From: ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com (Ross Erickson)
Subject: Re: Strike Demo
Reply-To: ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com
Organization: Intergraph Corporation
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 14:12:37 GMT

>Ross, you are the *master* of biting sarcasm.  Did you take a course in it?
>Do you think there's one here at college I can take?

I don't know quite how to respond to this.  You obviously know nothing
about me at all.  The only thing I'm TRYING to master is producing a
semi-decent gaming magazine.  I'm also trying to master my integrity
and I believe one way to do so is to help protect the property rights
of a company that I respect.  I think you should too.

Look, let's be realistic here.  You know and I know that the Strike
Commander demo was a blatant theft of Origin property, completely 
without their permission or knowledge.  I think it's fair to ALL
software companies that their rights are protected or there won't be a
computer gaming industry eventually.  I mean, why would you want to be
in business where everybody just steals your work anyway.  It was
reported here and elsewhere that this demo was pirated and should be
removed from WUARCHIVE.  It was.  You re-uploaded it, right?  Any
reason why?  Someone had the 'huevos' to ask for help for a pirated
piece of property.  It happens all the time here, and that person
generally gets flamed for ruining the integrity of this group.  Why
don't the pirates go get their own newsgroup started.  alt.pirates or
alt.theft might be appropriate.  alt.stupidity is already taken.

It is my goal that eventually we could get the software companies who
support our passion for computer games to join in the discussion of
their work here on Internet.  As long as there's any hint that
pirating is condoned and Internet acts as a 'bulletin board' for
exchanging pirating information, it will never happen.  I'm mailing a
brochure to 65 different companies to get them interested and more
involved with Internet/Usenet in the hopes that some of them will join
in.  Jay Wilbur of ID seems to be the only representative of a company
here so far.  It's a shame there aren't more.  There are many times
more people reading gaming news here than on Compuserve and America
On-Line combined.  Probably Prodigy too.  Yet nobody official from any
company support shows up here.  It's time for a change.  But as long
as these companies are convinced that SOME Internet users mess around 
with pirating their games and some discussion is given to it, you'll
never see them show up and support us.
>
>(Everyone else:  I'd advise you apply your asbestos underwear RIGHT NOW.)

Again, you obviously have no clue about me at all.  Then again, I
don't think we share the same values, so it shouldn't be surprising
that you don't, n'est pas? 
--
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|  Ross Erickson             |                                     |
|  ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com    | "No individual raindrop considers   |
|  205-730-4019 - voice      |  itself responsible for the flood." |
|  205-730-6445 - fax        |                                     |
|  Internet: 129.135.252.87  |                                     |
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