[Info-vax] Thoughts on VSI Community License Program

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 8/14/20 11:28 AM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 8/14/2020 8:39 AM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> On 8/14/2020 4:44 AM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
>>> In article <c5677abe-805f-45f9-bd1e-d3af9125f321o at googlegroups.com>,
>>> David Goodwin <dgsoftnz at gmail.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> Removing access to the platforms main selling point to try and combat
>>>> pirac=
>>>> y seems like a pretty serious error. Piracy is the very last thing
>>>> VSI shou=
>>>> ld be concerned with. They would be lucky if piracy was a problem.
>>>> Right no=
>>>> w they're going to have a hard time even getting Linux users to
>>>> seriously l=
>>>> ook at OpenVMS at all, let alone consider pirating it.
>>>
>>> Sounds like the "it's good to `share' music because it benefits the
>>> musician".  The musician himself can decide if he wants to give stuff
>>> away.  So can VSI.  The idea that people first pirate stuff to try it
>>> out then become paying customers is bullshit.
>>>
>>> Whether VMS piracy is a problem is a different question.
>>>
>>>> Also, they seem to not realise that a company pirating OpenVMS is
>>>> better fo=
>>>> r VSI than one that just gives up and runs Linux. A company that's
>>>> pirating=
>>>>   OpenVMS is at least creating demand for OpenVMS experts and
>>>> software and i=
>>>> s a potential VSI customer.
>>>
>>> Really?  Someone morally low enough to steal intellectual property will
>>> have a vision and become a paying customer?
>>>
>>> It is attitudes like this which seriously endanger hobbyist licenses.
>>>
>>>> The pool of OpenVMS experts and available softw=
>>>> are needs to be much much larger than it is for OpenVMS to be
>>>> competitive w=
>>>> ith linux.
>>>
>>> VMS will probably never compete with Linux.
>>
>> And before anyone starts to go down the pirate path let me link to:
>>
>> https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2319
>>
>> Usually doing "something" for VMS is good.
>>
>> But doing 1/3/5/6/10 years for VMS is not good.
>>
>> :-)
>>
>> Arne
>>
> 
> It's once again proven, "human intelligence" is a myth .....
> 
> So, though it's probably hopeless, I'll try once again to help 
> understanding.
> 
> Some will claim that if say 10,000 commercial users of VMS are not 
> paying for VSI support (best revenue method for VSI) that it will cause 
> financial loss for VSI.  Consider the case that the "illegal" users 
> would stop using VMS before paying one dollar for such use.  So, then, 
> how much revenue is VSI losing?
> 
> Under those conditions the only correct answer is ....
> 
> wait for it ....
> 
> NOT ONE DOLLAR!  NOT ONE RED CENT!
> 
> One cannot lose anything one was never going to get.
> 
> However, consider what those 10,000 users will be doing.
> 
> There will be a substantial number of employees working with VMS.
> 
> There will be the realization that VMS is a good solution for many 
> requirements.
> 
> Perhaps in some cases a law abiding person ends up in charge, and 
> decides to become "legal".
> 
> The cheap bastards probably won't pay decent salaries, so there will be 
> a large number of VMS capable people looking for better jobs, and 
> available to VMS users who are a revenue source for VSI.
> 
> Such a scenario would be one of the better things to happen for VSI.
> 

Cute idea, but....

I would never pay a dime for a Microsoft OS. NOT ONE DOLLAR!
NOT ONE RED CENT!  Do you think Microsoft would accept that
logic and just let me pirate their software?  Do you think
they would appreciate that people are getting experience with
their OSes without anyone paying for them?

Just saying.....

bill