you make some fair points.. Yes I agree that looking at a program and developing my own version is reverse engineering. It's a very gray area. I agree with you that the software industry would never have worked without it.
I mean we'd have ONE wordprocessing app, ONE spreadsheet, ONE Web browser etc.. I like to think that variety is good.. that being able to choose a feature set you like is good.
I see where you're coming from. From one perspective I'm just as bad as the guy who hacks programs. from another I'd writing code and and my code is being violated.
IMHO (only in my opinion) I still cannot get over the idea that if I deliberately sit down and break into a safe (metaphorically speaking) to access codes I can use to do X , Y or Z without paying for those codes then that's BAD(tm) however someone who looks at X, Y and Z and writes A, B and C that look and function KINDA like (but not an exact copy of) X,Y and Z then that's GOOD(tm) or at very least OK(tm)
It's a gray gray area. and you and I may never see eye to eye on this subject.. but I'll still buy you a beer at the next BFG
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