[Info-vax] Thoughts on VSI Community License Program

[David Goodwin]

On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 8:44:09 PM UTC+12, 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.

I should point out that I am most definitely *NOT* advocating people pirate OpenVMS. VSI needs every cent they can get to ensure OpenVMS remains viable.

I was rather pointing out that an operating system needs a large number of developers, administrators and users familiar with it in order to remain viable. OpenVMS increasingly does not have this.

Even if a hypothetical company pirating OpenVMS will never give VSI a cent they are still improving the position of OpenVMS in the market. Focusing on locking these unlicensed users out, if there are any, at the expense of getting the platforms unique features in front of as many people as possible is probably doing more harm than good.