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Software Piracy

Started by Vetinari 16 replies 1.4k views
Original Post
Vetinari
Vetinari
First let me appologize to Myopic Rhino and Khawk for discussing warez when I knew they didn''t want it; I unacceptably let my emotions get in the way. If this is inside the realm of unacceptability, please delete it. Some people recently boasted about downloading warez in a differant topic. What they may not realize it that software piracy is a felony in the United States. It carries a sentance of a $250,000 fine or 5 years in jail. Right or wrong, this is fact. I would advise against boasting about using warez, especially if you''re going to post your full name and website. Here''s a story to illustrate my point: I used to frequent the rec.auto.sim newsgroup. A discussion of warez came up and one person admitted dling warez at one point in time. The thing is: Someone reported this person to their ISP! The interesting spin is the guy somehow got confused and reported the wrong person. It ended after a 50+ message flame war; the guy appologized, informed the ISP and reported the correct person. The moral is clear though, don''t admit to illegal activity in a public forum! It can have unintended consequences. Mike
"Unintentional death of one civilian by the US is a tragedy; intentional slaughter of a million by Saddam - a statistic." - Unknown
Mithrandir
Mithrandir
I''d love to have an intelligent discussion on warez with other game programmers...

however that is impossible.

#1) it is against the gamedev operators wishes, which we must respect at all times, since they own, operate, and are liable for this site and everything on it, including the message boards.

#2) Any debatable topic on these forums quickly degenerates into a flame war where no one learns anything and everyone gets pissed off.

#3) Everyone always claims they are right and will argue to the death that they are right, ignoring all proof otherwise, leading to the aforementioned flamewars.

I would like to advise flame war participants to grow up. Unfortunately, i know it will not happen, and topics like this are doomed to be closed instantly.

So, please, no more discussion on stupid or controversial topics.

===============================================
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To my tiny throes and struggles,
He sees a fool;
And it is not fine for gods to menace fools.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My signature is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My signature, without me, is useless. Without my signature, I am useless.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper
I can see this is true know. I guess i was a bit
naive when it comes to the affect this topic has on
people. I still think it would have been a good idea
though to explain why the post was closed. If only
to keep it from happening again.
MadKeithV
MadKeithV
Grasshopper - many topics like that have been closed before, and all explanations offered have never stopped people from posting new topics like it. So it''s better to save the moderators the effort, not explain exactly why it got closed, but just educate posters that the moderator''s choice is final and that whining about it will make no difference.

I do that in my forum a lot, and people have stopped complaining (in public) because they know its no use. If they have complaints, they can take that up with me by email, and I''m not an unreasonable guy ( most of the time ehehe ).


People might not remember what you said, or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
~ (V)^|) |<é!t|-| ~
It's only funny 'till someone gets hurt.And then it's just hilarious.Unless it's you.
Vetinari
Vetinari
Mithrandir - Thanks for carefully reading my post. To my credit:

quote:
Original post by Vetinari
If this is inside the realm of unacceptability, please delete it.


I have argued for complete discresion of moderators as much as anyone if not more. If you don''t believe me, read the other post on warez. I was just trying to inform and warn people of the possible consequences of their actions, if this offends you, you have serious issues.

Actually, I think a good idea would be for thread starters to have the option to close their thread. This one would be closed right now, as I realize the mistake I made: believing poeple would read my post before flaming.


Mike
"Unintentional death of one civilian by the US is a tragedy; intentional slaughter of a million by Saddam - a statistic." - Unknown
Vetinari
Vetinari
quote:
Original post by Mithrandir
I''d love to have an intelligent discussion on warez with other game programmers...
however that is impossible.

Thanks for sharing, but this is off topic. I shared no wish to discuss warez in my post.
quote:

#1) it is against the gamedev operators wishes, which we must respect at all times, since they own, operate, and are liable for this site and everything on it, including the message boards.

See my above post; I never said otherwise, the opposite in fact.

quote:

#2) Any debatable topic on these forums quickly degenerates into a flame war where no one learns anything and everyone gets pissed off.

What, exactly was debatable in my post? Ironically, you''re the one flaming.

quote:

I would like to advise flame war participants to grow up.

Hypocrite.
quote:

Unfortunately, i know it will not happen, and topics like this are doomed to be closed instantly.

Only becuase of people like you that flame without any regard to what was said, and people like me that allow people like you to piss them off.

quote:

So, please, no more discussion on stupid or controversial topics.

So, please, no more ignorant hypocritical flames.


Mike
"Unintentional death of one civilian by the US is a tragedy; intentional slaughter of a million by Saddam - a statistic." - Unknown
Gregor_Samsa
Gregor_Samsa
I''d like to call for a truce here.

Vetinari, I was reading this post and it seems like Mithrandir was not responding to you, but rather to the previous posts on the topic of warez. I don''t think he meant any insult to you. In fact, it seemed like he was supporting what you had said.

This is the problem with forum discussions. Small misunderstandings can quickly develop into flame wars. This has not developed into that yet, but it could.

Come on Vetinari and Mithrandir, skake hands and make up. You know you don''t really hate eachother.

On the other hand, I''m sounding a bit too peaceful right now and it''s disturbing me, so let the flaming commence!

"When i was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out ofthe corner of my mind. I turned to look, but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now. The child hasgrown, the dream has gone." -Pink Floyd
dwarfsoft
dwarfsoft
*dwarfsoft chuckles to himself about GS''s failure at subtlety*
Hmmm... Although I agree with you GS, I think you could have suggested it a little better
*dwarfsoft dons the flameproof jacket and passes one over in GS''s direction*
Myopic Rhino
Myopic Rhino
Mike: I didn''t think Mith''s comments were directed at you either.

There''s no need to apologize. You''ve been one of the more vocal people in respecting the decisions of moderators.

Vetinari
Vetinari
Mithrandir - If that wasn''t directed at me, of course I appoligize. Next time though, make it more clear who you''re talking to.

I probably went overboard on the pro-warez guy last night; that''s what I appoligized for earlier. I wouldn''t have started a new topic, but Khawk closed the other to fast, and I thought this was important.

Some people don''t realize just how serious a felony is. A felony conviction can destroy you''re life even if you manage not to go to jail. So, I may have been a bit misleading; it''s only a felony if you distribute software illegally. But downloading illegaly is still a misdemeanor, and still serious enough that I strongly caution boasting about breaking the law in any public place public.


Mike
"Unintentional death of one civilian by the US is a tragedy; intentional slaughter of a million by Saddam - a statistic." - Unknown
J2xC
J2xC
Vetinare: Hmm, I''ve got to agree with the previous posts that mith wasn''t flaming you...

I do believe that so long as there''s responsible mod''s chosen by website owner, that closing down any thread without justification is ok if theres even the vaguest hint of it causing trouble for the owners of any given site.

In my oppinnion practically all the closed threads have had acceptable reasons, and starting a thread complaining because your complaint thread was closed down, is just stupid... no offense meant to anyone...

J2xC (J. Connolly)

"w0ot" - Firahs
1 4|\/| 7#3 |_||71|\/|473 1337 #4><02! 533 45 1 |)0|\|''7 |\|33|) 70 |_|53 4|\|J 574|\||)42|) |377325! \/\/007!

J2xC (J. Connolly) Ah! By popular demand, I shall no longer resist...
Gregor_Samsa
Gregor_Samsa
Quote: "Although I agree with you GS, I think you could have suggested it a little better"

-Your right, but then I never was one for rhetoric. I think we should all try to remain peaceful in these forums. Before you (I''m not directing this comment at one person in particular, except possibly myself ) post a reply to somebody realize that that person probably had a reason for what they had said and that ignorance is an innocent mistake. Come on people, let''s all love eachother!

"When i was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out ofthe corner of my mind. I turned to look, but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now. The child hasgrown, the dream has gone." -Pink Floyd
Gregor_Samsa
Gregor_Samsa
P.S. - I am not commenting on this discussion in particular (in fact this one is not too bad yet) nor any one person in particular. I was just mentioning some things that I have noticed in discussions that may help make this board better.

P.P.S.- Khantz and Myopic Rhino, you have proven to be much more rational and fair then I had originally thought and I apologize for making remarks in haste. You guys do a good job.

"When i was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out ofthe corner of my mind. I turned to look, but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now. The child hasgrown, the dream has gone." -Pink Floyd
Paul Cunningham
Paul Cunningham
quote:
Original post by Gregor_Samsa
Come on people, let''s all love eachother!

Important note: this is humour!
*shudder* Hating people is one thing but loving them is a completely different issue. Sorry i just can''t grasp this concept..love?? Huh? Oh now i remember, love as in "i''d love to kick your ass in quake" or "come over to my place, i''d love to show you how to play tekken 3". I get it now, loooooove.



One more time for the dumbies
ar+gu+ment n. A discussion in which reasons are put forward in support of and against a proposition, proposal, or case; debate.
Gregor_Samsa
Gregor_Samsa
Sorry, Khawk.

"When i was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out ofthe corner of my mind. I turned to look, but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now. The child hasgrown, the dream has gone." -Pink Floyd

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