Several messages below this, in "First Impressions of Poser 5" troberg has started an ethical firestorm by using a "cracked" version of Poser 5 to evaluate the product. (He liked it enuf that he subsequently purchased it.) However, the responses he received, made me wonder what the general sense of ethics is in the Poser community. Hence, I have put together the following inquiry. I would appreciate your feedback. What with Enron and WorldCom and Arthur Anderson, there is a lot of talk these days about ethics. To stimulate discussion on how ethics affects us in the 3D graphics community, I have composed the following six scenarios taken from our daily lives and would appreciate your feedback on the ethics of each. 1) You purchased a license for Poser 5. Curious Labs has decided to use machine-dependent activation. There is some concern in the rumor mill that Curious Labs is in fragile financial health. (I am not saying this is true, just that there are rumors.) You plan to purchase a new computer in six months and you want to use Poser 5 on that machine. Is it ethical for you to obtain (for your own use only) a copy of the hacker program that will crack the Poser 5 activation? (I know that this is no longer necessary because CL has backed off their machine-dependent activation scheme. This is a "what if" scenario. And I am not asking is it "legal"; I am asking is it ethical.) 2) Curious Labs is in fragile financial health. (I am not saying this is true; I am saying "what if".) Knowing this and in spite of this, CL releases Poser 5 with a machine-dependent activation scheme that will render Poser unusable on customers' newly-purchased machines if CL goes out of business and cannot find a buyer. Is this ethical? 3) Eovia releases Cararra Studio 2. Early adopters pay an introductory price. (No claims of "lowest price ever" are made.) A few weeks after release, as a participant in an upcoming trade fair, Eovia announces a special reduced price on Cararra Studio 2 (lower than the release price). Is this ethical? If you say "yes", is it still ethical if Eovia knew about the upcoming reduced price before the release of CS2? (I know Curious Labs has taken a lot of heat for doing something very similar with Poser 5, but did you know that Eovia did this same thing with Cararra Studio 2? However, I do not claim that they knew of (had planned) the reduced price before the release of CS2. That part of this scenario is only "what if".) 4) You are not a professional 3D modeler. It is only a hobby for you and you do not sell or give away the models you make. You would like to use Rhino to make your models. But it is more expensive than you can afford. But Rhino has a special student's price that you can afford. But you are not a student. But you have a friend who is a student. You have your friend purchase Rhino at the student price using his student ID card. You pay the Rhino student price to your friend and your friend gives you the copy of Rhino which you register with your name. (Your friend does not keep a copy of Rhino for himself.) Is this ethical? The company has more money than they would if you had not purchased the program; you are not using Rhino to make money. If you think that is unethical, what are your reasons for believing so? 5) Using #4 as the basis, and if you think #4 would be ethical, would it still be ethical if you made models and gave them away for free? 6) You are a student 3D modeler. You do not sell your models. You buy Rhino at the student's price. Then you graduate and start making your living in 3D modeling. You continue using your original student-priced copy of Rhino without paying any more money to the company. Is this ethical? Thanks for your participation.