From: jholt@adobe.com (joe holt)
Subject: Re: cbzone/MacBZone (from the goon who started it all)
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 23:48:58 GMT

Randy Frank,

It saddens me tremendously to think that the Mac gaming community 
is loosing a game programmer. It's always been a struggle to get 
good games on the Macintosh. I'm most regretful that this has 
affected you so much personally, to the point that you've decided to 
drop support and ignore your email. I'm embarassed that this has 
become an issue of character and impropriety. There are real 
concerns of copyright infringement which we need to address--but 
for the personal anguish I'm truly sorry.

I wish now that I hadn't posted the patch. Obviously I handled the 
situation entirely wrong. But let me explain why, at the time, I felt 
my anger was "righteous". Maybe we can learn something from this.

I have been playing the X window version of cbzone and thinking 
about making a Macintosh version myself. I have a copy of Todd's 
code and have been digging around inside, so when I saw your 
MacBZone I assumed that it was based on Todd's code, violating 
Todd's express wish that it be kept in free distribution. This was Big 
Mistake Number One (don't sit down, there are more). Obviously your 
Macintosh version of bzone looks similar. This isn't surprising if the 
two share a common code base, namely Justin Revenaugh's original 
FORTRAN version. So if Todd Mummert says he has talked to you and 
that he feels there hasn't been any infringement, then I'm satisfied.

I do feel I did the right thing, but in the worst possible way. Some 
very real concerns are raised by your requirement of a shareware 
payment before unlocking the game, which in many important ways 
is not yours. As I understand it, whether the FORTRAN code contained 
any copyright notices or not, the act of authoring code makes it one's 
intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws (unless, of 
course, you've entered into an agreement with your employer 
restricting intellectual rights, etc.). You implied that since it didn't 
have such a notice, it was fair game. Well, I shouldn't have to post a 
"Do Not Shoot My Pooch" sign on my property to protect myself from 
poachers taking potshots.

But seriously: I don't know how you acquired the original bzone. If 
Revenaugh gave it to you and said, "Sure, go ahead and make a Mac 
version. Charge whatever you want," then everything's legit and I 
should be sent to Serbia with a Muslim visa. This was Big Mistake 
Number Two: playing judge and jury before the evidence was even 
heard.

Is $10 shareware even worth making a big stink about? For someone 
else's work, I think any price is out of line. Of course you don't need 
a reason to ask for money in this country. You could say, "Hey, I'm a 
great guy. Send me a ten-spot" or "I need dental work, send me 
dough". None of which would have to have anything to do with the 
originality of the work.

I regret not having said in the original post that people should still 
send you $10 if they like the game. You honestly deserve the money 
for your work. What riled me was that I had to send you $10 before I 
could use an application which I knew was someone else's (including 
our own sounds from OIDS).

Big Mistake Number Three was not contacting you before deciding to 
post the patch. What can I say? I was caught up in the heat of the 
moment, feeling not a little self-righteous and just a bit proud of the
patch, and so in thirty minutes, from first looking at MacBZone with
MacsBug to posting to the group, the damage was done.

Which goes back to my original lamentation: I've just offended a 
potential Spectre or Dark Castle or name-your-favorite-Mac-game 
author. Randy, I hope you show more fortitude, stick it out, and 
continue supporting MacBZone. Don't let my Big Mistakes ruin this. 
Continue to accept shareware fees and blow off the anonymous hate 
mail.

Sincerely,

joe holt

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games