From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Thu Oct 25 2001 - 14:53:06 MDT
> In this case the only ones arguing for abandonment of the
> convention are those who hope to gain from it.
Um, why would anyone aregue for anything except because he
hopes to gain? The question is whether or not society as a
whole would gain. I think what you mean to say here is that
the only ones arguing for elimination of copyrights are
those who hope to gain _at the expense of others_ by it,
and that they do not believe suc elimination would be good
for society as a whole.
This is also demonstrably false. I currently, and have always,
made my living by writing (text and software). I currently
get no gain from copyright because I write software for my
company's internal exclusive use, but I have also written text
and software for companies that used copyright (which I consider
a moral failing on my part that I am glad to have ended). It
is quite likely that if I have to go looking for work again, I
will find many more jobs from companies that rely on copyright
than from those that don't, so it is not in my personal short-
term interest to abolish copyright. I just think it's the
right thing to do. And so do other producers of information,
like musician John Perry Barlow and many in the free software
movement like Richard Stallman.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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