[NTLK] h*cks, kr*ks, SN

[Joseph Reilly]

I chuckle at people that keep branding "the law" as the "end all be  
all" of the discussion because the law can be very different in all  
the parts of the
world that newtontalk reaches, it can also be wrong or in contrast to  
what is morally right (as someone already stated).
Just this morning I saw a news story about a guy that is in trouble  
with "the law" because he put coins in a few other folks parking meters,
it must be illegal to help other strangers out these days? The guy  
should be recognized for being an upstanding member of the community not
punished but I do understand that parking fines fund the police, do we  
want good people in the community or bullet proof
vest for the police? its a catch 22!
Lets remember the law in the united states (where I am) is not only  
based on published/passed laws but also on precedents of past cases  
which can be
(and have been) overturned which means "the law" some people keep  
flaunting is a very fluid thing and it's naive to deny/ignore that fact.
"The Law" can be used to protect society and move it forward or  
oppress it, it's our choice. I also think the analogies so far in this  
discussion
are a little off base as software is a much more fluid property then  
land or cars (which someone also mentioned).
Software is out in the public space (on public websites) and not in  
the authors driveway, or attic as some of the analogies have stated  
and using abandoned
software without a license (but without hacking, cracking or modifying  
the authors code) is very different then growing potatoes on someones  
land as growing
food on land fundamentally changes the land where using software  
without a license in some cases doesn't. Decompiling software however  
is very much
like breaking and entering into the authors house to steal their  
source code.

I would like to offer a new analogy.... you are walking down the  
sidewalk and see a dollar bill, do you pick it up? I would, it's  
obviously someone else's dollar but
  if I didn't see who dropped it and they're names not on it, then I'd  
be a dollar richer (I can get a cheese burger for that much you  
know :-).
What about everyone else out there that keeps taking the super moral  
high ground and branding "the law"?
Have you picked up a lost (abandoned) coin or dollar and did you  
pocket it or turn it into the police? Stop being daft! of course you  
put it in your pocket.
Now what if your walking down the street and you find a wallet with  
id, address, phone number etc for the owner? Do you pocket that? I'd try
to contact the owner myself and failing that I'd turn it into the  
police. If they failed to locate the owner what then? the wallets been  
abandoned so who
gets it? I believe in my area if no one claims it in a few months and  
they can't find the owner it would be returned to me even though it's  
clearly not mine
and what am I supposed to do with it then? should I just hold onto it  
and not use it because the proper owner is out there somewhere and has  
rights to
his property even though after a reasonable effort he can't be located  
and it's been reasonably established as abandoned? I'd shred the  
personal info,
pocket the money and dispose of the wallet as it's been on someone's  
butt a bit, and you probably would too.
And it's fine if some bum or hobo wants to fish the abandoned wallet  
out of my trash even though it's my right that my trash goes only into  
the trash truck,
because they many need it and it helps the greater good to pass things  
along that I'm throwing out (abandoning). I'm also fairly certain the  
bum in need
isn't going to be asking himself all these high minded questions about  
property rights while raiding my rubbish container LOL :-D

I think that intellectual property and the actual implementation of  
the intellectual property is being confused in this discussion a bit.  
If I'm not mistaken using
software without a license is just that, and only affects the  
implementation of the intellectual property by noninvasive methods  
that don't modify the authors
code (keygens, copies of originals, etc) where violating someone's  
intellectual property would be modifying the authors code/idea by  
cracks, reverse engineering,
  and any other invasion method. I personally support noninvasive  
methods for software that is reasonably assumed to be abandoned
but not confirmed to be in the public domain or if an author has made  
software free to all but asks that it not be modified. If an author  
makes it free and makes
no stipulations/requests on use,  then by all means modify to your  
hearts content.

The next question I can hear people already asking is "how do you  
reasonably establish that software is abandoned without confirmation  
from the author?".
I suggest that software can be reasonably established as abandoned  
based on two criteria with one stipulation:
1) the author can't be located/contacted/is unresponsive to contact  
for a  6 month to 1 year period
2) attempts to find/contact the author have been made by at least two  
people, one of which has a LEGAL license to the software in question  
(and so
has a right to support/contact if the software is still supported even  
if said software is no longer sold)
*1) if the author ever does come forward people using the abandoned  
software without a proper license should be prepared to comply with  
the authors wishes be they
pay up for a license or discontinue use if he/she doesn't want to sell  
licenses anymore.


If software is still commercially sold, the author supports it but  
doesn't sell it anymore or even if the author doesn't support/sell it  
but can at least be reached to
confirm the software isn't public domain then those cases wouldn't  
qualify for "abandoned" status. I don't think I have any "abandoned  
but unconfirmed" software (or illegal software for the law branders)  
but I know for sure there's softwares I don't run on my newt because  
its commercially available still and
  I currently can't afford them. Like others, I don't like the still  
high prices for some software pkgs but I'm not going to pirate them  
cause they're expensive.
As it's been said, I think most of us are interested in saving this  
"dead" platform and software from oblivion not pirating, I would go  
even farther and say
most of us are very interested in supporting newton developers/ 
businesses that are still supporting and servicing our community.

In closing, If we can reasonably establish software to be abandoned,  
to be a dollar on the sidewalk, shouldn't we pick it up before it's  
lost? Just my .02


Joe Reilly