One of the first warez magazines: Pirate for 1989



    The topic of piracy is one of the most discussed in the whole world. Today I want to introduce you to the pirate magazine, which was published in 1989 on one of the largest BBS-okUSA, located in Chicago. The same city where the famous illegal alcohol dealer Al Capone operated. Such people were called bootleggers. That is what the sysops of this pirated BBS called pirates who act for the sake of profit. Nowadays, all pirates are simply called pirates, regardless of whether they earn a lot of money in their illegal business, or vice versa, they release releases on the network for free, like robin-buzzes, spending their time and money on it. Today it’s hard for many to believe that someone can do something for free, but in those days there was a clear line between “real” pirates and those who did it for money.

    All issues of the journal are kept in the original here .

    I was interested to read about how the very same topics that we argue about today were discussed by the pirates themselves 24 years ago. Freebie, theft, ethics and freedom of information - as if there wasn’t a quarter of a century standing between us. By the way, taking this opportunity, I want to note that the authors of the magazine call the program “information” not because they think that it’s just “zeros and ones”, but as opposed to material things. In English there is a very suitable word for this concept - intangible. These people knew firsthand that programs are not just information, but the result of creative work, because in those days network users were only a few enthusiastic: programmers, or people very close to computers.

    The first issue of the journal is opened by an article, the translation of which I quote in full:

    Who are the pirates?
    Computer piracy is the copying and distribution of copyrighted programs (warez). Pirates are people whose hobby is to collect and play with such programs. Most of them like to collect warez, make it work, and then store (archive).

    Pirates are not bootleggers . Comparing pirates with bootleggers is like comparing a car enthusiast with a car thief. Bootleggers are people who sell stolen goods for their own enrichment. Bootleggers are thieves. Pirates are not thieves, and most pirates consider bootleggers a lower life form, worse than pedophiles.

    Pirates are dividedwith each other to learn, share information, and just for fun! But being a pirate is not just sharing a warez. This is a passion and lifestyle. Your colleague or classmate who brought you a floppy disk with a couple of files is no more a pirate than your friend who let you listen to the latest Depeche Mode album. A real pirate belongs to a group of people who share his interest in warez. Usually this is done through BBS, and the main rule is there: "in order to get something, you must give something." Pirates are not freeloaders , and only lamers can think that they will get everything for free.

    The latest issue of the Chicago Tribune (March 25) states that manufacturers estimate the cost of computer piracy at $ 4 billion a year. This is of course absurd. Companies rarely engage in piracy, which is not profitable for them, because if it is discovered, they may have problems. And private individuals would hardly spend several thousand dollars a year on warez, which they generally don’t really need, and there is evidence that pirates spend more money on buying programs. In fact, pirates are probably one of the best forms of advertising for quality products, because they give you the opportunity to evaluate the program before you buy it. Most of us buy software because of documentation and support, so why spend money on 4-5 similar programs just because you don’t know which one is best for you?

    Could piracy be unethical? It is considered illegal, although in most states the law leaves a gray area between backup and use. But is it ethical? We believe so. We doubt that pirates do any damage to manufacturers in the form of lost profits, and insist that they do free advertising for products. An ordinary person does not have a bunch of bucks to buy both Dbase-4 and Foxbase, and he can easily do without both if he was forced to buy. But by testing both systems, we can tell those who WILL buy which one is better. We disseminate computer literacy to foster development and support the market. Pirates do no harm to anyone, do not steal money from anyone’s pocket, and do much more good to the computer industry than they want to admit.

    And how many of us pay huge telephone bills for intercity? Telecom guys should just adore us. No, pirates are not mean people. The pleasure of finding some kind of rarity for someone, the fascinating task of breaking the program, the excitement of the race, who will be the first to post the latest version, is the beauty of piracy. We are information collectors. Unlike those who prefer to leave knowledge to a handful of the elect, we make them accessible to the masses.

    So who is a pirate? A pirate is someone who believes that information belongs to people. Just as a book can be scanned or placed in a library for public access, pirates provide something like a library. Experienced pirates even act as teachers for those who could become buyers. We do not imagine ourselves to be free computer consultants, and we would never allow ourselves to even think about taking money for our services. By maintaining a network of information exchange, we increase computer literacy, which only benefits everyone.

    The software industry is unlikely to ever approve (or even acknowledge) the pirates' contribution to their activities, and will continue to consider us "enemies!" Pirates have no representatives in the legislature and no electorate to refute this misinformation. PIRATE Magazine should unite us and break the media propaganda that represents us as thieves and outcasts. By ensuring the free flow of information, and not under the control of a privileged minority, we serve democracy and a free market.

    Pirates - freedom fighters defending their dream!

    The following are brief tips for users, a list of the largest BBSs and a “sysop corner”, which says that starting from next week, 1200 baud modem connections will no longer be accepted, and users are advised not to waste time on buying and finally buy a newer modem. 2400 is also small, but this is the standard, so 2400 will be supported for now.

    The following section provides the full text of Richard Stallman's speech at the University of Texas in 1987, titled “Why Program Ownership Is Harmful to the Community.” While copyright was a little-known phenomenon for computer enthusiasts, the issue also included a huge article on copyright in the United States, written by a lawyer, in which he explains in detail what it is and what dangers pirates may face in this regard.

    The second issue (September 1989) addresses such important topics as:

    • The world of piracy is not the same as before;
    • Viruses. This new danger is becoming more real. The list of viruses known at that time for PC has 29 species;
    • Illegal blocking of resources.

    In this last story, not the sites were blocked, as today, but the phone calls of modems! It turned out that after a group of freeloaders got used to make calls to different BBS for free on a long distance, one telephone campaign simply blocked the ability of all their subscribers to call all of these numbers. As a result, ordinary users could not get through to legal BBS.

    This was the earliest pirate (warez) magazine that I was able to find. A variety of publications distributed over the network were issued from that time until the mid-2000s, when, due to the activity of the FBI, they apparently went deep underground. If it will be interesting to the community, I will continue to publish such materials.

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