1210 lines
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Plaintext
1210 lines
52 KiB
Plaintext
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ßßßßßß ßßßßß ßßßßßßß ßß ßßß ßßßßßßß ßß
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ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
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ºVol 1 This month's features of IceNEWS Issue 4º
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º Dec ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1992 º
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º º
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º 1. Piracy, the Law And Sysops Responsibilities º
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º Feature Article by Don Christopher Kassey, 1@9952 º
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º º
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º 2. The 30 Commands of BBSing.........May B. Everyone º
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º º
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º 3. Online Games: ***MELEE***........Jack Ryan,1@6100 º
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º º
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º 4. History of IceNET - Part 2 ............Louie, 6@1 º
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º º
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º 5. The Silent Serve too-Those Co's......Louhal, 1@10 º
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º º
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º 6. Mod o' the Month...................Airmon, 1@9901 º
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º -=Featuring Ethereal Cereal's USERLST2.MOD=- º
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ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
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Software Piracy and the Law; and Sysops Responsibilities
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---------------------------------------------------------
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Part 1 of 2 -- (Continued in next issue of IceNET News)
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By: Don Christopher Kassay
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I have spent many hours researching and studying the laws that govern
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Electronic Bulletin Boards and what the responsibilities are of the Sysops
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who operate these BBS Systems. I have also written many letters to congress
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expressing my feelings on proposed laws that, if passed, could and would
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affect the operation of these Electronic Bulletin Boards, regardless of
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whether they are for fun or profit.
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Although I am going to go into corporate law, I am going to continue to
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research, monitor and help lobby against laws that could take some of the
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enjoyment that we, as Sysops, take for granted at this time; and I would like
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to ask ALL my fellow Sysops to join me in this fight against laws being
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presented to congress that could change the way we operate our BBS System.
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The only way we can fight this is to become united as one large group and let
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our voices be heard all the way to Washington, DC.
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The laws governing the operation of BBS Systems have been very vague for many
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years, especially in the areas of Sysop responsibilities, and software
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distribution and use. The purpose of this article, as I previously stated,
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is to answer questions frequently asked by Sysops regarding their
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responsibilities in running a BBS System, whether for fun or profit and the
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responsibilities of all BBS members and users. Last but most important, is the
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responsibility of all of us regarding registering and using shareware software
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and also the buying and using of commercial software.
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For legal purposes, software is defined as "the collection of materials that
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contains, expresses, and explains a computer program." This definition
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includes a program in machine-readable form contained on magnetic media, the
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printouts containing the source and object code, the programmers notes and
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working papers, and the users manual(s).
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For legal purposes, "software piracy" is defined as "the commercial
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reproduction and distribution of 10 or more copies of computer software with
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a total resale value of $2,500 which is protected by copyright, trademark,
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patent or trade secret law..
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First, I am going to discuss the buying and use of commercial software, what
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constitutes copyright infringement, and the ownership of commercial software
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as stated in the purchase agreement(s).
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Early Computer Laws Regarding Software
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--------------------------------------
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In the early 1960's the rather unique nature of software was a constant
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source of problems for the courts, who could not seem to decide consistently
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whether software was tangible, or something in between. If software is
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tangible, it is covered by the Uniform Commercial Code; otherwise, it is not.
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To add to the confusion, the courts defined software as tangible for some
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purposes and intangible for others, with different courts sometimes adopting
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conflicting positions. It was a very bad period of time for commercial
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software companies. This inconsistency by the courts to determine if software
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was tangible or intangible was one of the main reasons software piracy was
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beginning to be a growing business. Due to these inconsistences, loop-holes
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in the law made it difficult to prosecute software pirates because there were
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really no laws that protected software manufactures from them. Software
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piracy was a new business and the legality of copying software for resale and
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distribution was also a new legal issue.
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The making of these Laws
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------------------------
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In 1964 the United States Copyright Office began to register software as a
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form of literary expression. This made computer software a product of an
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engineering process. The courts still continued to have trouble deciding how
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to regard this process of software development for many years. Then in 1980,
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the Copyright Act was amended to explicitly include computer programs and
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later (due to the inconsistences of the courts) the law was again redefined
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(section 117 of the Copyright Act).
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In 1990 Congress approved the Software Rental Agreement Act (Public Law
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101-650) which prohibits the commercial rental, leasing or lending of
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software without the express written permission of the copyright holder.
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Individuals may possess one copy of the software for personal use and one
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backup copy for archival purposes. No other copies may be made without
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specific authorization from the copyright owner.
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According to Title 17 of the United States Code, it is illegal to make or
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distribute copies of copyrighted material without authorization from the
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copyright owner. The ACT gives the "OWNER" of the copyright "the exclusive
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rights to distribute copies ....of the copyrighted work" (section 106). It
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also states that "anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the
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copyright owner ...is an infringer of the copyright" (section 501), and
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sets forth several penalties for such conduct.
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In mid 1992, Congress passed an amendment to Title 18, United States Code,
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instituting criminal penalties for copyright infringement of computer
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software. The penalties include heavy fines, imprisonment or both.
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A civil action may be instituted for injunction, actual damages (including
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infringers profits), plus damages suffered by the copyright owner and/or
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statutory damages up to $100,000 per infringement.
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The unauthorized duplication of software is also a federal crime if done
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"willfully and for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial
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gain." Criminal penalties with fines up to $250,000 and jail terms up to five
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years or both can result for unauthorized duplication of software whether it
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is done for sale, for free distribution, or for the users own use. Software
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pirates will be held accountable for their actions of copyright infringement
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regardless whether they knew their conduct violated federal law.
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United States Code Title 18 amendment : Penalties
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--------------------------------------------------
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United States law prohibits duplicating of computer software for profit,
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making multiple copies for use by different users within an organization, and
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giving an unauthorized copy to another individual. If caught with pirated
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software, you and/or your company may be tried under both civil and criminal
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law.
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With this new amendment added to the United States Code, Title 18, it
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protects the copyright owner from large organizations and companies from
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buying one (1) copy of their software and installing it on several computer
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systems. In other words, if a company has 25 secretaries that will be using
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a particular commercial computer software, they must purchase 25 copies of
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the software, and each secretary must have an original working copy of the
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software with the accompanying manual at her desk (unless a special agreement
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has been made between the business user and the copyright owner/publisher)
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i.e. special site licensing purchase agreements. These agreements compensate
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the publishers for the "lost sales" they might have made on a
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package-by-package basis because the company agrees to pay a certain amount
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for a specific number of copies they will make and not exceed that amount.
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This helps eliminate the possibility that copyright infringement will occur.
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By buying as many programs as it will need, a company removes the incentive
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for employees to make unauthorized copies. Adhering to these rules will pay
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off in the long run, because a firm that illegally duplicates computer
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software exposes itself to tremendous liability.
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Local Area Networks (LAN Systems)
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---------------------------------
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Many software applications are sold in "Local Area Networks" (LAN) versions.
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If you or your company has a LAN, be sure to follow the publishers guidelines
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for the use of software on the LAN. It is a violation of the copyright laws
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and most license agreements to allow a single-copy version of software on a
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LAN to be 'simultaneously' accessed by more than one user.
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Software Ownership
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------------------
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Even though we all pay a lot of money for the commercial software we use, we
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as purchasers of this commercial software, DO NOT own the software but only
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purchased the right to use it from the publisher. This is why it is illegal to
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resale commercial software when a new version is released, i.e. you purchased
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WordPerfect 5.0 a year ago and WordPerfect v5.1 was just released. You want to
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sell your copy of WordPerfect 5.0 and use the money to help purchase
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WordPerfect 5.1. By law, you cannot resale WordPerfect 5.0 because you will be
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breaking the purchase agreement you made with the publisher and heavy
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penalties and fines can and will be filed against you by the copyright owner
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or publisher or both if this action is discovered.
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The only way by law, to get rid of unused or unwanted commercial software,
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is to write the publisher and ask for written permission to DONATE the
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software to a public school, university or a legitimate non-profit
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organization. Most software publishers will be willing to grant this with
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their written permission. You must include ALL the instruction manuals and
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DOC Files when you donate the software.
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Schools and Universities using Commercial Software
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--------------------------------------------------
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Public or private educational institutions are NOT EXEMPT from the copyright
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laws. To the contrary, because of their unique position or influence, schools
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and universities must remain committed to upholding the copyright laws. It
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is illegal for a school or university to distribute commercial software as
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it would be for them to purchase one (1) book and make copies of it and
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distribute it to students without authorization from the publisher.
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The same penalties and fines that individuals and companies face for
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copyright infringement, are the same fines and penalties that educational
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institutions will face for copyright infringement.
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However, most software firms offer special sales arrangements to educational
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institutions. These include discounts for additional copies of programs,
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reduced-priced lab packs (quantity of programs sold together) and site
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license agreements. Schools should make every effort to uphold the law,
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because it is by their example that students will learn to have respect for
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intellectual property.
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Shareware Software
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---------------------------
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What is shareware software? Shareware Software is software that the
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author(s) have given permission for it to be distributed and used FREELY for
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a certain period of time as indicated in the "License for Use" agreement, at
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which time, the software must be registered or the user forfeits his/her
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right to use it.
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It is SO important that we as 'users' of shareware software, practice the
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"HONOR SYSTEM" and bring it upon ourselves to use it according to the
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author(s) 'License of Use' agreement. Some of the best programs I use are
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shareware, and I want to continue to see great shareware programs being
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developed and distributed at a very affordable price. The ONLY way this can
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be accomplished, is for ALL of us to register the shareware software with the
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author(s) if we continue to use it after the 'License of Use' agreement has
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expired.
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It is also important to note, that most shareware software will not be
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fully operational unless it is registered i.e. there are a lot of functions
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that will not be available to the user until he/she registers it. But most
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importantly to me is most 'registered' shareware software will be
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automatically updated FREE of charge on the next version(s). This is a great
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incentive from the author(s) to get users to register their software if they
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like it and use it.
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We, as the users of shareware software, often forget the many hundreds of
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hours that went into the development and testing of this software. The
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author, for some reason, decided to distribute his software as shareware
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instead of commercial; which means that the success of this software is in
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our hands, the 'USERS', for determining its success or failure. I personally
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do not think paying $20.00 to $75.00 is to much for a shareware program that
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I like and continue to use knowing that the next updated version will be
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distributed to me FREE with no additional FEES.
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As you can see, there are differences between commercial software and
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shareware software, but the main differences are in the way they are
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distributed and used. Commercial software is distributed by the author(s) or
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software company selling certain rights to a publisher who in exchange
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distributes the software for us to purchase and use according to the 'License
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for Use' agreement. Shareware software is distributed by the author(s)
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giving permission to Sysops of BBS Systems to FREELY distribute their software
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to any and all person wanting to use it. The users of the shareware software
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are to use it according to the 'License for Use' agreement and register the
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software by sending money to the author(s) if they continue to use it.
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In all the legal research I have done on 'Software' very seldom have I seen
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the word 'Shareware'. But if we go back and examine the legal definition of
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'Software', then we MUST realize that shareware software, is protected by the
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same federal copyright law that applies to commercial software i.e. it is
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protected from the moment of its creation.
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Four Methods to Protect Software (Information Purposes Only)
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------------------------------------------------------------
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There are four (4) methods that are used to protect software ownership:
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1...Trade Secrets
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2...Copyrights
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3...Trademarks
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4...Patents
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These methods are used 'mainly' to protect commercial software from
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infringement of rights. The laws protecting shareware software from
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infringement of rights may be viewed to be more of an obligation than a
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right. However, in the legal sense, it is a 'right' because no one else may
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intervene and do it for the owner.
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At this time, I am going to "briefly" discuss the four (4) methods that are
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used to protect software ownership for information purposes only:
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TRADE SECRET: This area of the law protects the information, devices, and
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processes that give the owner a competitive advantage over those who do not
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know what the owner knows about something. With software, this is usually
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applied during both the development, and marketing stages. However, in order
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to be considered for a trade secret, the software needs to contain some
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unique secret that may be considered unique to the program's functioning.
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Some of the other items that may be subject to the trade secret include:
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customer lists, testing results, and even the names of the programmers who
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developed the program.
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COPYRIGHTS: Whereas trade secrets typically protect commercial ideas,
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regardless of the manners in which they are expressed, copyrights protect
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only the expression of the ideas, and not the ideas themselves.
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Before software can be copyrighted:
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1..It must be expressed in a tangible form
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2..it must be an original work by the author
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3..it must NOT be part of the public domain
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In this latter case, there are two ways in which software falls into the
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public domain:
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A..Intentionally
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B..Through Negligence
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This negligence includes publishing the ideas without a copyright notice. It
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will remain in the public domain should the author not correct the error
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within five years from the date of original publication.
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Copyrights last for the life of the author plus fifty (50) years. However,
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if the expression of ideas is classified as a "made for hire" work, the
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copyright lasts for 75 years from the date of first publication. If an owner
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can prove that someone infringed on his copyright, then he can take the
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violator to court, but ONLY IF the copyright is a registered copyright on
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file with the Library of Congress.
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TRADEMARK: This is a word, symbol or phrase that is used to identify a
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product and that which sets it apart from other products. Yet, not every word
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or phrase or symbol qualifies for a trademark. Words, symbols or phrases that
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are deemed to be "of general use" that describe the nature of a product
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generally do not qualify. For example, recent concern over the possibility
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of applying a trademark to the term "shareware" may be successfully contested
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since it would appear to represent a term "of general use" that describes the
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nature of a product, i.e. software obtainable via a Electronic Bulletin Board
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for a "nominal" registration fee..
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Another important aspect that pertains to trademarks is that software
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trademarks cannot be considered too generic or too universally descriptive.
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To establish a trademark, you select a name, but also make sure that the name
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is not being used by someone else. Yet, duplication of names may be permitted
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in certain instances, provided, for example, that confusion does not result,
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and/or the products are in different industries.
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There is also 'Law of Unfair Competition". These "laws" are defined on the
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state level, not the federal level. They protect honest business people from
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unscrupulous competitors, and also protects the general public from
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"intentional" deception. There are times when such laws may be applied in
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copyright, trademark and, of course, patent law.
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PATENT: Of all the various methods to protect one's property, patent law
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does provide the 'best' protection. If one holds a patent, it is applicable
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for 17 years. Within this period, no one can duplicate your "creation".
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Unlike the other protection methods, patents protect against what is called
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"independent development of an invention". Regardless of whether someone else
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knows about the idea or not, if a person has a patent, the invention cannot
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be duplicated. But, there is a kicker: many if not most, computer programs
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are not eligible for a patent. According to the Patent Office, you cannot
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patent something that is "based either on the laws of nature or upon mental
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processes". Computer programs contain algorithms (mathematical formulas)
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which are mental processes, and, therefore may not be patentable.
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Yet, there are exceptions. The Supreme Court, in the Diamond vs Diehr case
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in 1981, stated that "programs may be patentable when they are an inseparable
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part of the process or device that is itself patentable." In addition, in
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1981, Merill Lynch applied for and received a patent on their 'Cash
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Management System'. Most recently, Quarterdeck Software applied for and
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received a patent on their "windowing" product, DESQview.
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There is another side of the 'issue'. Programs on the ROM chips are usually
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patentable since the program is considered part of the hardware (on the
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chip). But, such logic may be suspect because a program on ROM that may be
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replaced by a program on disk that is read into RAM, may not be patentable.
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The Patent Office states that a person cannot patent something "unless it is
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considered 'novel' or at least 'not obvious'." Programs that are used to
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automate typical office functions previously performed manually, for example,
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generally do not qualify because the Patent Office does not consider them to
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be novel enough, or that they tend to be rather obvious.
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As you can see, software is very difficult to protect under these four (4)
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methods, and that is the main reason the federal government decided to
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automatically protect 'Software' from the moment of its creation by
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incorporating the federal copyright law.
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Special Notes:
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--------------
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The United States Government has been an active participant in protecting the
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rights of copyright owners. The Business Software Alliance informed me that
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when they conduct a raid, Federal Marshals and/or local law enforcement
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officers also participate. Federal Judges have shown their intolerance of
|
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copyright violators by handing down increasingly large damage awards against
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infringers.
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The Software Publishers Alliance informed me they have filed many lawsuits
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against individuals and companies engaged in the unauthorized duplication of
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PC Software and will continue to do so when it becomes aware of situations
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that warrant such actions; and they ask that anyone knowing of illegal
|
|
copyright infringement contact them immediately at 1-800-388-7478. If you are
|
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aware of illegal copyright infringement and you do not report it, then you
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are also in violation of promoting copyright infringement and you can and
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|
will be held liable for this in a court of law.
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The Software Publishers Alliance has a 12 minute video cassette on the
|
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subject of software piracy entitled "IT'S JUST NOT WORTH THE RISK". This
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video cassette is available for $10.00 and is a useful tool for instructing
|
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business users about the legal use of software products. They sent me a copy
|
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of this cassette and I found it very informative.
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Special Thanks:
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|
--------------
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|
I would like to thank the following people and organizations for their help
|
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in the writing of this article:
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|
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Jim Nunn, for asking me to write this article
|
|
Legal Department of WordPerfect Corporation
|
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Software Publishers Association
|
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Business Software Alliance
|
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Unites States Justice Department
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|
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Conclusion
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|
--------------
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|
Most people do not purposely break the law. They would never consider
|
|
stealing money from someone's pocket. But those who copy software without
|
|
written authorization from the publisher are stealing intellectual property
|
|
and they should understand the consequences of their actions.
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|
|
If you are an individual user, please don't break the law. Everyone pays for
|
|
your crime. If you are part of an organization, see to it that your
|
|
organization complies with the law, and that it issues an appropriate policy
|
|
statement that is signed and respected by all individuals involved.
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
If you would like a copy of this article for your personal file and/or
|
|
distribution, you have my permission to copy and distribute it as long as
|
|
there are NO changes of any kind made to it.
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|
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This article is the property of Don Christopher Kassay and/or Online News
|
|
Magazine and there can be NO changes of any kind made to it. Copies/Reprints
|
|
and Distribution are granted by written permission only. No unauthorized
|
|
Copies/Reprints or Distribution are allowed.
|
|
|
|
If you found this article informative and would like to have follow-up
|
|
articles written on the subject of Laws and Electronic Bulletin Boards, you
|
|
can contact Jim Nunn #1 @1 IceNET or you may e-mail me at Online News
|
|
Magazine #1 -- IceNET 9952, WWIVnet 19977 or WWIVlink 19952..
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editor's Note on the Author:
|
|
|
|
Don Christopher Kassay is the Sysop of Online News Magazine, IceNET @9952
|
|
located in Raleigh North Carolina. He moved to Raleigh in March of 1992 when
|
|
he and his wife, Kristi Sinclair, decided to open up another Office Complex
|
|
for their company, Data Technology Research Corporation.
|
|
|
|
Don has been a professional musician (drummer) for the past 21 years touring
|
|
with numerous artists and groups. In 1990, he decided it was time to start the
|
|
process of retiring, and decided to finish the law degree he started 10 years
|
|
ago. He was accepted at Duke University and will graduate this coming April.
|
|
|
|
Don expects to take the Bar Exam in mid summer, and go into coorporate law.
|
|
He has stated that he will continue to research, lobby and fight against laws
|
|
being presented to congress that could take away some of our rights of
|
|
operating a BBS System.
|
|
|
|
Since going back to law school in 1990, Don has done extensive research on the
|
|
laws regulating Electronic Bulletin Boards, Sysops responsibilities, and the
|
|
rights of BBS members and BBS users. He is an active consultant for numerous
|
|
organizaions and businesses, helping employees and private users of computer
|
|
software understand their responsibilities in using this software and at the
|
|
same time helping promote a healthy relationship between software manufactures
|
|
the people who use their software.
|
|
|
|
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
|
|
º The 30 Commands of BBSing - May B. Everyoneº
|
|
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some very intelligent SysOp gave some great thought to how a
|
|
BBS should be operated and came up with these 30 BBS
|
|
commandments.
|
|
|
|
1. Thou shalt love thy BBS with all thy heart and all thy bytes.
|
|
|
|
2. Thou shalt remember thy name and thy password.
|
|
|
|
3. Thou shalt speaketh to the SysOp thy real name.
|
|
|
|
4. Thou shalt not POST IN ALL CAPS!
|
|
|
|
5. Thou shalt Honor thy SysOp.
|
|
|
|
6. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's password, nor thy
|
|
neighbor's
|
|
real name,
|
|
computer, software, nor any other thing of thy
|
|
neighbor's.
|
|
|
|
7. Thou shalt only call a BBS two times a day.
|
|
|
|
8. Thou shalt not post messages that are stupid, worthless, or
|
|
have no meaning, lest thee be deemed a fop.
|
|
|
|
9. Thou shalt use the English language properly so that thee may
|
|
be deemed wise.
|
|
|
|
10. Thou shalt spell thy words correctly. Amen.
|
|
|
|
11. Thou shalt delete thine own mail.
|
|
|
|
12. Thou shalt delete thine ancient mail.
|
|
|
|
13. Thou shalt help other users so that thee may be deemed a
|
|
friend.
|
|
|
|
14. Thou shalt not post anomymously when offering criticism.
|
|
|
|
15. Thou shalt keep thy foul language to thyself lest thee be
|
|
forever banished.
|
|
|
|
16. Thou shalt not occupy thy BBS with thine arguments, for
|
|
Verily, I say unto thee that thou shalt maketh thyself the
|
|
charlatan.
|
|
|
|
17. Woe be unto the user who attempth to crash thy BBS, for such
|
|
shall be cast out from the sanctuary of thy hobby and must
|
|
repent by doing 40 mega-days and 40 mega-nights of penance in
|
|
voice-only communications.
|
|
|
|
18. Thou shalt first dial BBS number during the day by way of
|
|
voice line to assure correct numbers.
|
|
19. Thou shalt not post other user's real names.
|
|
|
|
20. Thou shalt not post messages after imbibing excessively of
|
|
ale.
|
|
|
|
21. Thou shalt confine thy messages to those of friendship,
|
|
requests for assistance, aid to the needy, advice, and
|
|
advancement of thy hobby; yea, and thou art obligated to repel
|
|
any who wouldst transgresseth upon these commandments.
|
|
|
|
22. If thou doth promise to reply to a message and thou doth not,
|
|
then surely thou shalt spill liquid into thy keyboard and
|
|
|
|
shorteth out thy central processing unit.
|
|
|
|
23. Thou shalt not giveth any false information when applying for
|
|
membership to thy BBS, for Verily it is Written that whosoever
|
|
shall do so will surely be found out and thy welcome on all
|
|
boards will be thus be denied forever and ever.
|
|
|
|
24. Thou shalt log on properly and in accordance with thy SysOp's
|
|
wishes.
|
|
|
|
25. Thou shalt observeth BBS time limits.
|
|
|
|
26. Thou shalt not upload "worm" or "trojan" or "virus-ed"
|
|
programs.
|
|
|
|
27. Thou shalt not ask stupid questions that art already fully
|
|
explained in BBS bulletins and instructions.
|
|
|
|
28. Thou shalt not exchangeth commercial software thru thy BBS.
|
|
|
|
29. Thou shalt not violate any applicable state/federal/local laws
|
|
and regulations affecting BBS telecommunications, or thee will
|
|
face the wrath of thy judicial system.
|
|
|
|
30. Thou shalt not hack.
|
|
|
|
The user who submitted this wishes to remain anonymous.
|
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ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
|
|
º Online Games by Jack Ryan #1 @6100 º
|
|
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
|
|
On-Line Games
|
|
Jack Ryan #1 @6100 writes an interesting article on an online that
|
|
is found on many of todays BBS'
|
|
|
|
***MELEE***
|
|
Melee is an On-Line game of combat in the arena, but it goes
|
|
further than that. This is not a game of chance, as many
|
|
gladiator-style games seem to be. There are many factors that are
|
|
taken into consideration when you fight.
|
|
|
|
When you first begin the game, you choose what type of
|
|
weapons you wish to specialize in (one-handed swords, two-handed
|
|
swords, etc.), you also choose what combat environment you wish to
|
|
specialize in. You will select a Ghod (god) that you will worship,
|
|
this decision is an important one, for it will determine many of
|
|
your combat strategies.
|
|
|
|
There are many things to do in Melee, besides the obvious
|
|
choice of fighting. There are classes to attend, these help you to
|
|
become a better warrior. You may work to improve your combat
|
|
skills, your charisma, intelligence, endurance, etc. Also, you are
|
|
constantly visiting one of the many armories, enhancing or
|
|
repairing your equipment.
|
|
|
|
Melee is not a game that you will re-roll. It builds on
|
|
itself, and there are always opponents of the right level, because
|
|
the Guild also has combat androids for you to cross swords with.
|
|
The game will also allow the import/export of warriors from other
|
|
Guilds (BBS's).
|
|
|
|
Melee is not graphics oriented, but it doesn't depend on a
|
|
lot of pretty window-dressing, the game stands up fine without it.
|
|
|
|
Melee does take up some space. It is 500k zipped, and you
|
|
will need a door converter to run it. Also, you will need a
|
|
fossil driver. I use doormaster as my conversion program (Melee
|
|
uses Doorinfo.def), and I use BNU170 as my fossil driver. I have
|
|
all of these programs available for download, and will be happy to
|
|
assist anyone in setting this game up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
|
|
º History of IceNET - Part 2 º
|
|
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
Views from the Mind of.....Louie
|
|
|
|
|
|
IceNET - The Story Continues!
|
|
====================================
|
|
|
|
|
|
The forces were gathered at the Penthouse for the meeting to
|
|
end all meetings. Well, that's what KillerTrees (1@7) was thinking
|
|
as he took his sharp cutting instruments of death. He was to be
|
|
very disappointed though, no killing in mass today.
|
|
|
|
It was an IceNET Command Staff meeting. Everybody of
|
|
importance was present, well, except for Accipter (AKA "The
|
|
Duck") (1@7660) who had flown South for the winter, to
|
|
Antarctica, (the one place with worse winters than Buffalo. And
|
|
no, we don't understand him either).
|
|
|
|
Jim was sitting at the head of the table...facing the wall.
|
|
He began to speak but since he was facing the wall nobody could
|
|
hear him. After about ten minutes or so everybody took notice that
|
|
Jim was trying to say something. "Should we tell Jim that he
|
|
talking the Wall?" Louie (6@1) remarked. "Remember what happened
|
|
the last time we told him he was speaking to inanimate objects"
|
|
said Spulunker (1@7653), "I say we just let him sit their
|
|
babbling. I have my network connects to worry about you know."
|
|
Louhal (1@10) looked both ways and then said to Jim "ah, Jim?".
|
|
Jim (1@1) looked back, "What, Louhal?", then his eyes slowly
|
|
wandered across to look at everybody else. Looked back at the wall
|
|
quickly and then back at the group. "When did all of you move back
|
|
there?" Louie said "we thought it would be more comfortable
|
|
sitting in the chairs". Jim mumbled "Well, tell me next time all
|
|
of you do that!". "OK, Jim" was everybody response. "Now, where
|
|
are we?" Jim said authoritatively.
|
|
|
|
Immediately the response came from the Piper (1@3) "We are
|
|
here! Why are we here? Because we aren't there! We aren't there!"
|
|
and a lot of senseless babbling... "OK, who forgot to Give Piper
|
|
his Medicine this week? Who was in charge of handling him this
|
|
week?" Jim Shouted! Immediately Killertrees hustled Piper off to
|
|
the back room. Lots of yelling was heard but nobody
|
|
dared to question it. It seems Killertrees had found his blood
|
|
letting for the day. Jim continued "Well, I would like to turn
|
|
the meeting for a short time over to Zaphod (1@7659) for a few
|
|
minutes." Zaphod entered from the side...both his heads looking
|
|
back at the room Trees had hauled Piper off too and with a look of
|
|
great happiness on one face, and look of great dread on the other.
|
|
"If you would direct your attention to the large map back here on
|
|
the wall "Zaphod said. It was a large map of the continental
|
|
United States and Canada. On it were colored areas....in crayon
|
|
(Yes, this is a two bit operation). The colored areas seemed to
|
|
correspond with various area codes around the country. Zaphod
|
|
Continued "The areas in black are those already dominated by
|
|
IceNET Forces, or allied networks. Areas in red are those areas
|
|
continued by the Evil Empire...er...WWIVnet.
|
|
|
|
Those areas in purple are WWIVlink dominated territories.
|
|
Those areas not on the map have not been colored in." Zaphod then
|
|
took his seat again. Jim then said "Any news on our emissaries to
|
|
the WWIVlink people". "WWIVlink has pledged itself to be neutral
|
|
in a vote taken last Tuesday. At least that's how the link board
|
|
is interrupting the results that way. Seems more who voted
|
|
respond with 'Green Noodles make Blue Poodles Jump der Shtroodle'.
|
|
They have spent the last several days in high level meetings
|
|
trying to figure out what that means exactly" was Lady (3@2)
|
|
response. Jim said "Good, at least there won't be any boarder
|
|
conflicts with them when our army leaves for Southern Calf. for
|
|
the grand conflict with the Evil Wayne Bell (1@3050). Then Jim
|
|
looked around the table "Where's Filo (1@5252)?" he commented.
|
|
"Filo promised to be on our side. Oh no. I bet he has already
|
|
smuggled our plans back to Random (1@3050). We will have to move
|
|
quickly if we want to stop them from getting the jump on our
|
|
forces". "Gather the troops quickly. We have to move
|
|
immediately".
|
|
|
|
TO BE CONTINUED . .
|
|
|
|
(unfortunately...Jim)
|
|
|
|
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
|
|
º Co-Sysops - The Silent Majority º
|
|
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
|
|
|
|
A close look at the Still Silent majority;
|
|
|
|
|
|
Co-Sysops When I first thought about this article I expected a
|
|
lot more reaction but it would seem as though the co-sysops are really the
|
|
silent members that would rather be the backer of the board. Even mine
|
|
who I requested to submit a comment and helped with the editing of the
|
|
newsletter. I did get a few comments and this is what they have to say.
|
|
|
|
Mad Man #101 @10 writes, "I Co-Sysop on two BSS's and I enjoy the
|
|
work. It is sometimes hard to keep up. I do not like recognition for my
|
|
work so sitting in the background suits me well. I like the technical
|
|
work and the challenge of setting things up. I just don't want the
|
|
responsibility or expense that is involved.
|
|
|
|
One system I manage completely from remote, almost everything. The
|
|
other I just add touches to to make it appealing. My comments are
|
|
worthless, as what really matters is how the Sysop feels."
|
|
|
|
Amproman #14 @10 comments, "I think that a CoSysop is very important
|
|
to a board, if they know how to do their job. A CoSysop is generally free
|
|
to use his computer to call out to tuns of boards, while that Sysop's
|
|
computer and phone line are tied up for that board. As a Co, some of that
|
|
things I do, is make sure our board's number is in all that BBS lists on
|
|
boards in that area, leave messages directing users to that board where
|
|
appropriate, and bringing important ideas back to that Sysop, and then
|
|
there's that most important job, providing someone to hang out with at BBS
|
|
events."
|
|
|
|
Ampro is the co-sysop of Fantasia BBS [ADS#1]
|
|
|
|
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
|
|
º Mod of the Month by Airmon #2 @9901º
|
|
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
USERLST2.MOD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|
Mod o' the Month
|
|
by Airmon 1@9901)
|
|
Featured Mod: USERLST2.MOD
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|
Why yes, Airmon is back once again, to bring you the Mod o' the Month.
|
|
Happy Happy Joy Joy. This month's mod is written by one of the more well known
|
|
mod authors, Ethereal Cereal. Ethereal Cereal brings us a mod that proves it-
|
|
self useful. Especially when you decide to decide to modify the userrec. This
|
|
miracle, allows you to have 2 user lists, thus allowing you to add mods that
|
|
effect the userrec such as his own FROM mod, and maybe mods like the 8 more
|
|
colors mod. The sweetest part of this mod, is that no harm is done. The mod
|
|
itself doesn't affect the regular userrec, as well as it allows you to install
|
|
mods that might have affected the userrec. All in all, it's a great mod. Try
|
|
it, I am sure you will like it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
|
|
|
|
The Second User List Mod
|
|
(USERLST2.MOD)
|
|
by
|
|
Ethereal Cereal
|
|
|
|
WARNING: This mod is not for the weak at heart. Previous modding experience
|
|
is expected.
|
|
|
|
Intro
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Ok, ok, ok. Fine. After enough harrassment from a variety of people, I am
|
|
finally going to release my solution to the modified userrec problem.
|
|
|
|
Info
|
|
ÄÄÄÄ
|
|
What this mod does, is create a second user list file (USER2.LST) that holds
|
|
all of your extra stuff that would normally go into the USER.LST/userrec stuff.
|
|
|
|
The way I have implemented this, is through the use of secondary routines
|
|
(write_user2, read_user2, thisuser2, userrec2, etc...). There are better ways
|
|
to do this one (through the use of allocations and deallocations of thisuser,
|
|
et al.) but I felt that in the long run, it would be way too much work.
|
|
|
|
Anyhow, if you have any probs, you know where to reach me... via the normal
|
|
routes established long, long ago. If that doesn't work, I'm sure someone over
|
|
here in this part of the country knows of a way to get a hold of me.
|
|
|
|
Oh, one other note. This should work on just about any version of WWIV (just
|
|
like most mods). Just might require a bit more elbow grease on your part.
|
|
This mod was written for my v4.20d/v4.21 monster; hopefully everything is
|
|
relatively close.
|
|
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
As usual with most of these mods, the author (me) takes no resposibility
|
|
what-so-ever if this mod causes your cat to jump on your keyboard and
|
|
delete every user you have or if your modem decides it doesn't like you
|
|
and fries itself, committing datacide...
|
|
|
|
EC
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
|
|
/***********************/
|
|
/* L E G E N D */
|
|
/***********************/
|
|
/* - = Deleted Line */
|
|
/* + = New Line */
|
|
/* # = Existing Line */
|
|
/* ! = Modified Line */
|
|
/* * = Search For Line */
|
|
/***********************/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #1 -- Back up your source!
|
|
Function --
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
I normally don't put this in as a step to one of my mods, as I figure
|
|
most people have the common sense to do it. Since this mod is VERY
|
|
extensive--ok, more extensive that what I normally do--this is just to
|
|
make sure that I don't get mail from people saying "Your mod blew up
|
|
my system, and it's all your fault, and I don't have a backup of my
|
|
old source and ..." Hey, I reminded you right here.
|
|
|
|
Step #2 -- VARDEC.H
|
|
Function -- N/A
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
We might as well get this over with. Create an entry right after
|
|
the } userrec; that includes the extra stuff that you want to put
|
|
in it. Here's a copy of mine. Notice the reserve space for later
|
|
on. (Ok, so it's a bit of overkill--but, anyone who has ever logged
|
|
on knows that I generally tend to use what I have... <G>) Most of
|
|
this stuff probably won't be needed by most people, but at least
|
|
you have an example to go by.
|
|
|
|
typedef struct {
|
|
unsigned char phone2[13], /* Second phone # mod */
|
|
major[21], /* hey, Its a college town */
|
|
bbsname[31], /* MTB's SYSAUTO2.MOD */
|
|
street[31], /* My From Stuff */
|
|
city[21], /* " " */
|
|
state[3], /* " " */
|
|
country[4], /* " " */
|
|
zipcode[12], /* " " */
|
|
bbstype[11], /* MTB's SYSAUTO2.MOD */
|
|
inact, /* for my network stuff :) */
|
|
defarc, /* Goose's Default Archive */
|
|
defdir, /* Goose's default dir */
|
|
banner[81], /* DeBanner mod by Deltigar(?) */
|
|
rank[41]; /* My USERRANK2 mod */
|
|
unsigned long exempt; /* more exemptions ;) */
|
|
char expiration[9]; /* when they get auto-deleted */
|
|
unsigned int donation; /* donated to the system? */
|
|
char profile[9]; /* JSM's user profile mod */
|
|
char reserved[1854]; /* reserve space */
|
|
} userrec2;
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #3 -- VARS.H
|
|
Function -- N/A
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
We need to make an entry for thisuser2. Put these in the appropriate
|
|
places.
|
|
|
|
userrec2 thisuser2; /* Entry for the USERLST2.MOD */
|
|
int userfile2; /* entry for the USERLST2.MOD */
|
|
|
|
later on...
|
|
|
|
extern userrec2 thisuser2; /* entry for the USERLST2.MOD */
|
|
extern int userfile2; /* entry for the USERLST2.MOD */
|
|
|
|
Step #3 -- UTILITY.C
|
|
Function -- open_user() and close_user()
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
Just simple replacements. Should be fairly easy to spot
|
|
the changes in these.
|
|
|
|
void close_user()
|
|
{
|
|
if (userfile!=-1) {
|
|
close(userfile);
|
|
userfile=-1;
|
|
}
|
|
if (userfile2!=-1) {
|
|
close(userfile2);
|
|
userfile2=-1;
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
void open_user()
|
|
{
|
|
char s[81];
|
|
|
|
if (userfile==-1) {
|
|
sprintf(s,"%sUSER.LST",syscfg.datadir);
|
|
userfile=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY,S_IREAD | S_IWRITE);
|
|
if (userfile<0)
|
|
userfile=-1;
|
|
}
|
|
if (userfile2==-1) {
|
|
sprintf(s,"%sUSER2.LST",syscfg.datadir);
|
|
userfile2=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY,S_IREAD | S_IWRITE);
|
|
if (userfile2<0)
|
|
userfile2=-1;
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
Step #4 -- UTILITY.C
|
|
Function -- N/A
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
Near the functions write_user() and read_user(), slap these functions
|
|
nearby...
|
|
|
|
int number_userrecs2()
|
|
{
|
|
open_user();
|
|
return((int) (filelength(userfile2)/sizeof(userrec2))-1);
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
void read_user2(unsigned int un, userrec2 *u)
|
|
{
|
|
long pos;
|
|
char s[80];
|
|
int i;
|
|
|
|
open_user();
|
|
if ((userfile2<0) || (un>number_userrecs2())) {
|
|
u->inact=inact_deleted;
|
|
return;
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
if (((useron) && (un==usernum)) || ((wfc) && (un==1))) {
|
|
*u=thisuser2;
|
|
return;
|
|
}
|
|
pos=((long) sizeof(userrec2)) * ((long) un);
|
|
lseek(userfile2,pos,SEEK_SET);
|
|
i=read(userfile2, (void *)u, sizeof(userrec2));
|
|
if (i==-1) {
|
|
open_user();
|
|
if ((userfile2<0) || (un>number_userrecs2())) {
|
|
u->inact=inact_deleted;
|
|
return;
|
|
}
|
|
pos=((long) sizeof(userrec2)) * ((long) un);
|
|
lseek(userfile2,pos,SEEK_SET);
|
|
i=read(userfile2, (void *)u, sizeof(userrec2));
|
|
if (i==-1) {
|
|
pl("COULDN'T READ USER2.");
|
|
}
|
|
close_user();
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
|
|
void write_user2(unsigned int un, userrec2 *u)
|
|
{
|
|
long pos;
|
|
char s[80];
|
|
unsigned char oldsl;
|
|
int i;
|
|
|
|
if (userfile2==-1) {
|
|
sprintf(s,"%sUSER2.LST",syscfg.datadir);
|
|
userfile2=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY | O_CREAT, S_IREAD | S_IWRITE);
|
|
}
|
|
if (((useron) && (un==usernum)) || ((wfc) && (un==1)))
|
|
thisuser2=*u;
|
|
pos=((long) sizeof(userrec2)) * ((long) un);
|
|
lseek(userfile2,pos,SEEK_SET);
|
|
i=write(userfile2, (void *)u, sizeof(userrec2));
|
|
if (i==-1) {
|
|
sprintf(s,"%sUSER2.LST",syscfg.datadir);
|
|
userfile2=open(s,O_RDWR | O_BINARY | O_CREAT, S_IREAD | S_IWRITE);
|
|
pos=((long) sizeof(userrec2)) * ((long) un);
|
|
lseek(userfile2,pos,SEEK_SET);
|
|
i=write(userfile2, (void *)u, sizeof(userrec2));
|
|
if (i==-1) {
|
|
pl("COULDN'T WRITE USER2.");
|
|
}
|
|
close_user();
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Due to the pure number of changes, this is how we are going to do this. In the
|
|
next few steps, I will list the file and the function that has to get changed.
|
|
In EVERY case, unless SPECIFICALLY mentioned otherwise, simple search for the
|
|
correspoding read_user() or write_user() and add the read_user2() or
|
|
write_user2() AFTER it.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
|
|
Step #5 -- BBS.C
|
|
Function -- lots :)
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void getcaller()
|
|
# wfc=0;
|
|
* read_user(1,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(1,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
* outs("Fast\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n");
|
|
# read_user(1,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(1,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# reset_act_sl();
|
|
|
|
* frequent_init();
|
|
# read_user(1,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(1,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# fwaiting=thisuser.waiting;
|
|
|
|
void got_caller()
|
|
* outcom=1;
|
|
# read_user(1,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(1,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# reset_act_sl();
|
|
|
|
Step #6 -- DEFAULTS.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void defaults()
|
|
* write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# close_user();
|
|
|
|
Step #7 -- LILO.C
|
|
Function -- only two
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void getuser()
|
|
* if (usernum>0) {
|
|
# read_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# actsl = syscfg.newusersl;
|
|
|
|
void logoff()
|
|
* write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# close_user();
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #8 -- NEWUSER.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void newuser()
|
|
* memset(&thisuser, 0, sizeof(userrec));
|
|
+ memset(&thisuser2, 0, sizeof(userrec2)); /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
There should be several such pairs of this next one. Be sure to
|
|
get them all.
|
|
|
|
* write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# close_user();
|
|
|
|
Step #9 -- SHRINK.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void shrink_out()
|
|
* if (state) {
|
|
# write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
int restore_data()
|
|
* read_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# useron=1;
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #10 -- SYSOPF.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void chuser()
|
|
* write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# read_user(i,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(i,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# usernum=i;
|
|
# close_user();
|
|
|
|
Step #11 -- XFER.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
On my system, this is actually in the DEFAULTS.C file, where it
|
|
belongs. (make sense, doesn't it?)
|
|
|
|
void xfer_defaults()
|
|
* write_user(usernum,&thisuser);
|
|
+ write_user2(usernum,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
# close_user();
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #12 -- XFER.C
|
|
Function -- only one
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
void init()
|
|
* userfile=-1;
|
|
+ userfile2=-1;
|
|
|
|
* read_user(1,&thisuser);
|
|
+ read_user2(1,&thisuser2); /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step #13 -- UEDIT.C
|
|
Function --
|
|
Comments --
|
|
|
|
This one is a REAL mess. All kinds of problems to deal with. Let's
|
|
do this one first...
|
|
|
|
void print_data()
|
|
* char s[81],s1[81],s2[81],s3[81],s4[81];
|
|
# int i;
|
|
+ userrec2 u2; /* mod */
|
|
|
|
+ read_user2(un,&u2); /* MOD */
|
|
+ close_user();
|
|
|
|
Ok, now we can display the data in Uedit, just like we would
|
|
with the normal userlist, except it isn't a pointer. Here is an
|
|
EXAMPLE:
|
|
|
|
npr("PH#1: %s\r\n",(u->phone)); /* This is the first phone from the
|
|
first user list */
|
|
npr("PH#2: %s\r\n",(u2.phone2)); /* This is from the second. Note the use
|
|
of a "." instead of "->" */
|
|
|
|
With that out of the way, we can do more interesting things..
|
|
|
|
void uedit()
|
|
* userrec u;
|
|
+ userrec2 u2; /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
* read_user(un,&u);
|
|
+ read_user2(un,&u2); /* MOD */
|
|
# nu=number_userrecs();
|
|
# do {
|
|
# read_user(un,&u);
|
|
+ read_user2(un,&u2); /* MOD */
|
|
|
|
Now an example of how to modify something in our new user list from
|
|
Uedit. Here's something out of my USERRANK mod... Please note
|
|
that this is an example, again. (Unless you have my userrank mod
|
|
installed. In that case, see way below about converting mods...)
|
|
|
|
case '^':
|
|
nl();
|
|
prt(2,"Personal rank? ");
|
|
inputl(s,40);
|
|
if (s[0]) {
|
|
strcpy(u2.rank,s);
|
|
write_user2(un,&u2);
|
|
} else {
|
|
prt(5,"Use \"standard\" rank? ");
|
|
if (yn()) {
|
|
u2.rank[0]=0;
|
|
write_user2(un,&u2);
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
break;
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
|
|
Whew! Now that we have all that in, and some examples for certain sections, we
|
|
are ready to convert some mods to our new user structure. Please note, that
|
|
this part is where the *REAL* experts are separated from everyone else. This
|
|
is not an easy procedure by any means. I'll try my best to explain how I went
|
|
about converting mods, but the best way to learn is simply to play with it.
|
|
|
|
* Mods like Elric's From mod that just do read/writes to the user list by
|
|
ONLY messing with the thisuser variable are a peice of cake. Just
|
|
change all entries in the mod to thisuser2.<whatever> or
|
|
thisuser2->whatever -- whichever the case may be.
|
|
|
|
* Some mods are going to be real bears. These are the ones that have
|
|
their own custom functions that do read/writes of another variable (ie,
|
|
userrec u) like the void uedit up above. What you can do, is do the
|
|
same trick I did. Make a userrec2 u2 statement and just change all
|
|
references to u2.<whatever>
|
|
|
|
* If you get any really strange errors, make sure that the u2.<whatever>
|
|
is actually from the mod. It *might* be a standard WWIV thing that
|
|
will require a u.<whatever> instead (ie, it doesn't need to be
|
|
changed.)
|
|
|
|
For those of you that already have modified userrecs... well, what can I say.
|
|
There's no time like the present to trash it--I did. ;)
|
|
|
|
Farpoint Station þ WWIVNet @6850 þ WWIVLink @16851
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Û ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÜ
|
|
Ü ÜÜÛÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜ Ü Wishing you a very
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛß ÜßÜÜÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÜÜ ÛÜ Merry Christmass
|
|
Ü ÜÛÛÛÛß Û ÜÛß Ü ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÛÝ from
|
|
ÛÛÛÛÛ Üß ÜÛ°°Û°ÛÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÝ The Staff at IceNEWS
|
|
ßÛÛÛÝÞÛ ÛÛ°°°°°°ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÛß ÜÜÜÜÜܱ±
|
|
ÛÛÛÝÞÛ ÛÛ°°°°°°°ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜß Ü Ü ÜÛܱ±
|
|
ß ßÛÛ ÛÜ ÛÛ°°°°°ÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßß ß Ü ÜÛÛÜ Ûß±±
|
|
ßßß ÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ßß ±±±±ß
|
|
ßÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÜßÛܱ±± ßß ß
|
|
ß°ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß Ü²² Ü Üܱ±±±°ÜÜ
|
|
²±²±²°°°°°°ÜÜÜÜßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßܲ²²Ü ÜÜ ÜÛÛ±±±±±ÛÛÝÝ
|
|
²±²²±²²±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß²²±±±±±±²²²²ÜÛÛÛÜ ÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛ±±°°±ÛÛÛÛ
|
|
²°²±±±±±²±²ÛÛÛÛÛÛ²²²²²²±±±²²²²²ÜÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛÛ±±°°°ÜÛÛÛÛÝÝ
|
|
²°°²²±±² ²±²ÛÛ²²²ÜßÜÜܱ۱±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛ°°°ÛÛÛÛßßß
|
|
°°²±±² ²²±ß±ÜÛÛÛß±Û±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜßÛÛÛÛÛÛ°ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ßß
|
|
°°²²±± ß ß ±±ÛÛÛß Ûß±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°°ÛÛÛÛÛ°ßßßß ßßß
|
|
°²±± ß ßßÛÛÜÛ ÜÛÝÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°°ÛÛÛÛÛ°
|
|
Ü ÜÜÜ ÜÛÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°ÛÛÛÛÛ°Ý
|
|
ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°ÛÛÛÛ°°
|
|
ÞÞÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°°ÛÛÛ°°
|
|
|