The Truth about Computer Clubs!
                    by Sandra Sharkey

A couple of months ago I decided to  visit a computer club to 
see what goes on.

I had it fixed in  my  mind  that  the  place  would be full of
expert programmers discussing machine code and  assemblers and
lots of other things that I don't know  the  first  thing about.
This was the main reason why I hadn't taken the plunge and gone
sooner.

Oh boy was I wrong! I walked in  and  paid my 50p as a visitor 
and was invited to look around the place  before  I decided to 
join. The first thing that struck me was that I appeared  to be
in the minority as far as females go, but that is  something  
I've  got used to. Most of the membership appeared to be school
age  but  there  were  a few adults dotted about, most of them 
with Amigas and STs.

So, I had a walk around hoping to  see some of the games I'd  
only read about up and running so that I  could see them 
properly before buying. Something very strange seemed to be  
going on. All the STs were running the same piece of software.
What was this program? Could it be one of the new releases 
that  everyone  had  gone out and bought? No. Perhaps it was a 
program  written  by  one  of  the members and he had given a 
copy to everyone in the room.  No.  What could it be? It was a
copy program!!

Every single computer in the two  large  rooms  was being used 
to copy software illegally. I couldn't believe  it.  I  even  
heard one of the guys complaining that two hours a fortnight 
wasn't enough time to copy everything he needed to.

There were large boxes  of  disks,  each  containing about one 
hundred disks, scattered all over the tables. How  anyone could 
ever find the time to load them all up, never  mind  play them,
I will never know. I was absolutely disgusted. If piracy was  

like this in all the computer clubs in Great Britain then it 
was a much bigger problem than I had ever envisaged.

Don't they realise that if  they  don't  buy  software then 
the prices will never come down. I think  that  some  of them 
are just collectors and don't even play the games that they've 
stolen.

I don't have a very large software  collection  but at least 
I can use mine without feeling guilty; and I  know  the  pain 
of waiting for the postman to bring me a game or utility that 
I've saved up for and the joy when it finally arrives.

I scour the mail order advertisements  in  all  the mags I buy 
until I find the bargain I'm looking for. Let's face it, most 
games priced at œ24.95 can probably be picked up for about 
œ15.95. In fact that is the price I paid for Dungeon Master and
the  number of hours it kept me in front of the computer, and  
out of the pub, it must have paid for itself three times over.

After reading this far you will probably  be  amazed when I say
that I have frequently loaded pirate copies of games and 
utilities into my own machine. So what gives me the right to 
condemn others?

With many disappointments in the past on buying software that
has received hyped up reviews in the press, I have now adopted 
a policy of "TRY BEFORE YOU BUY". Someone sent  me a copy of 
PHANTASIE III and I enjoyed it immensely so I  bought  it and
wiped the pirate copies. I also received a copy of LEGEND OF 
THE SWORD which I didn't like at all and congratulated myself 
on saving my money.

If only more software  companies  would  distribute  playable 
demos of their wares on Public Domain I'm  sure  more people 
would buy original copies. Who could fail to have  been  
impressed with a demo of Dungeon Master? Luckily, in my opinion,
the reviews I read did it justice. And maybe, just maybe, sales
would  increase  enough  to bring the prices down for those of 
us who prefer to buy than steal.
Full marks to Official Secrets/Special Reserve for the prices 
they charge for software.  Believe  me, the œ4  membership to 
Special Reserve is well worth it and can  be recouped with the 
first purchase. That is one membership that I shall be renewing
later in the year. 

Before I start getting letters I do realise that I am also 
breaking the law when I load up a pirate copy  of  a game but 
I have set my own values and am sticking to  them. And I won't 
be  going back to the computer club.

Are all these clubs the same?
                                         Sandra Sharkey

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