CompuServe Messages

Steve, While you think that way, what often happens is that a group will split the price and share it. One or more of them will pass it out, with or without being paid for it, and so it goes… the small leak becomes a torrent as the program gets farther away from the original owner. Other groups will sometimes have an arrangement wherein each member contributes a piece of software, more or less depending on the ability of the member to 'crack'. If a member is good at cracking, he will not be expected to contribute in other, more costly ways. The member who does not crack, will buy an expensive piece in exchange for the cracker's contribution on a lot of other packages. Think about it… one person buys a $500 package, and in return ends up with that $500 package, as well as thousands of dollars worth of games, business stuff, utilities, educational, and recreational software. You may have guessed that I was a member of such a group, a fact I am not now proud of. Interestingly enough, I did actually buy anything that I ended up using. Having seen the good sales of Amiga software in the early days, before the pirates started getting into the act, and having come into contact with a lot of talented people who deserve to be rewarded heavily for their efforts, I now only buy unprotected software. Seeing the damage piracy can do only serves to take the edge off the challenge and monetary savings. I only wish more people could see that. Regards, Larry.