Subj : Re: GNU Public Licences Revisited (again) To : comp.programming From : Chris Sonnack Date : Tue Sep 20 2005 10:42 pm Antoon Pardon writes: >> If I have created the beer and am selling it to feed my family and >> you copy it rather than buy it, you are *stealing* from me. You >> are actively taking food from my family. > > How does that differ from me, just brewing my own? Because then you have made an investment and devised your own recipes and systems. > As far as I understand, me brewing my own or me copying yours, leave > you in exactly the same situation. You don't have any less in either > situation. So it seems that by this logic, me brewing my own would > be stealing from you too. There is a big difference between honest competition and theft. To compete with me, you (presumably) have the same startup investment. The playing field is level. We both need to take the same set of basic steps to achieve our goal. The race goes to whomever does it best. If you get a head start by cheating through an immoral act such as stealing, you benefit to my expense (because, being a moral person, I did it the "old fashioned" way). MORE IMPORTANTLY, if you demonstrate a willingness to act immorally, you open the door for me to do so. And if we're being immoral in pursuit of our goals, heck, let's go all the way. ARM YOURSELF DUDE, CAUSE NOW IT'S GANGLAND WAR. Heck, why don't I just go ahead and steal your life. It's easy enough to do, and clearly we're playing in an arena where morality doesn't apply. I think it might have been Hemingway who wrote that the moral path was usually the harder one. -- |_ CJSonnack _____________| How's my programming? | |_ http://www.Sonnack.com/ ___________________| Call: 1-800-DEV-NULL | |_____________________________________________|_______________________| .