To Al Kossow at bitsavers

It seems to me that Paul Koning's attitude will lead retrocomputing to die. We can't all own computers that can do interesting things with front-panel programming alone. By his definition, I have committed a lot of "theft" in my days to restore systems I had no other options left to deal with, due to restrictive licensing, incommunicado business entities, or IP situations with no well understood outcomes. I am always happy to pay, but that's not always an option. I agree the proper routes should always be pursued when possible, but bits are fading fast and without dark archives that may run afoul of present day copyright laws and original EULAs, many things will be lost permanently. I find the mindset of considering all abandonware scenarios "theft" to be pedantic, toxic, shortsighted, and counterproductive- as well as logically and legally baseless. - I Sent from my iPhone