From: “Ken Smith” <>

Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian,alt.christnet.ethics

Subject: Re: The (Christian) Ethics of Copyright

> “Rowland Croucher” <> writes:

>

> >(I seem to have a minority view on this subject. Appreciate your

comments.

> >This was originally posted on soc.religion.christian).

>

> >I make a living writing, but I believe – for myself – that copyright is

> >essentially evil. Now I try to acknowledge all sources when quoting other

> >people’s stuff, but – again, for myself – I believe that to lock up a

gift

> >God has given me to give to others is plain wrong.

>

> The laws about copyright haven’t kept up with this technological age –

> and many people are simply flouting the law with impunity.

> All the photocopying machines at the University of Queensland have

> prominently displayed a notice about copyright and copying.  Despite

> this many students and satff simply ingore the notices.  And with the

> price of some technical textbooks approaching $1 a page, compared with

> photocopying two pages for 12 cents, who can blame them?

> And now that we have CD burners freely available anything on a CD can

> be copied – music, computer software, …

>

> I’m just waiting for someone to release a hack for being able to use

> Micro$oft’s Window$ XP without registering with Micro$oft.

>

> >Hence the invitation on our website to borrow/preach/reproduce anything

with

> >my signature appended, with or without acknowledgement. If there is

> >acknowledgement, fine (and the material should be reproduced

accurately)…

>                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>

> This is the most important aspect.  Provided someone copies something

> I wrote (or posted, these days) accurately and, preferably, says where

> they got it from, I don’t object.

> In fact, in academic circles, if the source *isn’t* acknowledged, you

> are guilty of plagiarism, which is one of the more severely dealt with

> sins under the generic label of “cheating”.

>

> >I think we have a distorted sense of ‘ownership’ in all this. We

essentially

> >own nothing that is not given to us. So let us freely give to others…

>

> A bit like ancient Israel.  “You don’t own the land – it’s all mine”

> says the Lord somewhere – reference, anyone?

>

> >–

>

> >Shalom!    Rowland Croucher

> >http://jmm.aaa.net.au

>

> Salaam

> Ken Smith

>

> —

> Dr Ken Smith – Christian, husband, unpaid mathematician, skeptic, …

>   “As I listened to [Dr Paul] Brand, I realised that I had been

approaching

>    God like a sick patient – as if the Creator were running a complaint

desk.”

> Philip Yancey in “Soul Survivor”