Re-using copyrighted code

[Rick Johnson]

On Sunday, June 9, 2013 7:26:43 PM UTC-5, Steven D'Aprano wrote:

> When you listen to a song on the radio, do you know how they have a 
> copyright announcer read out the copyright and explicitly list all the 
> rights they keep after each and every song and advertisment?
> No, me neither. It doesn't happen. Because it's nonsense that you give up 
> copyright by publishing.

The fact that media distributors think they can control source files in this day and age is just wishful thinking and even more foolish than the ongoing (and fruitless) two decade long "war on drugs". I can't decide which is worse: circumventing evolution for the sake of greed OR for the sake of blind altruism.

[Tangential Meandering Ahead]

What these "pseudo moral" fools fail to realize is that a certain segment of any group is doomed to failure. This is not my law, this is the law of the universe in which we live. 

 """ But Rick you're heartless. What of the children? If we legalize drugs then kids will be addicts, some will even die!"""
 
How many are dying now in the streets from gangland shootouts? How many lives are being ruined and minds are being brainwashed by the highly repetitive music spewing hateful lyrics, indoctrinating another generation into the dead-end thug lifestyle? By fighting a losing war to "protect" degenerates from themselves, we actually elevate the thug and destroy the collective well-being of all humanity. 

Let the drug addicts and alcoholics self-destruct! Put the thugs out of business by legalizing drugs and you take away their easy source of profit. Take away the profit and you reduce the influence of these punks over the minds of children. Take away the influence, and you break the cycle of a thug lifestyle. Only logic can only undo what decades of bleeding heart policies have utterly destroyed.

Instead of wasting time saving people who are lost, you should focus your time (and money) on people who have a future, people who can be productive members of society, people who have a true moral compass. How many innocent people have to die before you idiot " pseudo moralist" realize that restricting personal choices is a lost cause? But more importantly, when are you going to realize that the blood of all the innocent lives lost is on your hands! 

But i digress...

[Back on topic of Copyright/license Issues]

Maintaining an ownership of "Yes, that was my idea" and "i should benefit from my idea for a limited amount of time" is great, but thinking you can squeeze every penny out of an idea to very detriment of our collective evolution is nothing less than a crime against humanity! (<-- that was NOT an exaggeration!)

In the 80's huge record companies bilked consumers and artists for hundreds of millions of dollars. They had their day in the sun. But every good ponzie scheme comes to an end. Maybe i'll go cry in the corner for the corporate suits, or maybe not! The real losers where the artist who forfeited an egregious percentage of their potential earnings so the corporate suits could buy another jet or another summer home to impress their shallow friends.

But this whole idea of "i was first so you're not allowed" is just nonsense. If someone can reproduce your work, then it must not have been much of a leap in the first place. Instead of squalling over who owns an idea (like two children fighting over a toy)try to inject uniqueness into your interpretation of the idea to make it your "very own". 

If you're an inventor, artist, musician, programmer, scientist, etc... your focus should be on creating the best idea you possibly can. If the thought of someone imitating or copying your idea keeps you awake at night, then don't release your idea to the public. 

In this day and age of the information revolution, any attempt to stop the propagation of your idea is foolish. Just as foolish as thinking that outlawing guns will end murder, or that some illogical "war on drugs" will ever be won, or that seat-belt laws exist because your government "cares" about your well-being -- Oh gawd your a bunch of idiots!

"Authoritarian policies create side effects that are far worse than the miniscule problems the policies attempted to solve."