or run one copy on a network is shocking and a detriment to the  
community at large. Do you really feel that NeXT developers are pricing  
things extravagantly high to reap massive profits? As far as I know we are  
all trying to stay in business.

Gordon

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Gordon Van Huizen           vox: 619.488.9411  fax: 619.488.3045
Metrosoft                   gvh@metrosoft.com [NeXTmail welcome]
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