ACM forum: letters

Time Flies Like an Issue I am writing to complain about a flagrant intrusion into my weekend time. For most of the eight years that I have been an ACM member, Communications of the ACM was something that deserved about a 30-second glance each month. In the past few months, however, you have actually been filling the magazine with articles that are worth reading by practicing computer professionals. In particular, I must cite the Oc-tober 1983 issue, especially the article "The Management of End-User Computing" by John F. Rockart and Lauren S. Flannery. Seriously, I must compliment you on the tremendous improvement in the publication from the point of view of those of us who earn our living in the computing craft. Keep up the good work. Hacking Away Communications regrets that, through typographical error, Ronald Thisted appeared to take an Orwellian stance against software privacy in his letter in the January Forum. In the second and third paragraphs, respectively , the offending sentences should read "Untouched on in most discussions of this matter is the related issue of software piracy, wherein I detect the roots of the 'whiz kids' ethical stance." and "This is not to say that software piracy is morally permissible; in most circumstances I believe it is not." We trust no similar unintentional distortions appear in the following three letters and response to one.-Ed. I do not believe in absolute property rights. I consider it contrary to the public interest , as well as my own, to leave my car overnight on a public street with the ignition key in the switch. Stallman apparently does just this in order to allow teenagers to gain valuable experience operating an automobile (this is what most joyriders want, and why so many of them stop stealing cars when they get their own). Stallman briefly recognizes two legitimate areas for security. He recommends storing personnel records on a dedicated microcomputer, and except "banks and such" from his opinion that computer security is a disease, I believe that some level of security is appropriate in the vast majority of multiple-user computer systems, not the small minority that Stallman's letter implies. Response: Borrowing cars and borrowing computer access are separate moral issues about which a person can reach different conclusions. Here are some factors that affect one's conclusions about cars: (1) Using a car involves moving it. It becomes inaccessible to its …