> You have expressed my opinion exactly, Walter. I develop software for a living and for that reason do not pirate the work of others. Maybe that makes me old fashioned but I am comfortable with it. The creators of software, music, movies, etc. should be compensated for their work. If someone wants to put something in the public domain, fine, that's their decision. But it should be their decision, not that of thieves.


There's nothing wrong with earning a living writing software or authoring digital content. You do it for an hourly wage or agreed upon amount for a task. You do not continue to earn repeatedly from a prior effort by selling a product over and over when it can be freely copied to all without loss of the original. That is just greed.

The Bible says it this way:
Genesis 3 KJV
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

In short, we are to labor daily for God has decreed it. We must do this when making chairs, tractors, clothing, new homes, everything material. The requirement is no different when it comes to software. The enemy, Satan, uses sin to influence man to disobey God and "take the easy way out" by selling repeated copies without additional labor. It is an abomination before The Lord.

He gave us a new command, to love one another:
John 13 KJV
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

This goes along with his teachings from the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5 KJV
2 And [Jesus] opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Regarding digital content, once the content is created, it is to be released not into the public domain because there it exists in a way men can legally take it and do what they want with it including harmful ends (proprietary use), but instead it is released as copyrighted material by the author, but in a copyleft way as a copyleft-protected work in source code form for others to gain from by using.

A "Donate" button, or even better an email address where somebody could inquire by overtly asking "how can I donate money to you?" (which is less demanding and "in your face" than a donate button), would allow others to channel money to you personally, or your co-op group of workers, directly, should they feel moved from the inside out.

Our work is needed. There are legitimate software authoring needs, just as there are legitimate needs to make kitchen cabinets for people. It should be paid for by labor, and then because of the special nature of the digital world, gifted, not demanded, unto everyone else.

Demanding divides and is greed based (give me, pay me). Gifting joins together and is love based (thank you, I can use this (and if so moved) here is something given to you as well).

And we are taught, it is better to give, than to receive.
Acts 20 KJV:
34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

We have to remember God will provide as we give. We are not only not alone, but when we do this we are being obedient unto God. When we do it differently, we are striking out in rebellion against God. This is why we have the worldly system we do today ... because the enemy of God is real, and Satan is leading the entire world astray:
Revelation 12 KJV
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

These words are not told to us for idle use. They are active and living and of God for our benefit, for helping and growing, assisting, rebuking, and putting proper activities into action. God's ways are right, and He has told us how to be. The ONLY reason things are different is because the enemy is real, sin is real, and men pursue sinful ways rather than Godly ways because of sin. And the ONLY way out of that pitfall, that fatal end, is through Jesus Christ by accepting His sacrifice and being born again.