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

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <spb256$5p9$3 at dont-email.me>, Dave Froble
<davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes: 

> On 12/14/2021 12:55 PM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
> > In article <spaji6$671$1 at dont-email.me>, Dave Froble
> > <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
> >
> >> On 12/14/2021 12:35 AM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
> >>> In article <sp8itv$nn5$1 at dont-email.me>, Dave Froble
> >>> <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
> >>>
> >>>> I guess it's useless.  There are some, (like those against Cobol), who will
> >>>> never admit that a vendor has a moral, if not legal, responsibility to customers.
> >>>
> >>> A vendor has to live up to the contract and should not do anything
> >>> illegal.  No more, no less.
> >>              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >> Is that how you want your doctor to treat you?
> >
> > The contract with my physicians specify that they will do everything
> > medically possible to improve my condition.  I have no gripe with that.
> 
> So help me understand.  Your doctor is suppose to do everything possible to help 
> you.  When a vendor approaches a perspective customer, should they do everything 
> possible for that customer to use their product(s) successfully?

My physician is not required to do anything illegal in order to do all 
that is possible.

If you, as a vendor, have to include illegal practices in order to do 
all that is possible for the customer, then there is something wrong.  
You shouldn't promise more than you can legally offer.

If this is a big problem, presumably some big customers will say "We 
wanted to stay on VMS, but are moving off because of the license 
policy".  Then some smaller customers.  Maybe VSI will notice the 
problem.

If no paying customer complains, can it really be a huge problem for 
commercial customers?  (It is, of course, a problem for hobbyists, 
unless they have a commercial license for VAX or Alpha and enough backup 
hardware.)