Piracy on two counts

[dannyp1]

I also have no real problem with old, no longer commercially sold or supported software being passed around.  We all state how bad we want the Amiga platform to remain alive and then in the next breath try to kill it.  Most people would much prefer to own original software with original packaging and documentation.  I know I would.  But if you check the titles that were being offered on the "pirated" CD's and then do a search on EBay to find originals you will almost always find that if you want the game or program the "pirated" copy is your only option.  If an original piece of software and a "pirated" copy are put up for sale at the same time I don't need to tell you which would sell for the highest price.  If I want a program and I can get a "pirated" copy for $1 or the original for $25 I will buy the original every time and I think most people would.  If we make it impossible for Amiga user's to get software that is no longer available or supported we have just closed the lid on the coffin.  If I have an original program I have no problem or resentment that someone else has a copy.  I have what I want and he most likely has the only thing he could get.    

Dan  :madashell:

[dannyp1]

I also would be upset if I bought software on EBay that was presented as being original and when it arrived was a copy.  But on the other hand if I bought something that was listed as being a back-up I would know exactly what I was getting and would buy it only if an original was not available.  In my mind if a company stops making and selling a software title they are more or less giving up the ability to make money off of that software.  If you read the small print on a lot of software you are not buying the software but only a license to use it.  In those cases it is illegal to sell the original copy for someone elses use.  The "only-original can be sold" crowd around here never seem to take this into account when passing judgement on others.  They have drawn a moral line in the sand which is not always the legal line.  Believe me, if the copyright owner has a problem with their software being illegally sold they will do something about it.  We don't have to.  I know this from first hand expierence with MicroSoft by having two different items I was selling taken off from EBay.  Both times they were new still sealed software that was original but was meant to be sold with a computer system.  I still think I had the right to sell them but MicroSoft and the law said otherwise, and they didn't need some do-gooder with nothing better to do than worry about someone else's business to tell them.  They actively protect what is theirs.  This is not the case with 10 and 20 year old Amiga software that hasn't been available for that long from the publisher.  Over 90% of Amiga software is abandon-ware in the true sense.

Dan      :getmad:

[dannyp1]

I think you kind of made my point for me with your post.  You don't want a moral judgement, you want a legal one.  Well I'm willing to bet that some of the original software you sold was licensed to you to use.  By you selling it you were illegally transferring the license.  That is ignoring the law just as much as someone downloading an illegal copy.  Either way it takes a sale away from the original publisher.  Laws were broken both ways.  You made your own moral judgement that one was OK to do and the other wasn't.  

You also made my point when you stated that you got good prices for the programs you sold.  Most people do want to own a "legal" version of the software and are willing to pay for it.  Also many people acquire illegal games, try them out and like them, and then try to acquire an original.  

It really boils down to eliminating the ability to acquire a large amount of the software for the Amiga from present and future hobbiests.  This won't help the community grow and prosper, it will kill it.