coders' code of honour

I found out a friend already has Doom 3, albeit a pirated copy most likely. He invited Chris and I over to view the spankiness of the Doomish game.

M: tell Chris he can come over to see it!
C: I don't want to hear about it!!!
me: why not? it's _Doom 3_!
C: because it's PIIIIIRAAAAATED!!!!!

For those like my clueless-computer-illiterate self all programs, games, computer-related-stuff are just pretty images on a screen that's suppose to come all 'pre-assembled' and dumbified for installation. We're not aware of all the 1s and 0s that people talk about or the amount of programming behind each feature. To me, software companies just pop them out like the proverbial rabbit. Unfortunately I have seen the light or some such since going out with Chris. Just to hear him talk about the aesthetics of a computer program is like hearing an art connoisseur rhapsodize about the beauty of Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Every line has to have perfect indentation, the lengths in perfect alignment, the paragraphs, the code, the flow, this and that.... *tunes out* *what? they don't just copy and paste?!?*

I think the majority of all coders have this ingrained code of honour regarding pirated software. They appreciate all the hardwork put into each program because they've experienced it, the thousands of hours in writing and debugging even though the prices charged by companys are ridiculously overpriced to the rest of us. I always wonder if this sense of integrity extends to other things such as music or movies. Despite the exorbitant prices if you really think about it, the networking of the web reaches millions. A pirated copy could potentially be downloaded by anyone with internet access which translates into huge profit losses even though the software is extremely popular. All this probably trickles back down to the coders who'll suffer in a sort of domino effect. This is not to say if I'm ever faced with the choice of shelling out everything in my wallet for a piece of software vs getting a copy free on the net, that I would make the ethical choice. But after seeing Chris work overtime (and that's unpaid overtime) almost everyday the past 3 months trying to get a game out... I'm still not sure that'll sway my conscience *stare*. Maybe I should try taking a compsci course up at school.

On another note, I finished C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces. Excellent reading. It was, as one reader felt, a tale was being told to you instead of you reading a novel. It's basically a retelling of Psyche and Cupid but with a twist that puts the whole myth in an entirely new perspective that one wouldn't think of. It's a book that I finished in a night because I didn't want to break the rhythm of the story. It left me thinking and still thinking about all the imagery and allegory and it's pure genius. Written in the spirit of Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia except in a more sophisticated fashion it is an extremely profound read.