mario a. spinthiras

I wouldn’t call this ethics than I would comparing the lines of my beliefs and others to the lines of the law which address computer software crackers and unlicensed software users. This is as clear as it gets and if you don’t like it , use free software

I recently had a conversation with someone that honestly does not appreciate the good hard work of software developers. I was so infuriated by this that I couldn’t continue the conversation. Her belief was something like “If they worked so damn hard , they shouldn’t be asking for money” (I really didn’t understand that one) and other ones like “Software?” . Many of you that read my blog are software developers and I know the hard work you put into creating software with all your good heart and best of talent. I think it sucks that people don’t appreciate what you do for a living.

Let us not that this person currently uses unlicensed software to the bone , foney windows , foney office , foney winrar and foney pretty-much-every-other-software too. Hypocritical don’t you think? having unlicensed software is truly the same thing as stealing. I didn’t say it. The law did! She tends to put her beliefs though above what the law thinks with a touch of stubbornness that blinds her from the reality and truth behind software counter fitting and unlicensed software. Never the less we also addressed people that cracked software and that the people to “blame” are them and the people that sell computers with unlicensed software. Ridiculous if you ask me.

Example. If you bought a computer with unlicensed windows XP on them then you would definitely feel a great unjustice if you where tyo get caught using unlicensed software on that specific machine. You could tell the authorities that you bought it from XYZ shop and thats who you should blame. One very similar law that might seem unfair to you but is never the less the same is recieving stolen property. Yes thats true. If you buy something that has been unlawfully taken from another person , you are just as much to blame. It is your duty as a consumer to know what you are buying and you should deal with that responsibility ad uphold it firmly. Unfortunately as per my conversation with the person above , people just do not understand the concept of paying for someone’s hard work. And this in continuation compells software companies to enforce more programming into their application to avoid the use of their software without actually showing apreciation and following the rules of natural commerce via the license which actually pays a developer’s salary and puts a meal on their table.

I think it would be right to discuss people that crack software for it to be run unlicensed and free of any restrictive functions and of course any checks for licensing. These people are of course doing something that is considered unethical yet not exactly illegal in a sense. Court cases are few ; and the few that they are they were not heavily attacked by justice. Never the less they are the “tool” used in the art of software counterfitting. Who is the right one to put these “crackers” into their own box of light and justice in the sense of ethics or law? Users that use counterfitted software? I think not. Users that use licensed and payed-for software? I think not. A court of law that can decide the future of this funky hex editor? I think not. So who does carry the weight of ethical judgement to feed into the legislations that exist to stop the beginners of software counterfitting?

Many of you know that large software companies that make software for the end user deliberately allow for their software to be cracked in a sense in order to gain a customer base. Many methods are used such as:

1. Let the software run unlicensed for six months , allow the crackers to think he/she has cracked the software and from there onwards let the user deploy this software (maybe in the mass) and force him to buy the software six months later
2. Let the software run unlicensed and maybe the user will show a good heart by “donating” the amount in the form of a license.
3. And more.

These might seem surreal scenarios from another Matrix movie but I can assure you they are not. I have friends that work for medium enterprize software development companies that do this in order to gain a customer base one way or another. You would think that this isn’t as ethical as it sounds does it ?

In such cases , with such scenarios , examples of users with no apreciation whatsoever , what do you do ? Do you run Ubuntu just to enjoy the fruits of community developed free software? Do you buy the license to every piece of software that you have? Do you buy licenses for the software that seems critical to you such as your operating system and leave the unimportant things behind? Confusing , mind twirling and ethics judging issues such as this come with one opinion from every person that matters in software starting from the young fella that wrote it with his team and spent endless nights of caffeine and sleep deprived eyes staring at a monitor right down to the user - and when I say user , I mean it in a sense of irony which states a person that has no heart for people like the developers described above? Are you that user? Are you okay with stealing this way ?

For the record , this article was written on a real licensed Apple OSX 10.5 notebook with Mozilla Firefox (a free browser) and in the background. What are you reading this on?

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