Posted by Ray Burt-Frost on July 02, 1999 at 07:33:14:

In Reply to: Speak for yourself. posted by Novus on June 30, 1999 at 15:09:44:

: read itma.

: Forgive my ignorance, but what is "itma"?

: Damn, ripping is one very common thing within
: the scene...

: And shoplifting is a very common thing in the
: world. And theft. And assault. And murder. And
: slavery was a very common thing in the 1800s. What
: does how common ripping is have to do with
: whether or not it is right or wrong? Your argument
: here stretches the bounds of logic beyond all
: previously known limits.

: ...and melcom is making such a hassle of it is
: something i don't understand. Does he feel so
: elite that everyone should know how sad and poor
: he is now a tune was ripped from him? Ripping
: occurs.

: And so do all of the other things I mentioned
: (with the possible exception of slavery). So what?
: The commonality of an act has no bearing on the
: morality of an act. Also, the status of the victim
: has no bearing on the morality of an act. Stealing
: $10 would be wrong whether the victim were Bill
: Gates, me, you, or the homeless guy on your street
: corner.

: And it occurs more to the more famous, as
: more people get to hear those songs. That's
: normal. You make it something new and terrible.
: Bullshit. buh.

: Nobody's making ripping out to be new. We all know
: ripping has been around as long as the scene has,
: and this just happened to be the straw that broke
: Mister-X's back.

: Please rip my modules.

: Well, at least you're consistent when it comes to
: music. But let's see how consistent you stay if we
: extend your philosophy to the rest of your life.
: Can you arrange for me to meet with your employer?
: I'd like to discuss the idea of being paid for the
: work you do. How about your college professors or
: teachers? I could certainly use more credits and
: better grades, especially with the ones I've had
: recently, so I'd like to get all of the good
: grades that would've gone to you. And if by some
: chance you are able to finally settle the
: religious conflicts in Ireland and the Middle
: East, I'd be more than happy to claim the Nobel
: Peace Prize for "my" work. How about if we run
: against each other for President and you win with
: 80% of the vote? Would you let me claim the Oval
: Office as my own? To oppose any of these ideas
: would be to label yourself as inconsistent.

: When trackers track, very often the only pay that
: they want is for people to enjoy their music and
: acknowledge the skill of the person who made it.
: And very often, this is the only pay they'll ever
: get. For someone to rip a song is to steal those
: few benefits away from their rightful recipient.
: And someone who rips is also showing a complete
: lack of concern for other people's welfare or for
: the value of honesty. Do you really believe that
: rippers only have that one sin on their soul and
: are otherwise happy, honest, good, moral,
: well-adjusted people? To use your own eloquent
: phrase from earlier, bullshit. Ripping is a
: symptom of the ripper's deeper moral shortcomings.
: And we have a duty to put an end to obvious
: wrongs. This is hardly a deeply contested issue
: like abortion or gay rights, where the line of
: right vs. wrong isn't clear yet. When it comes
: to ripping, the moral line is big, bold, and
: obvious. And you're on the wrong side of that
: line.

: In closing, Eggbird, you can let people rip your
: own songs all day long if you want to. But don't
: tell other people that they aren't allowed to
: defend their own property.

: Sincerely,
: Novus

I tend to agree with your last comment.

If somone composes a mod that is *all* their own work and include a copyright notice to the fact that it can be listened to but not ripped, that
should be adherred to.

It would be a good idea if authors all included
an expicit copyright notice making things completely clear regarding if it can be just listened to, used by others on their web sites,
not for commercial use wiuthout permission, etc.,
with the release and then if something goes wrong, the composer has every right to sue!

There is one *very* imortant thing with all this
though, many, many times a mod is 'passed on' to
someone else, but thast copyright notice is missing, that can, of course cause problems for
all concerned, so to help, it would be a good thing if authors ensured that their contact address is actually 'within' the mod itself.

Ray