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No, my property right is not like owning all copies of the software. It's like owning the exclusive right to give a copy of it to someone else. Saying that pir
by jules 16y ago
No, my property right is not like owning all copies of the software. It's like owning the exclusive right to give a copy of it to someone else.
Saying that piracy protects me against open source software is silly. Suppose that X people are buying my software, Y are pirating it and Z are using an open source alternative. Now magically all Y people decide they don't want to pirate anymore. That probably means that some of them are going to go with the open source software and some of them are going to pay. Yes, fewer people are using my software, but I'm getting more money so who cares?
Pirating software is very similar to not respecting open source licenses, for example closing down a modification of GPL'ed code. Why?
Because when you put a GPL license on software you are saying "you can have this software but you have to do something I want in return: if you make a modification you have to make that open source so I and others can use it (among other things)". When I charge for software I'm saying "you can have this software but you have to do something I want in return: pay me $x money". In the first case you are asking people to `pay you back` in work, in the second case you are asking people to `pay you back` with money.
> work on the problem space of making money in the assumption of infinitely copied software
Yeah, I'd like to work on solving nuclear fission too. This is just not feasible with certain kinds of software.
- kiba 16y agoThat probably means that some of them are going to go with the open source software and some of them are going to pay. Yes, fewer people are using my software, but I'm getting more money so who cares? Network effects, more code contribution, and the like. That's important for open source software. For me, it's opportunities to get paid more. If I can expand my market, than I could raise my price or get money somewhere else. Beside, it does not mean that some customers will buy your software. The advertising effect of piracy may increase sales. The only way to find out is that if people magically respect copyright. Pirating software is very similar to not respecting open source licenses, for example closing down a modification of GPL'ed code. Why? I was referring to less restrictive alternatives not whether or not if somebody broke the law. > work on the problem space of making money in the assumption of infinitely copied software Yeah, I'd like to work on solving nuclear fission too. This is just not feasible with certain kinds of software. It is certainly feasible to run small experiments on a small portion of your business. You do not have to risk your entire business operation to learn the truth about what work or not. An accurate belief is more important in business than who win debates in hypothetical business models on Hacker News, no?
- jules 16y ago> Network effects, more code contribution, and the like. That's important for open source software. For me, it's opportunities to get paid more. If I can expand my market, than I could raise my price or get money somewhere else. I don't understand what you're saying here. > The advertising effect of piracy may increase sales. This I consider highly unlikely to weigh against the lost sales, but unfortunately it is pretty much impossible to find out. > I was referring to less restrictive alternatives not whether or not if somebody broke the law. I don't understand this either... > It is certainly feasible to run small experiments on a small portion of your business. You do not have to risk your entire business operation to learn the truth about what work or not. What kind of experiment do you suggest? Giving away the software for free. Something is telling me that that would not increase income ;) So what king of experiment do you mean exactly?