Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Copyright opinions

[Simon Ward]

On Mon, Dec 07, 2009 at 01:34:42PM +0000, MJ Ray wrote:
> This is easier written than done.  We try, but quite apart from the
> marketing something so different, it's getting gradually harder as
> protectionist laws further entrench the
> make-it-once/restrict-it/sell-it-lots model of new enclosures and
> exploitation, empowering copyright thugs to scare FOSS users.

Surely we should be fighting these laws instead of submitting to them
and further oppressing software users?  This is just another reason to
advocate free software.

> The problem with that is that it requires developers to do less
> development and more maintenance and support (sometimes healthy!),
> manual-printing and box-arranging.

So doing development and attempting to make a living from development
alone is actually hard work.  Locking users in apparently makes it
easier to make money without having to put the extra efforts in.  That’s
a very unfortunate situation, but I have no sympathy for developers who
do this.

> 1. many small-audience manuals have a non-trivial amount of
> development effort embodied in each copy produced, so the fairer way
> is to share the development cost across the low end sales estimate;

Fairer to whom?  The developers, or the users?

If printing manuals is loss-making for you, why do it at the expense of
software and its users?  I gave some suggestions for other ways of
making money, I didn’t say you could necessarily make them work well for
you.

> 2. is it any more ethical to profiteer from manual production than
> software production?

No (I hope my comment did not come across as implication that it is).

Although, when does it become profiteering?  With software I would
definitely include conscious attempts to lock people in.

Simon
-- 
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a
simple system that works.—John Gall

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