www/philosophy dat.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /webcvs/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       10/08/20 22:21:01

Modified files:
        philosophy     : dat.html 

Log message:
        Many changes in the notes.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/dat.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.17&r2=1.18

Patches:
Index: dat.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/philosophy/dat.html,v
retrieving revision 1.17
retrieving revision 1.18
diff -u -b -r1.17 -r1.18
--- dat.html    28 Apr 2010 21:34:39 -0000      1.17
+++ dat.html    20 Aug 2010 22:20:58 -0000      1.18
@@ -6,25 +6,24 @@
 <p>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/";><strong>Richard
 Stallman</strong></a></p>
 
-<p><em>Many points that lead to a conclusion that software freedom must be
-universal often apply to other forms of expressive works, albeit in
-different ways. This essay concerns the application of principles
-related to software freedom to the area of music.
-Generally, such issues are orthogonal to software freedom, but we
-include essays like this here since many people interested in Free
-Software want to know more about how the principles can be applied to
-areas other than software.</em></p>
-
-<p><em>[This article was published in Wired magazine in 1992; the text
-has not been changed, but notes in square brackets have been added
-(with these notes emphasized for those browsers that will display
-emphasized text).]</em></p>
-
-<p><em>[Another approach initiated by Francis Muguet, which includes
-some of these ideas, is called <a href="http://mecenat-global.org";>
-Global Patronage (in French, M&eacute;c&eacute;nat Global)</a>.  I
-support both solutions; that is to say, I favor adopting either
-one.]</em></p>
+<p><em>[This article does not concern software, not directly.  It
+concerns a parallel issue about sharing copies of music.]</em></p>
+
+<p><em>[The article was first published in Wired magazine in 1992; the
+text has not been changed; instead, I have added notes, in square
+brackets and with italics or other emphasis.]</em></p>
+
+<p><em>[The original article addressed the (then hypothetical) issue
+of sharing music using (then just appearing) digital audio tape
+recorders, since that is what the proposed US tax law was supposed to
+address.  Nowadays it could be applied to Internet file
+sharing.]</em></p>
+
+<p><em>[Another approach developed by the late Francis Muguet with my
+assistance, which includes some of these ideas, is called
+the <a href="/philosophy/global-patronage.html"> Global Patronage
+system (in French, M&eacute;c&eacute;nat Global)</a>.  I support both
+solutions; that is to say, I favor adopting either one.]</em></p>
 
 <p>Record company magnates don't like the digital audio tape recorder
 (<acronym title="Digital Audio Tape">DAT</acronym>), which can make
@@ -250,6 +249,11 @@
 involves no discretion, no arbitrary decisions, there is little room
 for objection on account of any particular case.</p>
 
+<p><em>[I was later asked an interesting question: what organization would
+&ldquo;manage&rdquo; the distribution of these funds.  Since this is
+tax money, a government agency should collect the tax and distribute
+the funds.  Private organizations should not be involved.]</em></p>
+
 <h3>Encouraging home copying</h3>
 
 <p>The record company proposal includes a requirement to make it
@@ -314,7 +318,10 @@
 <h3>What You Can Do</h3>
 
 <p><em>[This section is no longer applicable today; it is too late,
-because the DAT tax was bill was already passed and signed.]</em></p>
+because the DAT tax was bill was adopted in 1992&mdash;and DAT
+recorders are obsolete nowadays.  However, the same method can support
+musicians and other artists in a world where sharing copies on the
+Internet has been legalized.]</em></p>
 
 <p>Record company lobbyists are working hard to pass their form of DAT
 tax.  There is little organized opposition, and little public debate.
@@ -347,13 +354,6 @@
 record company tax plan, and they are strongly motivated to act on
 their concern.</p>
 
-<p><em>[The article above was published in Wired magazine in 1992.
-The record company DAT tax bill was later signed into law by President
-George &ldquo;read my lips&rdquo; Bush.  Although this was shortly
-before the 1992 election, little attention was paid to the fact that
-he had once again broken his vow not to approve any new
-taxes.]</em></p>
-
 </div>
 
 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@
 </p>
 
 <p>
-Copyright &copy; 1992 Richard M. Stallman
+Copyright &copy; 1992, 2010 Richard M. Stallman
 <br />
 Verbatim copying in any medium is permitted without fee
 provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved.
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@
 
 <p>Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2010/04/28 21:34:39 $
+$Date: 2010/08/20 22:20:58 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>