SECRIST%OAK.SAINET.MFENET@lll-mfe.arpa (12/20/85)
Date: Fri, 20-DEC-1985 00:27 EST To: Info-Micro@BRL.Arpa Message-ID: <[OAK.SAINET.MFENET].60C95320.008E7C39.SECRIST> Organization: Science Applications Int'l. Corp., Oak Ridge, Tenn. Geographic-Location: 36 01' 42" N, 84 14' 14" W CompuServe-ID: [71636,52] X-VMS-Mail-To: ARPA%"Info-Micro@BRL.Arpa" The following is a short flame about software legalities and a flame/proposal on the shrink-wrap license. SOFTWARE LEGALITIES The legalities of software are enough to turn most anyone's brain into mush. A short and simple rule that can be applied to such things is the "do unto others..." theory; I believe it is a matter of intent and profit. The software police are not going to jump out of a closet if you rip the DO NOT REMOVE tag off of a pillow. A hack of your ROMs for yourself in the privacy of your garage one afternoon is not going to bring the free enterprise system to its knees. Usually the legal-types only descend if there is money in it: one copy of Wordstar for 100 corporate PCs; plain-wrapper copies of MS-DOS from the local computer store... and so on. If your intent is to defraud and sell somebody else's refrigerator to the eskimos I say - hey, they're adults - get out the tar and feathers. You can shrink-wrap worry your brain to death - but as long as you keep your hacks to yourself no one will be the wiser, and it can't be much different that taping an album for yourself. Start copying for your friends and you're asking to have your entropy maximized. DRESSED IN SHRINK-WRAP Although shrink-wrap licenses are unfortunate, and I disagree with them in concept, we're living in an age where a guy can break into your house at 4 a.m. and maybe even sue you if you bash him over the head. Pretty sad, folks. So think about marketing this software yourself and being incorporated in someplace like California. Wait until some hospital or NASA is after you for having your software ultimately result in a death or the loss of a Jupiter probe. How do you resonably protect yourself from THE PEOPLE'S COURT ? Rather than discuss how sharply such agreements inhale sharply we should come up with a reasonable license here on the net by consensus. Comments anyone ? Richard SECRIST%OAK.SAInet.MFEnet@LLL-MFE.Arpa