As soon as software became available for a price, it's been copied and distributed for free. The debate rages on about this facet of the computer world, but there's no denying it exists.
There exists the phenomenon of the Piracy Culture, where badly spelled messages offer the newest and best software for free or for trade. People brag about what they have and what they want, and young-sounding scofflaws promise the world. Examples of these files are below.
Note that there are a lot of similar files in the Apple II and BBS sections; if you don't see something you'd expect to see below, look there as well.
Applications to Join Piracy Groups
Membership Lists of Couriering Teams
Files About the Art of Cracking
.NFO and Information Files from The Dream Team Pirating Group
.NFO and Information Files from the Fairlight Pirating Group
.NFO and Information Files from The Humble Guys Pirating Group
.NFO and Information Files from the Hybrid Pirating Group
.NFO and Information Files from the International Network of Crackers
A Very Large Selection of .NFO Files From Many Groups, 1990-Present
.NFO and Information Files from the Prestige Pirating Group
.NFO and Information Files from the Razor 1911 Pirating Group
On-Line Documentation, usually for pirated programs
.NFO and Information Files from the TDU-Jam Pirating Group
IBM-Based Software Unprotection Schemes
The History of Tired of Protection (TOP)
Getting into and out of trouble, and back into it again
A Farewell to the Scene from Black Spyrit of Razor 1991 and ACiD
Newspaper Article on the Grim Reaper and NotSoHumble Babe's Bust (February 3, 1992)
The Unlucky Ones (A List of Piracy BBSes Busted)
The Gospel According to Compuserve! Presented by Richard August (December 3rd, 1987)
What's Going on with the Busts, by Cool Hand to Everyone (February 3, 1992)
You Hack 'Em, We Hump 'Em, or Why YOU should be a Software Courier, by Dixie Flatline
All you want to know about "CYBERGAMES" by Knatter/XAKK (June 8th, 1994)
The Group/Acronym Lister, by Coruption of Slaves of Pain
THE DIRTY DOZEN -- An Uploaded Program Alert List Issue #6: September 5th, 1986 by Eric Newhouse
Information on the Checkout System for Pirated Programs
The Eel Quits Pirating and Says Goodbye
Is it Worth The Trouble? (The Eel's Farewell Address) (Piracy)
Are the "Elite" Real Pirates? By Zardoz
Beowulf Says a Few Words on the CD Ripping Scene
Razor 1911 Writes About the Lack of Quality in others' Releases (October 2, 1992)
Tyranny Releases a File and Complains About the (u)ncopyright Notice being stolen (1996)
The Renegade Chemist Resigns from Razor 1911 and Says Goodbye to Everyone (1992)
The Punisher Quits from Razor 1911 (1998)
Cool hand Complans About the Scene and What People Are Doing Wrong in the Scene (1991)
Cool Hand Discusses the Legalities of Pirating Software
An Open Letter to Hobbyists, by William Henry Gates III (February 3, 1976)
Review of Other Pirate Groups by Bizzare Types of Wares
HEAT: Hacker Acronyms by Rad Man of HEaT V.2.10
Application for Membership to Hired International Terrorists, Inc. (1994)
Site Application for Hired International Terrorists, Inc. (1994)
Note from The Humble Guys To All Their Fans
The Retirement of the Slavelord of OFG (1992)
How Pirate BBSs Impact on the Entire Atari Community
Zodact Explains Why The Ghost and The Surge have Left Razor
'Lamer Pirate Magazines, Etc... by the Grim Reaper
Toast's Introduction to his .NFO File Archive, April 1, 1998
Toast introduces you to his .nfo collection. Now, in the interim time, I've done a LOT of describing, editing, and restructuring of the thousands of files he had, but without his incredible work, I'd have nothing to show for this section. Thank you!
The Final Fantacy BBS Legal Information
Bob MacKenzie talks about legal archiving of your own software
The Pirate's Manifesto Version VII (July 7, 1994)
Pirate's Manifesto VIII, Released 20 July 1994
MEMBERSHIP LIST: The Menace Couriers
Announcement of Being Busted by Static (January 31, 1992)
NARCs of the Week: Mister Muff and Dark prophet of CIA (June 26, 1995)
Thou Shall Not Dupe: A Flier Presented by ADAPSO, Typed in by Eight Ball
ManHunter's Notes for Contacting Him About His Trainers
How to Crack OS/@ Warp Test CD-ROM With Its Own Files by The Positive Force
Newsletter for the Group OVERKILL
Information File for the Group OVERKILL
The Cops Are Busting Swedish Pirate Boards (1992)
Software Piracy Rampant, Survey Shows (Computer World June 1990)
Software Piracy: An Alternative View, by Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (March 5, 199)
What is Piracy? By Ron J. Goodman
The Software Piracy Bluff, by John C. Dvorak (May 12, 1992)
A List of Ripped-Off "Freeware" (1985)
Point/Counterpoint for Copy Protection
Psychology of the Software Pirate, by The Beast
Tired of Protection (TOP)'s Crack for Quest Master
Some Rags on the Pirate Apple Pirate Scene, by The Triton and Touch Tone
The Rag Part II, by The Unknown Elite from The Bunnymen (1987)
The Real Cracker's Guide, by One Eye of the 1200 Club (1985)
NotSoHumble Babe got busted, and she says goodbye.
The Real Pirate's Guide II by Ctrl-Reset
Tag File with the Staff of Renaissance (August 20, 1993)
The Official Truth About Renaissance by Charles S
The Reign of Terror Site Summary (April 3rd, 1993)
Tag File for the Anti Lamers Foundation
The Razor 1911 Tenth Anniversary CD-ROM: The Best of the Best! (1995)
The Shadow Master Calls It Quits (1995) (With Goodbye List)
A Letter to Snelle Regarding Mr. Muff and The Dark Prophet, from Valgamon (June 21, 1995)
The Mad Doctor Bitches about a Particularly Tough Crack
The Dream Team Goes Down in Flames, by Pepsi Man
RAZOR 1911 Explains why TDT are Lame
The History of the PC Piracy Scene, by Ipggi (April, 1999)
NFO: TLC: The True to Life Couriers
Tag File for Toast's Compilation of .NFO Files (January 23, 1998)
SPAvin Bastardz, From The Ruthless Organization by Gangsta (November 23, 1995)
A Brief Explanation of What's Been Happening with INC (Piracy Group)
The Truth about Triton by The Martyr (1987)
NFO: The Untouchables Membership List
The Full Stories of the USA Busts of the Grim Reaper and the Not So Humble Babe
Voting Sheet for the Best Pirating Groups, 1996
The April '95 Ware Report, by The Renegade Chemist
The July '95 Ware Report, by The Renegade Chemist
The Lamahs-Guide to Pirating Software on the Internet 1994
The Lamah's Guide to Pirating Software on the Internet (December 25, 1994)
AP Newswrite Story on the Bust of David LaMacchia on Piracy Charges
FAQ: The Usenet Warez FAQ Version 2.1.1 (November 22, 1997)
WAREZ Wars: For the Inner Circle, Cracking Software is a Challenge, by David McCandless
Creating a Codewheel for a Computer Game out of Paper Plates
Important Credit: A majority portion of these files came from a site called the Defacto2 Scene Archive, and were acquired and saved by the folks of that group. They've done a wonderful job on the site, and it is highly reccommended that you check it out.