A well-loved baker who never quite hit the big time used to make these delicious home-baked pies. To distribute them, he'd bake them, then let them cool along a big open windowsill that stretched far out into the distance. In fact, the windowsill was so big and long, he couldn't even see or keep track of all of it.
People came from miles around to buy his delicious pies, which were very expensive, since they were hand-made, and came in these very nice, cast-iron pie tins. However, the people who could afford to purchase those pies enjoyed them immensely, and even posted about them to some internet message board somewhere.
However, as time passed, thieves figured out how to climb up onto the open windowsill and steal those delicious pies without ever paying for them. The loyal customers who paid lots of money for the pies felt outrage at this, though the thieves who stole the pies justified this by saying, "Hey, they're out in the open and easy to steal. It's almost like they're free for the taking! Anyway, we could never afford to actually pay for such expensive pies. Therefore, what we're doing isn't wrong."
The fans of these delicious pies argued about whether it was right or not to steal them. All the while, the poor baker toiled and toiled away, not making much money and finally having to resort to getting bought out by a dirty yakuza pachinko company.
A few years later, the poor baker went bankrupt, leaving nothing but a few rows of pies left on his windowsill. There was much disappointment all around, until people started hearing rumors that their favorite baker might start making fresh, new pies again under a different name. However, the pies wouldn't just be hand-baked in cast-iron pans; they'd also be distributed in cheaper, paper wrappings that new customers could buy for less money.
For some reason, some fans were very upset by this. "Why, that's a disgrace!" they exclaimed. "If those pies aren't baked in those expensive pie tins, then left on the windowsill out in the open, they aren't real pies! We think the baker should go back to the old format. We refuse to accept anything else."
Other fans of the baker disagreed. They argued, "Even if the baker tries to keep thieves from climbing up the windowsill, those thieves will eventually figure out how to get back up there. Then they'll start stealing new pies again. Isn't that part of the reason why the baker went out of business in the first place?"
It was these fans who were happy to hear that they'd be able to enjoy more of their favorite baker's pies, in any form. In fact, they didn't care that the pies would come out in paper packages, because all they really cared about was the taste of those wonderful pies made by that talented baker. And with the affordable paper wrappings, even more people would be able to buy and enjoy those pies without having to resort to stealing them... which meant that this time, the baker might actually get paid the money he deserved for making those wonderful, wonderful pies.
[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: EX_Andy ]
People came from miles around to buy his delicious pies, which were very expensive, since they were hand-made, and came in these very nice, cast-iron pie tins. However, the people who could afford to purchase those pies enjoyed them immensely, and even posted about them to some internet message board somewhere.
However, as time passed, thieves figured out how to climb up onto the open windowsill and steal those delicious pies without ever paying for them. The loyal customers who paid lots of money for the pies felt outrage at this, though the thieves who stole the pies justified this by saying, "Hey, they're out in the open and easy to steal. It's almost like they're free for the taking! Anyway, we could never afford to actually pay for such expensive pies. Therefore, what we're doing isn't wrong."
The fans of these delicious pies argued about whether it was right or not to steal them. All the while, the poor baker toiled and toiled away, not making much money and finally having to resort to getting bought out by a dirty yakuza pachinko company.
A few years later, the poor baker went bankrupt, leaving nothing but a few rows of pies left on his windowsill. There was much disappointment all around, until people started hearing rumors that their favorite baker might start making fresh, new pies again under a different name. However, the pies wouldn't just be hand-baked in cast-iron pans; they'd also be distributed in cheaper, paper wrappings that new customers could buy for less money.
For some reason, some fans were very upset by this. "Why, that's a disgrace!" they exclaimed. "If those pies aren't baked in those expensive pie tins, then left on the windowsill out in the open, they aren't real pies! We think the baker should go back to the old format. We refuse to accept anything else."
Other fans of the baker disagreed. They argued, "Even if the baker tries to keep thieves from climbing up the windowsill, those thieves will eventually figure out how to get back up there. Then they'll start stealing new pies again. Isn't that part of the reason why the baker went out of business in the first place?"
It was these fans who were happy to hear that they'd be able to enjoy more of their favorite baker's pies, in any form. In fact, they didn't care that the pies would come out in paper packages, because all they really cared about was the taste of those wonderful pies made by that talented baker. And with the affordable paper wrappings, even more people would be able to buy and enjoy those pies without having to resort to stealing them... which meant that this time, the baker might actually get paid the money he deserved for making those wonderful, wonderful pies.
[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: EX_Andy ]
