A-EON Technology Acquires Personal Paint

[Matt_H]

Got to admit I'm getting a little concerned about just how much A-Eon has been acquiring lately...

[Matt_H]

I find it very good that the software is continued to be devleoped.

I find it very good that a guy like Andy is doing this

I also find it very good that he gets money for it.

I find it strange to old releases from Aminet are removed.

Bingo. This summarizes my sentiments exactly.

While not fitting the legal definition, PPaint 7.1 has effectively been considered PD for almost two decades.  To pull something that old from the community archives - even if it's made available elsewhere - is troubling. Are any other Aminet staples at risk of the same fate in the future?

[Matt_H]

Just hypotetically; if a few other programs are taken out of Aminet to be updated; whats the problem with that?

The problem is that the principle/purpose of an archive is to be a safe place to store things in perpetuity. Once something is there, it shouldn't be subject to the whims and moods of whoever submitted it, especially after two decades.

Apart from gross copyright violations (e.g., someone uploaded a commercial product they don't have rights to) or other extremely rare exception, nothing should be removed from Aminet, even if subsequently (re)released commercially.

This current situation is like asking the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress to remove Casablanca or Star Wars. After all, much "better" versions of both have been released in the years since they were first inducted. Those original versions shouldn't be part of the public record anymore!

That would be absurd, right?

[Matt_H]

I do see your point, but I do think productivity software is a bit different.

As far as whoever submitted it; if Andy, zzd10h, Lyle or whoever made a piece of software they originally released on Aminet or allowed to be submitted there, we should be thankful they did so in the first place.

If they at a later point decides they want to make a updated version, and in the process make revenue off their work; I defintly dont see the problem with that.
With PP the rights where bought, but other than that, same applies.

Oh, it's definitely fine and great if a developer wants to turn one if their programs into a commercial product. I'm saying just leave the old/previous version on Aminet as it was. This has been done countless times throughout Amiga history: v1 is shareware/freeware, v2 is commercial. v1 remains on Aminet, v2 gets something in docs/anno or biz/demo and the full version is available from the developer or retailer.

By putting something on Aminet, you're making a commitment to the community in terms to the distribution of (that particular version of) your software. Changing your mind later and asking that something be pulled goes against the spirit of that commitment. If you want to fully control the distribution of your software, don't put it on Aminet to begin with.

[Matt_H]

Well, I have a hard time to villify someone that takes the time to develop software (or in this case update), make it freely available for x years, and then removes it later on.
You make aminet sound like a eternal contract where you sign away the rights to your software.

Like I said earlier, if a developer wants to make a new version of their software a commercial product, that's fine and excellent and if it's a product I use I'll gladly buy it. Just don't pull the old version. True, uploading to Aminet doesn't strip developers of their rights from a legal standpoint, but the spirit of a software archive is a permanent home for gratis software.

As I said on AW.net;

So what entitles us to free stuff all the time?
I dont MIND getting free stuff, hell, I even appriciate it. But I dont feel entitled to it either.

It's not the "free stuff" aspect - after all, the old version appears to be available again if anyone needs it, and I'll put in an order for the new version as soon as it's for sale. It's the principle of permanence in a community software archive. Are A-EON/Cloanto within their legal rights to pull from Aminet? Sure, but I worry about the precedent this sets.