Date: Fri, 14 Aug, 1992 17:15:32 CDT
From: Jim Thomas <cudigest@mindvox.phantom.com>
Subject: File 12--Deferring the Piracy Debate until September

I partially agree with Peter: The pirate world has changed
dramatically in the past two years, and the "elite pirates" of the
1980s--those who enjoyed the thrill (albeit an anal-retentive one) of
the chase--are an endangered species. Peter and I will address this
issue in a near-future issue. The points I would make are that the
types, the motivations, and the consequences of creative software
sharing are not as clear-cut and certainly not as pernicious as the
SPA and other anti-piracy activists suggest.  I suspect the primary
difference between the positions of Peter and I are not that *some*
line must be drawn between acceptable and unacceptable "piracy," but
*where* that line should be drawn.

A spokesperson for the SPA has *tentatively* agree to participate in
the debate, and we hope to have at least one special issue in early
September on the pros/cons of the ethics, legality, and responses to
sharing unpurchased copyright software.

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