[ILUG] Renaming the ILUG

[John P. Looney]

On Thu, Mar 09, 2000 at 03:19:55PM +0000, Sascha Lucky Luck mentioned:
> We have a (sort of) policy of paying money only after extensive testing - 
> and IF it works. In principle, you're right, of course - Joe L. User
> won't have that prvilege.

 Well, we did some extensive testing too. Somethings only come out *after*
testing.

> >  How can laws to increase freedom of the public be compared to filtering,
> > key escrow, and censorship ?
> A law to increase freedom? That's an oxymoron - laws, ad definitionem, 
> *restrict* freedom. Even if it is the freedom of someone to read your mail.

 Laws can be made to restrict freedom. They can also be made to restrict
someone restricting your freedom. So it's a moot point. 

> >  Why can't they extend such laws to software & hardware ?
> 
> It probably will clash with existing copyright laws anyway (IANAL). Also, 
> we may lose out in the end - why develop new technologies, etc, when 
> you're not allowed to protect them? If hardware vendors could be obliged
> to provide (documented) APIs for their stuff - now that would be a 
> Good Thing (TM)...

 Well, in the case of the car manufacturers they also said that they were
no longer allowed overcharge for spare parts. Basically, when they sell a
car, they have to provide a detailed bill of what it all cost.

 Then, afterwards, you should be able to buy a part, at a price comparible
to the price on the bill. It's to fight the fact that at the moment, you
would have to spend ten times the price of a car, to build a full one from
spares. In exchange, they are the only ones allowed to make a spare for
their model of car (sort of like copyrighting a part).

 People will always need new technologies. And, if it's needed badly
enough, it will be developed. People write books all the time, and release
the source code, so that people (if they so wished) could proofread them,
and spell check them. There is the whole idea of "copyright", that stops
someone copying someone elses book, and charging for it. If you were
forced to release the source of your software, it would be easy to stop
plagarism.

> >  And I've no intention of spending another two weeks working out why
> > AOLserver couldn't use my LDAP extension when the Oracle module was loaded
> > at the same time, again. I'd rather drink turpentine and piss on a brush
> > fire.</texas accent>
> 
> AOLserver? sounds scary... Does it convert everything into ALL CAPS? ;o)

 NO. NOT AT ALL. WHY WOULD IT DO THAT. HOW DO I SEND MAIL ? WHY ARENT YOU
REPLYING TO ME ??????

Kate

-- 
"The fool must be beaten with a stick, for an intelligent person 
the merest hint is sufficient"                -- Zen Master Greg