While I don't believe that copying software is inherently immoral, I do believe that denying authors compensation for their work is wrong. Unfortunately, under the for-profit model of distribution we have now, free copying of software does translate into uncompensated authors. I think that in order for free distribution of information to be widespread, that needs to be fixed - authors need to make a living. Not all authors can offer service contracts, etc.(not to mention authors of books, movies, and music). Besides, not all authors may want to. Shouldn't the actual act of writing the software be worth something?
I have an idea why we see so many jerks posting these days. Two reasons combine for the effect:
1) More than one person can speak at once, meaning noise cannot displace signal. No one has to be recognized or "given the floor" in order to be heard, so there's no logistical reason to do anything about flambait. So, the signal/noise ratio decreases.
2) Strong language is strong/because/ it has a strong impact; it gets noticed more. Hostile posts tend to use strong language.
The second point is human nature, and we can't change that. The first point is just a de facto circumstance of usenet, perhaps complicated by the fact that the standard mechanism to get rid of unpleasant people (besides moderated groups) is "ignore them and they'll go away".
I do think "ignore them and they'll go away" works - and the real kicker is that modern technology has killfiles, so we can force it to work even if the pissant doesn't go away. A big part of this problem, IMO, is that new users aren't given software with decent and user-friendly killfile and filtering features.
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While I don't believe that copying software is inherently immoral, I do believe that denying authors compensation for their work is wrong. Unfortunately, under the for-profit model of distribution we have now, free copying of software does translate into uncompensated authors. I think that in order for free distribution of information to be widespread, that needs to be fixed - authors need to make a living. Not all authors can offer service contracts, etc.(not to mention authors of books, movies, and music). Besides, not all authors may want to. Shouldn't the actual act of writing the software be worth something?
I have an idea why we see so many jerks posting these days. Two reasons combine for the effect:
/because/ it has a strong impact; it gets noticed more. Hostile posts tend to use strong language.
1) More than one person can speak at once, meaning noise cannot displace signal. No one has to be recognized or "given the floor" in order to be heard, so there's no logistical reason to do anything about flambait. So, the signal/noise ratio decreases.
2) Strong language is strong
The second point is human nature, and we can't change that. The first point is just a de facto circumstance of usenet, perhaps complicated by the fact that the standard mechanism to get rid of unpleasant people (besides moderated groups) is "ignore them and they'll go away".
I do think "ignore them and they'll go away" works - and the real kicker is that modern technology has killfiles, so we can force it to work even if the pissant doesn't go away. A big part of this problem, IMO, is that new users aren't given software with decent and user-friendly killfile and filtering features.