[CQ-Contest] Contesters selling stolen software--first notice

[W0UN -- John Brosnahan]

Wayne--

I certainly appreciate your annoyance but please don't pull a
"Beezley" and blow off viable products and valuable customers
as Brian, K6STI, did when he got upset with piracy.

If every store that experienced an incident of shop-lifting
were to close then there would be nowhere to buy anything!

Some theft (unfortunately) is the price we, as a society, pay
because there are thieves amongst us.  To react as Brian did
(in my opinion) is to let them win.  Businesses do what they
can to protect their property, adjust prices to accommodate
pilferage, and live with it as best they can.

The best thing to do is to set a fair price for a product since
most people will gladly pay to support a product with value.
In the case of software ripoffs those are (mostly) not lost
sales since the thieves would not have purchased the product
anyway.

I think you need to not get too upset over this--not so that the
thieves can win, but rather for your own health!  When Acom
ripped Alpha/Power off by violating their contract with us,
stealing the technology, and going into competition with us
I was pretty upset--almost as upset as Dick Ehrhorn was.

Three years later I was in the hospital having open-heart
surgery for an aortic valve problem.  Possibly caused by
untreated high-blood pressure from the stresses due to
the Acom issue among other things, according to the
cardiologist.

Just do what you need to do to protect your livelihood, but
don't let the problems get to you to the point of hurting your
health.

Advice from someone who has been there!    ;-)

73--John   W0UN

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