| From: | Kevin Twyman |
| Date: | 16 Aug 2000 at 19:41:18 |
| Subject: | Re: Amiga Piracy |
Hello Don,
On 16-Aug-00, you wrote:
>> I am curious as to what people think would be the appropriate
>> approach to piracy (theft)?
> Attractive packaging and a good, well printed manual. Make people
> want to own an original. Enjoy the sales you do get and ignore the
> pirates.
I think this is the only approach. For a program like IFX or
Pagestream for example, there should be no guide files at all, no
instructions on CD, nothing, just a good, printed manual and keyfile.
Of course it won't stop people who spend hours on the office
photocopier of scanner to copy the manual, but take something like
TVPaint - over 192 pages - much harder than just ripping off a
keyfile.
> You have to think of the CD as an inducement to buy the book and
> packaging.
Agreed.
> In the case of games, the market is the person who wants an original
> boxed copy of a new game as soon as it comes out. A person who
> doesn't mind giving the game a try on a gold disk so long as it
> comes free was never a market in the first place. There's no point
> in trying to _sell_ to cheapskates or the penniless - the profitable
> business in that market is moneylending.
I couldn't agree more. Cracking also seems to be something done to
"enhance" reputation, rather than for profit, after all, the crackers
just give the stuff away! I wonder how many free manuals they'd be
prepared to copy and distribute at their own cost?
> Shutting down Warez sites is a good thing, but not because it
> reduces piracy. It is good because it broadcasts the message that
> your products are of value and are worth fighting over. This
> enhances the perceived value of the originals.
This is one of the best reasoned arguments I've read on the piracy
issue, thanks Don.
Regards,
Kevin - Est. 1949 http://www.theboyz.freeserve.co.uk
A man with an Amiga A4000T CyberStormPPC 604e/233
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