I've watched and enjoyed this entire thread with interest and thought I'd
throw in my $.02 worth.  My opinion is that a lack of morality and ethics is
pervasive in the business industry today.  This extends, most definitely,
into the software industry.  Many of you don't see a problem with getting
copies of software without paying for it, but think of it this way:

What if it were YOU that designed and wrote some software.  What if YOU sold
a copy of it to a client as a single user license with explicit instructions
that you owned the copyright, license rights, etc?  What if it was a very
very intense, ingenious, and complex solution that you came up with?  What,
then, if you suddenly saw it in use on the internet on a web site other than
your client's?

THEN how would you feel about the answer to these questions?  Many times our
perception is governed by what side of the fence we are on rather than an
unchanging sense of right and wrong.  Ultimately right is right and wrong is
wrong, regardless of how it is sugar coated or packaged.

OK... there... that's my $.02 worth for what it's worth.

Thanks,
Keith D Sellars
WebGraffix
www.webgraffix.com

"Making database sites seem easy"

----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Clifford" <MLC1(at)nrc.gov>
To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>; <trumley(at)softhome.net>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2002 8:31 AM
Subject: RE: Morality and Pirated Software


>>My point is that if you buy something you should be able to do whatever
you
want with it.<<

...as long as you agree to the consequences of your actions with said item.
I agree with this wholeheartedly.  But then again, it is statements like
this that leave loopholes for what we're discussing now: pirated software
and file sharing.

I'll admit right off the bat that I've obtained some software through
products such as Napster, WinMX, etc.  Am I proud of it?  No.  Do I continue
to do it?  No.  Do you have the right to do it?  Absolutely.

In a discussion such as this, all analogies are off.  It's a passionate and
hot topic, so someone can easily pick through whatever analogy you might be
able to come up with.  The easier of them being the comparison of a truck to
software.  You can loan your truck to a friend, but during that period you
no longer have use of it.  You can loan your software to a friend, and not
only do they get the benefits of the software, you retain your software as
well.

Obviously software licenses come into play as well.  They range from your
run-of-the-mill single-user consumer licenses to your uber company-wide
licenses.  Believe it or not, it is perfectly legal for a company to give
software to their employees for use on their home computer, so long as the
software is used for company activities.  Does that cross any lines?  Anyone
have thoughts on that?

Morality questions are always good topics for debate, and I've seen MANY
good viewpoints on this particular issue from both sides.  That being said,
I'm also very impressed at how individuals have stood by their viewpoints
throughout the discussion... it's a hard thing to find these days, I've come
to find.

Martin Clifford
Homepage: http://www.completesource.net
Developer's Forums: http://www.completesource.net/forums/

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