[Info-vax] The Doom of VAX VMS Hobbyist Licenses?

[rljenkin at gmail.com]

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 11:02:16 AM UTC-5, to... at frontieranalytical.com wrote:
> On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 8:26:06 AM UTC-7, Phillip Helbig (undress to > Lots of ethical, moral and legal issues at hand here.
> All over software that's nearly extinct and most probably completely forgotten by the unwashed masses. Does Monkeysoft care about MSDos any more? Does IBM care about OS/2?
> I'll wager that many of us have folders full of licenses for extinct software that ran on equipment that hit the scrap heap dozens of years ago.
> I've personally got 20 or 30 legitimate copies of various flavors of Windoze products, DOS (multiple flavors), 95, Millineum, NT, NT for Alpha, OS/2 and many others. Not to mention my big file of VAX related stuff which hasn't been opened in a good 20 years or more.
> Moral/ethical issues aside, how wrong would it be for someone to share this unused bounty with others, especially if no monetary value is associated or exchanged?
> 
> Inquiring minds and all that jazz........

I am neither priest, lawyer, cop nor philosopher so I claim no legitimacy or righteousness for my view other than own imperfect sensibilities.  I'm just a nerd with a strange passion for Computer Necromancy, personally don't think there is anything wrong with it.  I suppose if pressed I'd liken it to fishing a book, record or box of software out of trash in a landfill.  The old "And it harm none...." idea I suppose.  

My $0.0668 adjusted for inflation.