[Info-vax] Licenses on VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source code listing scans

[Dave Froble]

On 12/10/2021 2:40 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> On 12/10/21 12:54 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 12/10/2021 10:46 AM, chris wrote:
>>
>>> If you are a developer, you should try to walk the walk in terms
>>> of ethics and try to do the right thing.
>>
>> I'd agree 100%.
>>
>>> In the real world though,
>>> people will do whatever needs to be done to find a solution if there
>>> seems to b an insurmountable obstacle.
>>
>> Again, I agree.
>>
>>> The other point is, do the original owners really care enough, or
>>> even at all, when so much licensed software is out there and is
>>> obsolete and no longer sold ?. Similar case here, where I was trying
>>> find detail on the write boot block code for early SunOs for historical
>>> purposes. Found the complete source cd online and was able to complete
>>> the task. No profit involved, other than keeping some old machines
>>> alive.
>>>
>>> Ethical dilemmas everywhere in life and we all have to make our
>>> own choices...
>>
>> If one is willing to pay for something, but there is no one available to pay,
>> than what?  Either one does without, or, one does whatever is necessary.
>> While there may be those who feel I should just do without, I do not agree
>> with them.
>>
>> Case in point.  We at Consolidated Data insist that all our customers have
>> support for their commercial use VMS systems.  That is our ethics.  However,
>> should the time come when there is nobody to pay for such support, and the
>> license terminates, and VMS stops working, then I will bypass the licensing to
>> keep my customer in business.  That is my ethics.
>>
>> For those who think we should just let our customers roll over and die, I have
>> only one comment.
>>
>> STOP USING MY WHEEL, IT IS NOT FREEWARE, IT IS NOT ABANDONED!
>>
>
> A good businessman would have kept his ear to the ground, heard
> the oncoming stampede and taken the necessary actions to avoid it.
> If that means finding a new product, then so be it. But stealing
> other people's property is never justified.

We are talking hypothetical here.  I'm not advocating anything today.

Don't vendors make a commitment to customers when they sell them the use of 
something like VMS?  If so, and the vendor defaults, isn't that an issue?  Don't 
customers have any rights?  Is it really stealing to continue to use a product 
that one purchased in good faith?

-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
DFE Ultralights, Inc.
170 Grimplin Road
Vanderbilt, PA  15486