> 
> On the topic of charging for originally free information.
> 
> Once upon a time a local computer-magazine decided to save
> a lot of money and better there service by printing answers
> which had been posted on the net, in the front part as
> responses to questions posed by readers.
> 
> The authors of the original answers naturally were not paid
> for the work the magazine had saved.
> 
> At the same time people who write answers in newsgroups
> generally do so with the knowledge that other people are
> likely to answer some theirs in future as they have in the
> past. This is generally not the case when information is
> being sold, as on a cd or via magazines.
> 
> On a side note you'll notice that many authors have
>    taken to adding Copyright or similar notices
>    to their header files, as this exactly states 
>    the legal position for potential misuse.
> 
> Cheers
> -- 
> Eat the rich -- the poor are tough and stringy.
> 

I tend to agree with Jon - I think you're missing the point and intention
of what he/they're trying to do. From what I understand of BSDisc, it's
non-profit. He's basically republishing {Net,Free}BSD on CD, and wrt 
articles, a very extensive FAQ. As is the case with GNU software, which
many people have republished on CD, all of the information is still 
available for free, and the purchaser always has the option of getting
it through the net. What Jon is charging for is not the information, but
the alternative form of distribution he's providing. I fully intend on
subscribing to the service (BTW Jon, I found my stamp, and just filled
out the check and form... :-), and would greatly appreciate the archived
lists on it, so that I could go back and find the solutions to whatever
problem someone else experienced first that I'm having now...

While I am not a significant poster to the list, I would be very much
a proponent of republishing it on CD if I were. (I'm sure that has as
much to do with my ego as with the logic of sharing my knowledge...:)

-My 2 bytes...

calvin

*****************************************************************************
*						*  Eric Vette (Calvin)      *
*	The views expressed here are not 	*  Computational Biochemist *
*	those of the FSF, my employer(s),	*  calvin@gnu.ai.mit.edu    *	
*	myself, or anyone else!			*  calvin@axe.cit.wayne.edu *
*						*  evette@cms.cc.wayne.edu  *
*						*  evette@waynest1	    *
***********************************************************.sig*virus********
!! 	Science is the search for more things to search for...		   !!
---
"Detroit - Where the weak are killed and eaten..."

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