brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (03/29/85)
One thing that distresses me about the term "Software Pirate" is that some of them are actually proud to be called pirates. To them, piracy connotes something exciting and romantic, not the life of lawbreaking and violence that it was. I wish they were called software theives. Nobody would be proud to call themselves a thief. Of course, some may argue since nothing is actually stolen (in fact what happens is that somebody's property is grossly misused) that the word theft isn't totally appropriate. Hard to say. I think software theft is exactly like taking somebody's car for a joyride. You don't (normally) deprive the owner of the use of the car, and you depreciate the value of the property a certain amount. Quite similar to what happens when software is illegally copied. But when you take a car for a joyride, the term is still "grand theft, auto" - get the picture? -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473