SAGE@LL.ARPA.UUCP (06/08/87)
The following message that just went over the network is a perfect example of what I was talking about in my earlier message (no, I did not put this out as a plant). >> I use M80, mostly. Not sure what version, but it's old. Can't afford to >> spend a lot on a hobby. All these commercial users are ruining it for us >> hobbyists, I think sometimes:-). This user apparently thinks that he has a right to expect all of US to put in lots of extra time so that HE does not have to do any work to make it possible for him to use his antiquated assembler to take free advantage of our code. If we don't, then we 'commercial users' are ruining things for 'us hobbyists.' Just as an aside, I wonder if he ever PAID for that M80 assembler -- it was not public domain after all, but many people just stole copies. If I remember correctly it cost well over $100 back in the days when a dollar was worth a lot more than it is today. As I said in my earlier message, I don't think that $50 (maybe $25 in M80-era dollars?) for a super assembler is much to expect someone to spend to gain access to the fruits of our work. Though I, too, do computing as a hobby, I certainly would not dream of wasting my limited hobby time using, today, an assembler like M80, when I can have a good one for between $50 and $100. If someone really cannot afford that amount, then let them contribute the time to convert the code. So long as the source code is there, I don't see how anyone can justify a claim that things are being ruined for hobbyists.