From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!C70:info-cpm
Newsgroups: fa.info-cpm
Title: Hacking up public domain software
Article-I.D.: ucb.1738
Posted: Tue Aug 10 20:25:37 1982
Received: Fri Aug 13 02:18:05 1982

>From ucivax!csuf!bytebug@Ucb-C70 Tue Aug 10 20:25:11 1982
Yes, things do get fuzzy!  Let me expand my earlier comments.

I agree with you that Ron Cain's generosity has benefited the mi-
cro  community  greatly.   By  putting software of that magnitude
into the public domain, he got the ball rolling.  We all came out
ahead  because he was willing to share.  Dialogue continues in DR
DOBBS JOURNAL, where Small-C was published,  as  to  improvements
that can be made.  People are working with Ron's software, and in
dblished,  as  to  improvements
that can be made.  People are working with Ron's software, and in
doing so, are learning, and are willing to share with others  the
things  that  they  learn.   And  one  person's  contribution may
motivate someone else.  I think that's the  idea  behind  putting
something  into  the public domain.  If that's not what happens -
if the software is ripped off and sold - how likely  is  it  that
that  programmer is ever going to put anything else into the pub-
lic domain?

I guess the best way to tell if you're ripping someone off is put
yourself into the other guy's shoes, and see what you would think
if someone was making money off of your software.  In your  case,
where  you  say  your compiler is radically different, I wouldn't
think you were ripping anyone off.  (I would, however,  give  Ron
credit in your User's Manual a