Date:         Sat, 6 Feb 1999 21:57:07 -0600
Reply-To:     Blue Eyes <lvlearn@MCI2000.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Blue Eyes <lvlearn@MCI2000.COM>
Organization: Vexation Computer
Subject:      Bentley relationship with this List community of friends
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

It seems to me that Robert Bentley Publishing company has a strange
relationship to this List, and perhaps to a few other Lists.  I'm confident
that it's illegal as hell to copy and forward any copies of pages from a
Bentley manual to another person.  The copywrite law seems pretty clear about
that.

But I've been in business.  My empathy covers both sides.  I can think of
myself as being in the position of product line vendor.  From that perspective,
I'd want to sell lots of my manuals.  So would I pounce on an occasional
offender who violates my copywrite rights, if the effect of those acts usually
just creates an appetite for buying a whole hard copy for the receiver party?
Mixed feelings of course, but I'm certain that unless someone really published
the whole dammed thing on line, I'd be guided by how it was affecting sales.

I can't easily imagine a more effective sales tool than this List for promoting
Vanagon Bentley manual sales.  Can you?  Would I jump in there and appear like
the 800 pound gorilla, by making  an example of some offender who's actions
probably have the net effect of promoting my sales anyway?   Not only no, but
hell no.

But I'm not them, and as usual, I could be wrong,
John