Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watcgl!watnext!lindsay
From: lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu (Lindsay Patten)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: Copywrongs
Message-ID: <11143@watcgl.waterloo.edu>
Date: 18 Aug 89 18:13:00 GMT
References: <8908181535.AA08568@cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Sender: daemon@watcgl.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu (Lindsay Patten)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 46

In article <8908181535.AA08568@cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu> gnu-misc-discuss@cis.ohio-state.edu writes:
>If I have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, and 10 information
>pellets, and you have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, (and a
>gun), you can take all of my matter pellets away and I will have none.
>You will then have 10 more matter pellets and I will have 10 less. You
>can do the same with my energy pellets. Your gain is my loss. You
>can't deprive me of my information pellets though (not without mashing
>up my brain). What you can do is persuade me to let you make a copy of
>them for yourself. In order to do this you will have to spend one of
>your energy pellets on copying costs. If you didn't take my other
>pellets, I will have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, and 10
>information pellets.  You will have 9 energy pellets, 10 matter
>pellets, and 10 information pellets.

Initial state:
A has 10 matter pellets and 0 information pellets
B has 10 matter pellets and 0 information pellets
C has no pellets

A gives 5 matter pellets to C who uses them to create 1 information pellet
C gives a copy of that information pellet to A
A uses their remaining 5 matter pellets and 5 copies of the information
  pellet to produce 5 copies of their product.  To break even they must
  get 2 matter pellets back per product
B gets a free copy of the information pellet from C
B creates an equivalent product to A's but only requires 1 pellet per
  product to break even
A goes out of business

Doesn't seem like this would lead to a stable situation does it?

The plain fact of the matter is that as long as matter and energy pellets
are required to *create* information pellets some means must be provided
for that investment to be recouped.

Now it seems that there must be something to be learned from the (seeming)
success of the X consortium.  They somehow manage to produce free software.
By what process did that take place?  Can it be used more generally?

Cheers,
	Lindsay
--
Lindsay Patten            "People are package deals - No substitutions allowed"
Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence Group                   lindsay@watnext
Department of Systems Design Engineering           lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu
University of Waterloo              {utai|decvax|uunet}!watmath!watnext!lindsay