brian@sdcsvax.UUCP (Brian Kantor) (01/02/86)
In article <831@asgb.UUCP> hageman@asgb.UUCP (George W. Hageman) writes: > [introductory material]... > > IF you find use for this software > ANDIF it saves you some development time > THEN send me $10.00 > ANDTHENHYP you will feel good! > > [legalese]... Oh, God, now shareware starts here. If you think, as do I, that this request for funds is contrary to the spirit and customs of the Usenet, please let the author know that you think he's a bad guy. Clearly I think its wrong; why? Well, not that I don't like money (I'd sure like more of it than I have!), but the whole idea of giving away programs is so that people can take good ideas and make them better, then give those away so that the cycle can repeat itself. Now Mr. Hageman's program bears an attempt at a copyright notice, followed by a statement that the program is released to the public domain with conditions. The contradiction of this (public domain == no conditions nor further control) have previously been discussed in this forum by people more learned in the law than I. But assuming that there is some validity to his copyright, and that he hasn't abandoned it by the use of the 'released to the public domain', then that means that I can't fix, alter, or expand upon his program, and give the changed program away, except as he permits in his copyright or license, since it is then a 'derivitive work' from his original. So I've little incentive to use the program, since if I improve or change it, I can't spread the resulting program to other people. So unless its perfect to begin with (and I'm not saying it isn't!), its of little use to me. Also, and perhaps this is the main point, the entire concept of the free exchange of programs is that a person's payment for the programs he gives away is the programs he receives in the same way. Its quite simply an exchange system. Sure, there are lots more people getting than giving, but does anyone who regularly subscribes to this group or who uses programs received from it feel shortchanged in any way? Yet to request money for a program would seem to indicate that THAT particular program is somehow worth much more than other programs propagated freely (like the news software, perhaps?), a proposition that I reject. And in some way it makes Usenet into a free advertising vehicle for his business. (Yes, its a business, even though payment is theoretically voluntary. I'd have to pay taxes on the income if I were doing it.) I am grateful that Mr. Hageman decided to post his program. I wish he'd not asked for money. And I wish his copyright was clearer as to whether he's really released the program into the public domain, so that he has no further control over it; or whether he's retained copyright, in which case just what restrictions he's placed on my use, modification, and redistribution of the code. Followup discussions in net.misc, I guess, since there isn't a net.sources.d yet (yeah, even this note shouldn't have been posted here). Brian Kantor UC San Diego decvax\ brian@ucsd.arpa ihnp4 >--- sdcsvax --- brian ucbvax/ Kantor@Nosc