The Editors and Readers of COMPUTE!
COMPUTE!'s Programs
I have learned more from your magazine than from textbooks on computing, but one thing puzzles me. What's your policy toward the programs you publish in the magazine? They often take a long time to type in and I usually go on to add embellishments here and there, or change them to run on other computers. Are these programs in the public domain? Could they be traded with my friends?
One note: I often type in programs and then later forget the instructions or which issue I'd gotten them from. So, I now always put REM statements into the first few lines of the program which have the date and page number where the program documentation can be found. I can't count the number of times I've been glad I do it.
Mary Howe
Programs published in COMPUTE! are in the same legal category as material published in any other magazine. They are all copyrighted; they're not in the public domain. When you buy an issue, you then have the right to make a copy of the programs therein. We realize, however, that some of the programs are long and take some time to enter into the computer. For this reason, it's permissible for you to give a copy of a COMPUTE! program to a friend or members of your user group who subscribe to the magazine.
No program in the magazine, however, may be sold, traded, or otherwise distributed for profit. Nor may any program be given to someone who does not own the issue in which the program was printed.