shadow people

by Al Sparber

18-March-2002

I feel dirty. I've been meeting with the Shadow People- denizens of the Internet underground and self-professed free speech activists. These folks make their own rules, which is quite easy to do if you live in the shadows and are accountable to no one. They feel entitled to distribute commercial software without paying for it. They are emboldened by their ability to remain totally anonymous. They are enabled by the kind people at Yahoo, Hotmail, NoMail, and all the others who traffic in the shadows in the name of freedom, but for the sake of a dollar.

I promised to be fair

I let it be known to these folks that my accounting would be fair and by God it will be. It has to be, because to do otherwise would be to sink to their level.

The Shadow People are an eclectic group of souls who are just like you and me, except for the fact that they take things that you and I normally pay for. This encompasses software, movies, music, and books. In all fairness I must admit that each of them has an interesting rationalization for his actions. Here's what one told me:

"I just try software. If I like it, then I pay for it. I got a copy of WebTech (a PVII product) and liked it, so I bought it. I got a copy of Menu Magic but I didn't like it, so I didn't buy it."

In addition to poor judgment, this chap did a fine job of explaining his interpretation of the golden rule. I wish him well and hope that he has occasion someday to visit Lefty Cavazzuti's hardware store in the Bronx and that he tries out one of Lefty's claw hammers. "Hey Lefty, I'm taking this hammer. If I like it, I'll pay you Tuesday". Splash one.

Being fair like this makes me feel so good.

A very scary lady

From deep within the bowels of Hades comes a dynamic duo indeed... Dreamweavergurl and her alter-ego pizzagirl. I feel OK using names because we are, after all, talking about Shadows. This young lady (she can't possibly be an adult) is the reason for my journey into darkness. Here's what happened:

A friend sends me an e-mail and says, "Al, you need to go to this site and see what they're saying!". How can I refuse that invitation? So off I go to Shadow land. At the front page, I see this. So I read on and to my amazement find that this fine example of feminine charm is citing every conceivable bodily function and sexual technique (including some I'm not aware of) as she writes about me. I don't know her and I've never interacted with these people, so I'm completely dumbfounded and very appalled. So I register and make a post. And several other Dreamweaver developers do likewise. Well, it got ugly. Being the gentleman I am, I promise that not one off-color word jumped off my keyboard. Sadly, the same could not be said for the Shadow People.

Dreamweavergurl should visit Joey "the Shark" Negroni's Fish Market on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and try the salted codfish. Splash two.

The devil his due

I promised equal time and so be it. I've prepared a page containing actual posts from the Shadow People's forum. Formulate your own opinions, I have mine. Of course, these are just Shadows, no one's true identity will be revealed.

The answer is...

There is none. At least not yet. Software piracy will be around for as long as we enable it. Otherwise nice people will rationalize a silk purse out of a sow's ear to justify their actions. We can't stop them as long as we allow people to remain anonymous. Anonymity is not a right, it's a hiding place. It's a license to steal, to be vulgar, to be vile. It's also the realm of people who do much worse things than steal software. The big companies that offer anonymous e-mail, "briefcases", and anonymous FTP will eventually be made accountable for what they've wrought- or the Internet will never achieve its true potential.

If you're concerned about privacy, take up your grievances with the local Walmart or the License bureau that sells your personal information to the highest bidder. Protest income taxes. But most of all, never do anything you would be ashamed to see documented on the front page of your local newspaper. Good people have rights too. I have comfort in knowing that if someone makes a threatening phone call to me, the local authorities can trace it. If someone steals my wares or threatens me on the Internet, I want that same comfort.

we know more than you think

The Shadow chain distribution system starts close to home (sometimes very close). Shadow People are not always as smart as they think they are. All we ask is that you think about what you're doing and consider coming into the sunshine. We won't bite.

A closing thought

We have the ability to hurt the people who use illicitly gotten copies of our software but have chosen not to (remember, we are developers). It's not an option because to do so would make us as irresponsible as they... and that's just not our way of doing things. If we get a little angry sometimes, please try to understand. When you venture into the shadows you sometimes lose your perspective. To the shadow people:

I don't hate you. I simply can't respect you. Perhaps one day you can change that, but I need to see you first.

Now I feel clean again.