[DUG] A change in upgrade policy coming from Embarcadero

[Jolyon Smith]

>. Accusing me of a smirking comment was rude.

 

Likely a case of crossed wires then, but either way the original poster felt
that they way *he* had been treated was rude, so it's not surprising that he
might feel inclined to reciprocate.

 

An apology for the misunderstanding might have been more helpful than
planting a stake in the moral high ground.

 

Maybe?

 

Quoting GST inclusive prices of a business product is disingenuous I think,
so I don't do it.

 

In the context of a discussion that includes _hobbyists_ it's very relevant
though. 

 

Ohhhh - I actually know the stats, and a very small number of Delphi
licenses are sold to individuals. The reverse to what you are stating is
actually true.

My observations related to the community users, not the total installed user
base.  ime most people in the "community" are hobbyists or individuals, or
their participation in the community is in that capacity (i.e. something
they do in their spare time), and although I used the term "GST" from which
you may have inferred a parochial NZ view, I was actually thinking in much
broader terms.

 The fact that most people who have a work license also install it at home
if they want to means very few people buy it personally.

This may be a querk of NZ employment contracts where it seems quite common
for an employer to explicitly disown any rights to works created using an
employee in their own time even if company resources are used.  This is not
a universal truth however.

Certainly in the UK an employer will assert ownership in the employment
contract over anything created by an employee using company owned resources
whether created "on" or "off the clock".  As a result, in the UK at least -
and I'm sure may be the case elsewhere - if you are a hobbyist and you don't
want your employer to be able to hold a claim over any work you do in your
own then time you have to maintain your own licenses.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see NZ employment contracts change over
time to be more in line with that approach - the Utopia we enjoy today may
not last forever.  But as long as it remains the case today then granted,
the relevance of New Zealand Sales Tax to New Zealand employees of New
Zealand companies with employment contracts that allow them to use their
employer's license without fear of undesirable consequences is relatively
minor.

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