ee163agb@sdccs7.UUCP (04/17/84)
<- bug snack FLAME ON When I joined this newsgroup a few months ago, I really enjoyed it. For weeks, however, it has been clogged with a fuzzy discussion of copyright law. Attempts to inject new subjects for debate have been trampled on by those eager to contribute yet another copyright missive. Most of the copyright articles now are redundant. Worse, the whole discussion has been composed (with some laudable exceptions) of conjecture or outright misstatement; only a few contributors have appropriately warned us when they leave behind sincerely-believed fact for eager extrapolation or theorizing. My knowledge (in which I feel quite secure) of copyright law is limited to the protection of literary works in standard media. (Most of the past month's comments on this have been incorrect.) I don't feel knowledgeable about the protection of music or computer programs. One reason for this is that the law concerning those areas is now in flux. We amateurs could hardly be expected to know its current state. I also don't know what the legal ramifications of posting to the net (or even just netmail) are, though I would enjoy a discussion of what protections net traffic *ought* to enjoy. (The opinion of an *expert* on the current law would be fascinating.) Unless the (c) discussion is going to evolve away from a free- for-all of ill-informed rehashes though, I think it should be killed. FLAME OFF Thanks for your attention. bookmark