marc@aat.UUCP (04/07/84)
[ This space for rent ] Here's a new analogy, which I think works well: You and a friend want to go see a movie. Your friend pays the admission price; meanwhile you go around to the emergency exit at the back of the building. After going into the theater, your friend lets you in through the exit. Assuming that the theater is not packed, you have not directly cost the theater's owner anything. You have, however, gotten to see the movie without paying for it. Exactly the same argument of "I wouldn't have gone to see the movie if I had had to pay for it" can be made. Likewise, it's arguable that movies are generally overpriced. If movies cost less, people would be less likely to do this. I think that the above situation is very similar to "Software Piracy"--and I think that both are dishonest.