T H U R S D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 0 1, 1 9 9 0
I sat in excited fascination as the modem began to make strange screeching noises. The cursor streamed to the top of the screen at a dizzying 300 baud and printed its one word announcement...
"CONNECT"
>
I sat in excited fascination as the modem began to make strange screeching noises. The cursor streamed to the top of the screen at a dizzying 300 baud and printed its one word announcement...
"CONNECT"
>
We had just made contact with a Bulletin Board System (BBS). I was still a little confused about exactly what that was, but my friend assured me that I was in for some pleasant surprises.
He sat at his Atari 800xl pressing a key here and there, bring to the screen a myriad of interesting menus, all done up with brilliant use of ASCII characters for graphics. One menu had the shape of a woman's face, another was in the shape of a telephone. I told him that I thought that was all great, but he replied that the best was yet to come.
He struck another key, and a list of programs began to scroll up the screen. "So you see," he explained, "when you get your computer, you don't have to worry about buying a bunch of stuff, just invest $200.00 on a used modem, and you can get all the software you'll ever need absolutely free!"
This was my first exposure to the wonderful(?) world of software piracy and I've got to be honest, I was impressed. Here at my fingertips were all the games and utilities I was ever going to need, and it was going to cost me a one-time purchase of a little blue box with flashing lights. Not only did the directory being displayed list out golden oldies, but also programs that I knew had just hit the markets. (I would later learn that you could even find programs that were not as yet in stores!) I was sold. A week later I was unpacking my new system, complete with my "personal software supply house" - a modem.
It would be four years, and hundreds of program-packed 5 1/4" floppy discs later, before I would take a long, hard look at exactly what it was I was doing. I was about to become a software collector. It didn't really matter what I collected, as long as I had the latest "Hot Releases." And heaven forbid that someone else had a title that I had not as yet acquired.
Calling BBS's all the time started to become a little tedious, so I decided to put up my own board and let other people call me with software, I was already well versed in the inner workings of "elite" memberships, and knew that discretion was imperative. In other words, I was very much aware that I was breaking the law, but justified my actions by telling myself that it was a victimless crime. These software companies were, after all, huge firms making a fortune selling their goods at inflated prices. I was also helping out new computer users, by inviting them over to fill up those blank discs of theirs. I hadn't been so popular since Sandra Martin agreed to be my date for the graduation dance.
The BBS phone line was ringing constantly. Every night I would return home from work and have new files to validate. Some were garbage, but then again, a program's quality didn't matter as long as you filled your discs and had a lot of them full.
A few points can be taken from the above revelations. First, my past is hardly as pure as the driven snow when it comes to copyright infringement, and I do understand the attraction. Second, software piracy is rampant. There is virtually no commercial software that is not readily available on hundreds of boards throughout the city, regardless of system configuration, operating system, or wants/needs. Lastly, it's not just a case of getting a particular program to test, it's more an obsession with possessing everything that is available!
It may seem hypocritical that a self-confessed ex-pirate would decide to chat with you on the evils of piracy, and you are probably curious as to what caused my sudden change of heart. I did have one pastime that most stolen software collectors did not share - I also invested heavily in the purchase of original packages. I was getting to know more and more computer users who had never bought a single piece of software, and this offended me. Not so much that they never supported the industry in which they were hobbyists, but more that they exuded an arrogant pride in the fact.
This arrogance, coupled with the fact that more and more developers were looking at (and dropping) Atari Computers as a "high risk" system to write for, made me decide that enough was enough. I started to become more vocal than a reformed smoker in a smoke filled cafeteria! (2010 note: yes people smoked in cafeterias in 1990) I joined forces with Tony Elliott of the Grand Hotel BBS, and set out to prove that a privately operated "public domain only" board could be as popular (if not more so) as any pirate board around. What I discovered though, came as a surprise...the more adamantly anti-pirate my message became, the more we received mail accusing us of having "hidden" file areas. It never ceased to amaze me that even during a two-month period where our message bases were dominated by conversations on piracy and why we opposed it, we still received requests from users for access to our non-existent "private" areas. Either no one was listening or we had hit a ploy used by the very boards we were talking about. As it turns out the latter was the case. I found on my own online travels that the systems that were the most vocally opposed to piracy were quite often the ones with the largest amount of storage space dedicated to the genre (2010 note: we're talking as much as 2 or 3 megabytes of storage!!)
There is a whole list of arguments from the pro-piracy camp, while sadly, the few counterpoints tend to sound redundant. That is simply because talking to a confirmed pirate about the harm being done, is like explaining the theory of relativity to a five year old, and so one tends to repeat the same points over and over. I'll attempt to address some of the more common defenses that have arisen in my message bases on the topic...
"Many programs for sale are garbage, and not worth the price."
Does this mean that you only copy bad software and actually buy the packages that are worth the price? It is more likely that you are punishing the entire industry for a couple of bad purchase decisions on your part. There are several periodicals supplying fair reviews of products to help guide your decisions. You would also find user's groups and reputable Bulletin Board Services to be an invaluable source of information on the true value of new releases. It is certainly not difficult to write a message asking if anyone has tried a given program. A couple of days and you'll have opinions from all over the place! If you decide to blindly purchase software based on dazzling packaging then it's Caveat Emptor - buyer beware! A related argument is...
"I like to try a program before I buy it."
Of all the excuses for pirating, this is the most convincing, as well as the most difficult to counter. I do have to ask one question though; how often have you actually bought a product that you were happy with, after having "tested" it via a downloaded copy? In the case of application software, many users eventually part with their money for the sake of acquiring documentation, and not because they felt that the author(s) deserved support. Instead of using a pirated copy to test with, why not borrow an original from a friend (if you actually have a friend who owns an original copy of anything). Or how about writing a letter to the distributor asking for a demo version. More and more software houses are making "save-disabled" demos available. All it takes is a short note to them or a call to an information service such as Genie, Compuserve or CRS. Finally, you could simply ask if you might try the package out in the store. Although I am always told that retailers won't allow it, aside from testing games, I have NEVER been refused! Simply make it clear that you DO intend to buy if the product meets your needs... (2010 note: Not only could you test-drive any non-game software you wanted in the store, you could ask for an ashtray and have a cigarette while doing it!)
"Software prices are too high. I can't afford to buy it."
To further counter the argument, I should add that earlier this week, someone uploaded "Deluxe Asteroids" to The Grand Hotel BBS. This game is available in "bargain bins" throughout the city for the outrageous price of $9.99. Surely this isn't expensive for a piece of quality game software! Why then is it being distributed as a pirate file?? Maybe it's because...
"MS DOS users pirate more than we do. Atarians are just being picked on!"
Well, I am certainly not going to deny that software theft is a problem on every make and model of micro, and yes, I know that the distribution of pirated files is more serious in the PC world, but overall size of the market has got to be considered. Let's say, for arguments sake, that only 40% of Atari users make use of pirated software, while the same holds true for 65% of MS-DOS users. The remaining 35% of PC users is a far, far greater number of consumers than the remaining Atarians. We all know that Atari computers are not popular in North America. Whatever the reason, we have a small user base here, and we're a drop in the bucket of all computer users. If nearly half the software developed is stolen, what motivation is there to support us with ports of exiting products, or the creation of new ones? Atari users are also considered to be the most advanced users around. Although this may seem like a compliment, in the eyes of authors and distributors, this just means that code will be cracked much more quickly and efficiently than on other systems.
"Taping records and movies is against the law too, why are computer users being hit on for doing the same thing as everyone else is doing?"
Copying a movie or a record has far less serious repercussions to the individual industries than the copying of software. When you copy a movie from TV, that movie has been paid for by the network, and the fact that it is on television means that it has already run it's course through theatrical and videotape releases. When you tape an album, you obviously knew someone who had bought the record that you borrowed to tape, In both of these cases, your copy is being made after the distributors have already made their money.
With the mass distribution abilities of online systems, thousands of users can acquire a piece of software from a single original. You will also not suffer the loss of quality inherent in third or fourth generation audio or video recordings. There are no video BBSes offering downloads of first generation copies of films, and no dial-a-record services, allowing you to hook your cassette deck up to your phone! In all forms of piracy besides software, the user is never far removed from the profit makers, and as the user distances himself, the quality diminishes. Do you know where that 'blast-em-till-you-drop' video game you just downloaded came from? How many BBSes have the same file listed. How many that don't are you going to upload it to? How many nodes?
As you can see, when you stop to think about it, that's the major difference between software piracy and all other forms of illegal copying...potential distribution!
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