From: nelson AT cs DOT uwp DOT edu (Jeremy Nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Quake Editing Utilites
Date: 15 Feb 1997 02:20:30 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Parkside
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Message-ID: <5e36he$lf7$1@news.inc.net>
References: <2 DOT 2 DOT 32 DOT 19970213044916 DOT 0069e530 AT delilah> <5durbn$39b AT flex DOT uunet DOT pipex DOT com>
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

[someone wrote]
>> Why would you want the source?  What will/could you do with it?

nikki <nikki AT gameboutique DOT co> wrote:
>learn from it perhaps?


I am a huge zealot of free software, and im an bigger zealot that
commercial software should come with source code.

HOWEVER,

If i understand correctly, the quake source was not released by
id, but by some renegade third party.  Having possession of the
source code is at the very least illegal in the same way pirating
the binaries is  (Its copyrighted, and you didnt have permission to
make a copy of it).  While source code availability is a huge
win and makes everyone's life easier, you should understand the
ramificiations of what it entails.

More or less put, The Quake source involves several years of intellectual
(and proprietary) property of ID.  It would be illegal (and probably
would get you in a huge legal battle) if you modified the source code
and then redistributed binaries created from that source, even if you gave
it only to registered owners of quake, even if you did it for free.  


If i misunderstood everything ive read and seen about this, i apologize
profusely for the specifics of my post, but not the content (just replace
<product X> for quake and <company Y> for ID...)

Id love to see ID just conceed the source code is out there and let
everyone who has the *registered version* be able to keep a copy of the
sources *for their own personal use only*

Jeremy