Date : Mon, 09 May 1983 00:47:05 EDT (Mon)
From : Rick Conn <rconn@brl.arpa>
Subject: ZCPR2 and the PD
This message is divided into three sections:
ZCPR2 Distribution (and its problems)
Public Education
Conclusion and a Statement about the Public Domain
I thought this community may be interested in my comments.
I. ZCPR2 Distribution
It looks like a distribution system for ZCPR2 is now in
place. It has been quite an experience talking to groups about
ZCPR2, trying to lend some support to helping them get copies of
ZCPR2 if they want it, and trying to do this without consuming
all of my time. I think that something is finally in place so
that if anyone wants a copy of it, they can get it.
You can now get copies of the ZCPR2 distribution, in one
form or another, from MIT-MC, Compuserve, Tymnet, SIG/M, some
RCPM systems, some computer clubs, and Workman. All have their
tradeoffs in terms of time required by one who wants a copy and
cost, and both time and cost vary widely between these options.
Computer clubs may be the best sources. You go to a club
meeting with two boxes of disks, copy the disks, pay either noth-
ing or a token fee (which is usually used to further support club
activities), and walk away with ZCPR2. You now have the system
and can run it, but you may not have a hard copy of the manuals.
That is another matter entirely. If you have WordStar and a
printer, you can take the time and print the 400+ pages of the
manuals from your disks. If you club has the money (and can af-
ford to do it), you may be able to buy the manuals from your
club. Or, you may send off to the NYACC for copies of the manu-
als at $24 for the set.
You can access one of the networks mentioned and download
the ZCPR2 system. This is VERY time consuming to say the least,
and, because we are talking about over 1.5M bytes of files, all
of the files (such as source code) may not be available anyway.
Again, you don't have hardcopies of the manuals, so you have the
NYACC or WordStar and your printer as options again. Access to a
network may cost you money in terms of computer time on the net
and phone costs or both.
You can access an RCPM system and download the ZCPR2 sys-
tem. This has the disadvantages of the network access (with the
difference that network access may cost you money for computer
time on the host). It adds the disadvantage that only some RCPM
systems carry ZCPR2, and you have to find out which ones. The
Lincroft, NJ RCPM is the only one I know of that is carrying the
entire system, but I have heard that others may be, in one degree
or another. I have heard that many RCPMs don't carry ZCPR2 be-
cause of its size.
You can send off to SIGM for the disks, at a cost of
$6/disk ($84 for all of ZCPR2 and SYSLIB). Again, you won't have
hardcopies of the manuals without taking additional steps.
Finally, there is Workman, who is providing a source for
both the disks and manuals. His cost is high, and he is probably
making a profit. All of the other sources (with the possible ex-
ception of the networks) are non-profit organizations run by
volunteers.
I have heard complaints from people trying to obtain
ZCPR2 from remote-access systems, such as the RCPMs and the net-
works. Time and phone costs are the issues here, and people
don't want to spend the time or money to get it. I have heard
complaints from people who send off to SIGM about the time delay
for a turnaround. Now I am hearing complaints about Workman's
cost (and profit).
All of the sources for ZCPR2 have their drawbacks, but I
don't fault any of them. They all have a right to do what they
are doing, and they are all providing a service to the community.
It is up to the members of the community to select the source
they desire to obtain it from and then expend the effort (and mo-
ney) to obtain it. My only complaint is that many people have
tried to minimize their effort and expense to the point of coming
directly to me and asking me to expend even more effort on my
part to copy the system for them. This minimizes their effort
and maximizes mine. I have resisted this, and will continue to
do so. My love and talent is in designing programs such as
ZCPR2, not in spending time and effort in copying them. Other
people like to do this sort of thing, and I leave it to them.
Ever since the release of ZCPR2, I have been so inundated with
such overhead that all other work has stopped, and this stagna-
tion has to (and will) stop.
II. Public Education
A growing problem, which is that of education of the user
community, is not easily solved, but there is an excellent move-
ment afoot which is trying to solve it. Microsystems Magazine (a
Ziff Davis Publication) now has a regular column devoted to the
public domain, and an article specifically on ZCPR2 will be ap-
pearing soon. With a readership of 50,000, this magazine should
be able to do a lot of good in educating the community. I note
that Byte has been noticably lacking in providing this service
(with the exception of Sol's column). I also note that DR has
been taking steps recently to support its user community, and I
hope this sets a good example and continues, encouraging others
along the way.
III. Conclusion
In conclusion, what I am trying to say is that this may
be the beginning of a new era for public domain software, and the
commercial arena can work together with the public in this. Mi-
crosystems is providing a forum for educating the public. DR is
providing backing (in words only so far, but this is a good
start). And Workman is providing an alternative to the public
domain as a reliable source. Coupled with the information pro-
vided by Microsystems (and, maybe someday, Byte), Workman's ac-
tion is fair, since the public should now be educated enough to
view Workman as one of a multitude of sources rather than as a
sole source.
I feel that the public domain has been failing. There is
too much me-ism in this country, and there are too few people
willing to put forth some effort for the public good. The col-
lapse of CPMUG in Chicago and the fact that the ACG-NJ (with its
1100+ members) is run (including SIGM) by only a handful of peo-
ple are two examples of the problem we are facing. The fact that
some RCPMs prefer to provide no ZCPR2 service at all rather than
making some attempt is another example. The fact that so many
people have tried to impose upon me to provide ZCPR2 for them
rather than expending the added effort to get it thru channels is
a third example. People naturally (it seems) tend to go out of
their ways to minimize their time, effort, and expense and to
maximize their gain regardless of what it costs others. If we
only band together, as a public, and expend a little extra effort
on each of our parts for the public good (without getting a
direct benefit necessarily), the public domain would be so much
better for all of us.
I feel that, unless something is done, the public domain
system may collapse completely. The user community is growing
rapidly while the public domain continues to be supported by
just a few. As more users become aware of it, make demands on
it, those few will become so inundated with work that they may
become discouraged and give up. I have already experienced such
feelings, and am sure others have as well.
Rick