Date   : Tue, 05 Mar 1996 11:06:46 GMT
From   : wturner@... (William Turner)
Subject: Re: BBC: Radical rethinks! :-)

> >> I've been requested by Acorn to remove all ROMs with their copyright in
> >> them, so they are not available there anymore (for the time being).
 Wouter
> >> Scholten's page has the ROMs on them still, I think...  hmm... checking...
> >> yes, get this link:
> >> http://www.cistron.nl/~wouters/bbc/archive/roms.zip.
> >
> >Robert - read again the Email I sent you. Second half of the second
paragraph.
> 
> I did.  I can't remove things from Wouter's archive.  Sorry about that,
so I
> just stated a fact.

Ok, that's fine by me. I've emailed Wouter anyhow.
 
> >People: PLEASE respect our copyright! Doing things like this is _not_
> >furthering the cause to get the ROMs released!
> 
> Well - in a way it should.  It should prove to Acorn that there is
a genuine
> interest in keeping the BBC alive.  Acorn's policy is _not_ furthering the
> continuation of this cause.

The situation is not as clear as you imagine. Suffice to say that all this
was gone through over a year ago, with the eventual decision (from much
higher
up within Acorn), that we _couldn't_ (not _wouldn't_) release the ROMs.

I shall try and see if I can get a 'definitive' reason from our legal
department, so that everyone knows where the problem lies. This may take a
couple of weeks, as the situation is pretty complex, and other parties may
need to be involved. However, if I succeed, rest assured that you'll
be the first to hear.

> And please, if your only activity on this list is going to be eavesdropping
> into our illegal doings, and repeatedly saying the same over and over
again,
> please unsubscribe.  Let us know when Acorn realises that the BBC is dead
> without "us".

To be honest, the BBC is _not_ dead, with or without 'you'. Also, I am not
subscribed to the list just to 'eavesdrop into your illegal doings'. I am
subscribed through personal interest in the BBC. Initially, I intended to
write a RISC OS emulator, but given the situation on the ROMs (and the fact
that I work for Acorn), and the excellent emulator written by Mike Borcherds,
this fell by the wayside. My interest is still there however, and so I feel
that I am quite legitimately subscribed to the list.

William