PC-DOS 3.3

On 12/13/2005 at 11:15 PM Jules Richardson wrote: whether they used it And what if it's software (or a book or a song) that you wrote yourself? After all, a book doesn't deteriorate by someone else using it or by being copied and, thanks to modern technology, I can digitize said book and distribute it over the web, thereby saving some poor trees and cutting down on greenhouse gases. Wonder what would happen if I posted the latest Harry Potter book on the web as a public service? I'm sure Ms. Rowling wouldn't mind, so I don't need to ask her, right? When you copy and use software without the author's permission, you are denying him/her/them/it any opportunity for compensation for his/her/their hard work and expense in creating the software. You are stealing. If an author makes the decision to forgo compensation and offers his work for free, that's fine--but it's the author's call, not yours. There was a time in my life when I didn't own a car, but part of my apartment lease included a labeled reserved secure parking space. A neighbor, knowing that I didn't have a vehicle decided that it would be okay to park his girlfriend's car in my space. He didn't ask, probably using the same logic as "it's not inconveniencing you in any way". I confronted the neighbor, and he gave pretty much that same reasoning. I noted that I was paying for the space as a line item in my lease and that I'd be happy to sublet the space to him--and that, had he asked me first, I might have even agreed to some limited use of the space gratis (After all, I did have guests and wanted them to be able to use the space if they needed to). He became angry, called me a name and walked off. Of course, the next time his girlfriend parked in my space, I had her car towed, as was my right. Always ask permission. You just might get it. That's all I'm going to say on this topic. I'm not going to convert the sinners by sermonizing. Maybe it's a sign of the times. My apologies for bringing the subject up. Cheers, Chuck