Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 11:21:54 CST
>From:  Jim Thomas <tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
Subject: File 3--SPA "Rap Video" - "Don't Copy that Floppy"
 
((MODERATORS' NOTE: We share with the SPA the need to educate the
future generation of computer users about computer ethics.  However,
the video "Don't Copy that Floppy" reminded us of the cyber version of
"Reefer Madness," the camp anti-marijuana film of the 1930s. What
follows are excerpts from their video, although parts of the rap were
audibly unintelligible. The central thesis of the video is that if
people copy floppies, the computer industry will die. The accuracy of
this claim will be examined in a future issue, but it should be noted
that the games the video chooses as examples, including tetris and the
Where is...Carmen series are among the most copies and among the most
successful games, suggesting that their claim is somewhat over-stated.
 
The question we raise is this: If we agree that computer ethics should
be taught in the schools, what should the content be and how should it
be delivered? We are rather uncomfortable with "propagandizing" being
"taught" without competing views and without raising the seriousness
of the issues. We invite comments)).
 
+++++++++
 
                        DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY
 
<Opening scene: Two mid-teenagers, one a black female, the other a
white male. They are playing on a computer game on a classroom
computer. The male madly punches keys to portray frenetic action.  He
is loses the game to the female.  Frustrated, he wants to play her
again, but she has >.
 
Female: It's almost fourth period, and I do not want to get caught in
here.
 
Male: But Jane, hold up. Look. I brought a disk, and we could *copy*
this, and we could play it on my brother's computer.
 
Female: OK, no problem. All we gotta do is <she slips the blank disk
in and simulates starting to copy. The screen brightens and strange
noises come from the computer>
 
Male: Are you *sure you know what you're doing?
 
<A black "rapper's" face appears on the computer terminal, expanding
to take up the tv screen. He sings a rap lyric against copying:
 
Rapper:
 
Did I hear you right?
Did I hear you saying?
That you're gonna make a copy
of a game without payin'?
 
Come on guys.......
I thought you knew better.
Don't copy that floppy.
 
Male: Hey, wait a minute. Who the heck are you anyway?
 
Female: Yeh. And what are you doing in our computer?
 
Rapper:
 
I'm your MC double-dare--DP.
That's a disk protector
for you and the posse....
That's for artists, writers, designers and programmers
That puts up the images for games and grammar
That lets you learn, but also play,
The games you came here for today.
 
<drum interlude>
 
Now I know you love the game
and that's all right to do,
Because the posse who makes them,
they love them too.
But if you start stealin', there's no more they can do....
 
<drum beat>
 
Male: But I just wanted to make one copy.
 
Rapper:
 
You say I'll just make a copy
for me and a friend.
Then he'll make one and she'll make one
and where will it end?
One leads to another,
then they make more
And no one buys anything from the store.
So no one gets paid, and they *can't* make more.
The posse <does something, but whatever it is is
unintelligible>
 
Don't copy.....
Don't copy...that floppy!
So let me break this down for you.
 
No Carmen San Diego,
No more Oregon Trail.
Tetris and the others,
They're all going to fail.
Not because we want it,
but because you been takin' it,
Disrespectin' of the folks who are making it.
 
<a few more verses proclaiming that "stealing" games by copying them
will lead to the end of software and the end of the "computer age."
 
*****
 
The rap music is mercifully short, but it's interspersed with
interview/documentaries of software manufacturers.  They explain how
games are made, indicating that creating a game can involve 20 to 30
people integrating the various parts, and working on documentation,
technical support, and marketing.  The point is that if sales are low,
the authors may decide that the game is unpopular and stop making it.
 
SPA Attorney:  Although the licenses may vary, the law is very simple.
The copyright law says that when you buy a piece of software, you can
put that piece of software on one computer.  And that's it. You can
make a backup copy of the software, but you can't give that backup
copy to a friend, and you can't put it on another computer. Every
program that you buy, that's one program for one computer.
 
<The rap continues, interspersed liberally with "don't copy that
floppy" and urging viewers to buy a copy of the program for every
computer they use. "Anything else is like going to the story, taking
that disk and walking out the door.">
 
The male and female discuss the issues for a few minutes, and the
female argues that copying is wrong and against the law.  The rapper
returns, urging viewers to buy more software and that doing so will
build the future. The male announces that he has some money left from
his summer job, suggesting that he will use it to go out and buy a
computer game (with a manual). And, fourth period be damned, they play
another game (on presumably is a pirated game on the school computer).
 
                            (end of video)
 
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