Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!cca!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!cires!nbires!zhahai From: zhahai@nbires.UUCP Newsgroups: net.micro Subject: piracy Message-ID: <169@nbires.UUCP> Date: Fri, 3-Jun-83 04:13:11 EDT Article-I.D.: nbires.169 Posted: Fri Jun 3 04:13:11 1983 Date-Received: Mon, 6-Jun-83 19:38:40 EDT Lines: 32 Some netlanders seem to have very strong feelings about piracy. I am not here concerned with the legal definition (of which there probably isn't one), nor with the issue of breaking a contact/ license (if you contract to never use the label "sneeze" within some software, you are breaking your contract if you do - but that is not piracy; ie: special terms in a license are just that). I am wondering what the perceived "ethics" and peer norms are for the following situations: 1. You transfer a binary (legally obtained) from cassette to floppy, or from floppy to hard disk. (Or from disk to ramdisk, or ...). 2. You copy a prom from a 2708 to a 2716 during hardware upgrade (in every case here assume legally obtained unless otherwise stated). 3. You make a backup copy for your own use and protect it. 4. You change the cpu card or chip (moving from 8080 to z80) of your system. 5. You buy a new system and move your purchased software to it, no longer using the old system and removing any copies from it before diaposal. 6. You disassemble the ROM which came with your system to understand certain quirks of the i/o ports. 7. You disassemble your purchased BASIC interpreter. I think you get the point - do you feel that the "spirit" of the laws is non-comerciality (depriving the rightful owwners of a sale) or total non-copying? INterested in Responses Zhahai Stewart