[NTLK] h*cks, kr*ks, SN

[Matt Howe]

I also write software for a living and I guess it is kind of like this. If I
had a lawn mower that I rented to my neighbors. They just had to pay me once
and they could use it whenever they wanted. And then one day I went on
vacation and someone new moved into the neighborhood. Because I am not there
to collect my rent, does that give them the right to just come and take my
lawn mower? I'm not quite as stringent as some of the others here, but the
undeniable truth and legality of this is that the software belongs to the
copyright holder, whether it appears abandoned or not. Do I think they would
mind? Probably not, but if you do this, you are, strictly speaking, breaking
the law.

Matt (Ducky) Howe
Owner of a MP2000U and an Emate
SantaMatt at Gmail.com (Nokia N770)
matthowe at comcast.net (Desktop)
http://home.comcast.net/~mhowe41/
http://SantaMatt.blogspot.com

Dennis B. Swaney wrote:
<snip>
That would be a pretty arrogant action if 1. you stopped updating it, 2.
no longer responded to email, or didn't publish a valid email address,
etc. The problem is with software for which there is absolutely NO WAY
to do the "right thing". If an author/publisher can't be located, and
later does what you suggest, then I put that down to pure unadulterated
greed. If they still want to be financially compensated, then it is
mandatory that they maintain a valid way to do so.
<snip>