  	E                                                                  you are all just as weary of this topic as I am.  And I am good and tired of it.  I thought we had said everything there was to say about the subject, and that we had 
This article appears in September, '89 MOAUG newsletter under the title "Editorial Comment: DEJA VU." It was written by Patricia Herrington.
 
 
PIRACY.  Oh, JOY.  I can imagine some of you flinching out there.  Presumably, you are all just as weary of this topic as I am.  And I am good and tired of it.  I thought we had said everything there was to say about the subject, and that we had pretty much settled on our policy.  It's generally conceded by virtually everyone that the future of ADAM is best served by scrupulously avoiding illegal copying of software (or hardware, for that matter.) I had hoped never to have to talk about this again.
 
So, imagine my dismay when I opened the August issue of Computer Shopper and eagerly turned to the ADAM section, only to find an article which appears to justify the duplication of Coleco software!  
 
The article read, in part, "What about the software Coleco produced for the ADAM?  What is its status since Coleco is in bankruptcy, and not expected to recover?  ...This means that there is no software, and nowhere to buy any.  ...Is it now public domain?  No one seems to have the answer."
 
Well, here is the answer:  Coleco can NOT release that software into the public domain, because it does not own all the copyrights.  The copyrights are owned by the people who developed the software:  third parties such as Digital Research, Sierra Online, and all the other companies who worked with but not for Coleco; and by individual programmers.  Rob Friedman, sysop of the ADAM CP/M forum on Compuserve, did extensive research into this area.  He repeatedly telephoned Coleco representatives to see if there were any new developments.  The answer was always the same:  it can't be done.  With the exception of SmartBASIC, to which you are entitled by virtue of having bought the system, and ADAMLINK II, none of the software is public domain and none of it will be public domain any time in the forseeable future.  
 
Most users' groups have taken the tack that the UNRELEASED programs are PD by virtue of the fact that nobody has ever sold them, and nobody can be hurt by our copying them.  This is tenuous logic but MOAUG's policy is that, since those unreleased programs are sold as PD by the larger national groups, we small fish will consider them to be PD, too. 
 
But the software that was commercially released is still being sold.  It IS available... from MANY sources!  What's more, legal copies are available at a fraction of the cost we paid for them when Coleco was selling them.  One of the most important functions of users' groups is to help put their members in touch with the vendors who sell it.

I know many people are angry with Coleco for what they perceive as very shabby treatment of the customer.  But who gets hurt when Coleco software is pirated?  I can assure you it's not Coleco!  No, the people who get hurt are the very people who are trying to keep ADAM alive; the people who were willing to take a chance by investing in Coleco's surplus merchandise.  We NEED our vendors, and we can't afford to cut their throats.  Even MOAUG bought a good deal of Coleco software from the department stores when they were closing it out, purely as a philanthropic gesture, so that ADAMites who need it in the future will be able to buy it.  We have a lot of it left, all at closeout prices.  And, of course, it comes with all the manuals.  (What good is LOGO without the manual, anyway?) 
 
What will we do with our stockpile if people feel that it's okay to copy and distribute copyrighted software?  We'll take a beating on it, that's what.  Even at that, we ARE small fish.  But there are vendors who have invested a great deal of money in the future of the ADAM; they deserve our gratitude and our patronage.
 
If a few of the less popular games have become difficult to find, so what?  The new games being produced by our own ADAM developers, such as ADDICTUS by Reedy Software, the new Pitman games, and scores of others, are widely available and in many cases superior to the Coleco originals.  With the imminent release of GODOS, we are on the verge of a whole new generation of software.  There is more software out there than ever before, and no end in sight.  No one person could make full use of all that IS available.  We do not need to stoop to piracy to keep ourselves afloat.
 
The real danger is that, once we condone any kind of copyright infringement, it is all too easy to convince ourselves that it is okay to copy a new purchase to give to "just one friend." Such rationalization is easy to slip into, and is very hard to curb.  The outcome would be that we would drive our most dedicated people out of business. We have already lost a few, including our best-known hardware developer, to piracy.  Most ADAM developers operate on a shoestring.  And most do it just because they enjoy working with ADAM and for ADAM owners.  But this work is very time-consuming, and NOBODY can afford to devote that kind of time and energy without making a profit.  

I want this to be the last editorial I'll ever have to write on the subject.  Please!  I really am sick of it. But I just couldn't let that Computer Shopper article pass without comment.  After all, Computer Shopper is the one source that carries ADAM news to people who have not yet learned to access our vast information network.  Among CS' readers are people who don't even know how to buy ribbons and tapes, as Monte Neece is finding out. I devoutly hope that CS will, in the future, set a better example in the message it sends those people.  It would be much more valuable to investigate sources of software, and pass that information on to the magazine's readers.  The information is definitely out there; ADAMites are justly famous for their willingness to share such news.  With more careful research, we could do a lot more for newcomers, and avoid leading them to dangerous conclusions.  And that would be a lot more in keeping with the high quality we have learned to expect from the Computer Shopper ADAM columns! 
 
--- PJH MOAUG 8/29/89 
 
ect.  Please!  I really am sick of it. But I just couldn't let that Computer Shopper article pass without commen
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