Re: [Fsfe-uk] re: distribution without copyright

[Lee Braiden]

Chris Croughton wrote:

> You know, I've heard of this thing called the internet.  It's wonderful,
> I don't have to ask a distributor for a copy of the source, I just use a
> search engine and it's usually in the first few entries.  Assuming that
> the author wants their source out there, all they have to do is put it
> on a website
>  
Yes, I got the impression you were thinking of current technology as a 
solution to all this.  I think the difference between us here is that I 
still consider the internet very young and unregulated, and certainly 
the 'big players' who own major portions of it haven't settled down 
yet.  I don't believe it will always be that way, and it would be very 
unwise, imho, to trust the very creativity of our culture to current 
circumstances.  Virtually all new areas of human endeavour are new, 
exciting, and unregulated when they first start out.

> I think that abolishing copyright outright would cause problems, just as
> abolishing the speed limit would, because people have got used to the
> idea and will mostly react with excess.  But that's not the same as
> either of them being necessary (for instance, the speed limit could be
> replaced by having tougher penalties on actual damage caused, copyright
> by fraud laws).
>  
Well, personally, I disagree.  To me, prevention is better than cure, 
and no amount of penalty will make up for losing what you hold dear.  I 
would much rather have laws to codify responsible behaviour than laws to 
scare people or punish them for bad behaviour.

- Lee.