Hi
I don't often reply in the forum but I do watch it, and this thread caught
my attention.
Issues:
1. Integrity.
2. Letting go of personal attacks by trolls, and the trolls
themselves.
3. Copyright.
1. Integrity.
Those who appreciate the value of copyright do so because it is 'right' to
morally and financially support those who give energy to projects that
interest the community. Those who break copyright law are ignorant of this,
their minds commonly lacking respect for others. Those who simply observe
the law have missed the point.
2. Letting go.
When encountering people of low integrity it is important first to recognise
them for the ignorant people they are, and quickly say 'bye'. It's easy to
forgive them because they are obviously too ignorant to dig themselves out
of the pit they have dug for themselves. Allowing trolls space in your mind
will lead to your poor health as you are allowing your own ego to mull over
their negative words. Simply know the community is constructive, and will
dismiss them and their comments. Only trolls really engage with trolls.
Letting go is an important healing principle.
3. Copyright.
I would not be fussed if copies of my old QL programs were passed around.
However, I am writing a website that uses a few original ideas in them, and
I 'would' be fussed if the ideas were misused and undermined my current
project. The law allows for 'fair use' of parts of a copyright item and this
is wise. Special licences can also widen the availability for users while
protecting essentials for the author. Perhaps I should mention that thirty
years ago I wrote the Spy and Master Spy editors, Archivist, Mailfile, etc.
Back then there were enthusiasts but few buyers, much like today. I haven't
sold anything QL in the last twenty years. I seem to remember all the
profits were ploughed back into advertising. That's the nature of the game
sometimes.
Kind regards
Richard Howe
-----Original Message-----
From: Ql-Users [mailto:ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com] On Behalf Of Rich
Mellor
Sent: 07 July 2016 14:32
To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com
Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Withdrawal of my personal Software Preservation
Project
On 07/07/2016 11:13, Wolfgang Lenerz wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just my 2 cents worth.
>
> As I understand it, Rich came under attack from some (as yet unnamed)
> sources because he (i) sells old programs for the QL and (ii) sent
> take-down notices (or was suspected of sending them) to sites that
> apparently hosted copyrighted files without the owners' consent.
>
> It goes without saying that being attacked for these actions is just
> unacceptable. I'm alarmed, Rich, that this should cause you health
> problems. I believe that the echo your decision got on the list here
> shows that people here do support you.
>
> Except for the health problem, I'm not sure that I understand why this
> causes you to stop your preservation project. Surely the best strategy
> to adopt is to ignore the <your favorite swear word here> who bring
> these attacks - and go on as before ?
>
> I think, Rich, that you should publish here extracts of the offending
> emails or whatever form that correspondence took, together with the
> author's names, so that I, for one, could be sure not to have any
> contact with them.
>
>
> The discussion now seems to center on whether all QL software should
> be made available for free. I agree with much of what Marcel writes,
> in that I also think that all of this 30+ years old software
> **should** be free. Like Marcel, I'm in the process of releasing my
> commercial programs as freeware, as and when I get around to it.
> However, the decision to do so is mine and nobody else's. Likewise,
> the decision for others to do so with their software is theirs. Do I
> think that that old software should be released for free, like Marcel
> does ? Sure ! Would I, like Marcel, refuse to pay a cent for any old
> game ? Yup : if it isn't free, I don't even look at it.
>
> But I don't see what's wrong with copyright owners holding on to their
> property, nor with Rich trying to sell some software and make some
> money from it. I do not understand the mindset of people who believe
> that these things MUST NECESSARILY be free and if they aren't, then
> the copyright owners and traders are evil, and fair game for any sort
> of abuse (I'm not accusing anybody on this list of thinking that way!).
>
> Is the fact that some copyright owners try to make a buck off their
> software in any way nefarious or detrimental to the QL scene ? In
> other words, do we loose users because of it ? I don't believe so. I
> frankly fail to believe that someone new to the QL scene would look at
> it, look at the software available, think < hey that's a game I must
> have > and then go away when he discovers that the game is still being
sold..
>
> As to the problem of hosting these still copyrighted files, I like
> Marcel's analogy with (minor!) traffic law violations - you can
> choose, say, to double-park < just for a few minutes > and run the
> risk of getting a fine. Likewise, you can also choose to host
> copyrighted files and run the risk of criminal proceedings (with much
higher penalties).
> The risk of being sued is probably minimal. The operating words being
> < probable > -i.e. not certain, and < minimal > i.e. not null. It is
> up to each of us to assess that risk and ask themselves whether they
> want to run it. However, as one of those darned lawyers myself, what
> would I tell a client if he asked me whether he should/could host
> copyrighted files (w/o the copyright owners' permission, that is) ?
> The answer would be a clear and unequivocal < no >.
>
> QL forever!
>
> Wolfgang
> _______________________________________________
> QL-Users Mailing List
>
Maybe with our legal backgrounds, we both see the need to protect rights and
for that reason neither of us would get involved in hosting copyrighted
files.
I think the need to obtain the copyright holders' permission is paramount -
if you do not bother to approach them and are later found out as having
breached their copyright, then it is a much more fraught position than if
you contacted them first and ascertained what they would like to happen.
Let's face it, if someone approached a best selling author and said - could
we host downloads of your books from the 1980s which have been out of print
for 20 years, they may well say yes - I would love to see it.
But if you offer the books for download and then someone pointed them to
your site, they are much much less likely to think that is acceptable.
As for the impact on my health - the problem is that (as some people are
aware) I have been struggling with poor health now for 2 1/2 years - the
stress of dealing with these personal attacks on both myself and my business
just compounds that as it adds to my (already) poor sleep.
I would rather not publicise the attacks further by including extracts - but
there are several (generally Spanish) forums and even a well known Spectrum
forum where these attacks have been levied (generally started by the same
username, but then carried on by others).
--
Rich Mellor
RWAP Services
Specialist Enuuk Auction Programming Services
www.rwapservices.co.uk
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