The harm that software pirates do

[Nitram Draw]

I think I get what you are saying Possum.
We are all against it and we all have preconcieved notions about software pirates. We generally suspect the worst when we see a request like Ubik's. It is good to be cautious but we should not jump the gun.
I believe him. I think he just went about asking for help in the wrong way. He should have gone directly to MM/Shrapnel and probably would have gotten what he wanted if he had purchased the game once.

[geoschmo]

Possum,

I have no quarrel with you or anything you have said here. I did see that you started this thread. I thought from the title this would be the appropriate place for these comments.

I am not sure where you got from my post that I was accusing Ubik of pirating. On the contrary, my point was that pirating isn't the problem. The problem is the overall attitude people have about electronic media in general.

Your faith in Ubik is admirable, although how you have reached such a firm conclusion simply on the basis of his comments in these forums is beyond me.

However, I will say again, whether or not he legitmatly purchased a copy of SEIV is irrelevant. It does not give him the right to request a copy of the exe file. I am glad to read that he feels now it was inappropriate, although I have not seen him say that. Perhaps I just missed it?

I am not the judge of Ubik, or anyone else for that matter. I did not intend to make a statement of his morals. I am simply addressing this specific action. And I stand by what I have already said about that.

Geo

[Ubik]

To Geoshmo:
you a lawyer right? ;-)
Using your analogy, I only have to say the following... I bought the keys to your house.
You sold them to me. Unfotunately, it is lunch time and I dont have the keys with me but I really want to enter your house to take a look at your beautiful Goldenfish. I ask some other guy who bought the key to your house to borrow it to me IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE. Some guy give it to me (THX!).

I dont know where I am wrong but legalese is not one of my spoken Languages. The problem so well explained by Possum is the climate of mistrust piracy has spread. But if you look at things the other way, what do you see?
- A guy using the message board FROM THE GAME DISTRIBUTOR is asking for the exe.
- The guy readily identifies himself AGAIN in the message board of the game distributor.
- The guy gives an uncommon address in Portugal easily tracked.
- The game distributor never posted a message warning people the name and address the guy posted is not on their database.

It seems on the side of evidence, you just have a handfull of nothing.

But I will drop a gauntlet here. I ask now that Shrapnel Games publish here a message telling the people the name and address I posted is fake (of course, there is always the next can of worms... if the name and address checks in the database, I can be other person impersonating this guy... human mistrust never ends...). I also ask that Shrapnel Games ban me from this message board as it cannot pact with a software pirate.
Until Shrapnel Games don't post the message, I am innocent of software piracy.

I think your bills have a saying as "In God We Trust". Sorry, maybe its my fault, but until proved wrong I also trust people. Maybe its cultural. Here in Portugal we are not so distrustful of each other...

I am sorry, but with so meager evidence (asking for an exe), you cannot accuse me of anything.

To Possum:

Well, we grow up learning a second language (and very few of us speak even below average spanish, as we always choose English...lets say we make ourselves understood in spanish). I am used to read and talk in English quite more than the average Portuguese. Its dificult at first because we are permanently translating the language from our native language (Portuguese in my case) to the other language. The secret is to think in the other language. You must read a lot and practice a lot. I need to know very well English because of my Master degree and my work.

I really dont know much of Spanish but I think if you post a message in Spanish, I will gladly answer it in Portuguese!

Abour SE IV... I saw this game for the first time in December, looking at Gamesdomain where the game was rated GOLD. I have never heard of it before and I am sad such a good piece of software doesnt make it in the mainstream industry...You should read the interview given by the Lead Designer of MOO3 about this same problem (www.moo3.com)... we are being led by the nose by some guys who never played a game in their life, who dont know what game design is, who dont understand criativity as there is none inside their void economicised heads. The games so many of us play are just clones of each other, the next one having more eye candy and better sounds than the Last one. I admire Aaron to have the courage to invest his time in a project like this. Because it is a very risky proposition today making a game with content. And I must congratulate the guys at Shrapnel Games to support such a nice game.
Now, if you want to see other games with content, find a game developed by a Nordic company (dont know the country)called "Europa Universalis". If you enjoy strategy games in Medieval Europe you wont be disapointed! :-)

Fica bem! (stay well in Portuguese)

Carlos Gustavo Rodrigues

P.S. - Cant recall if its "Europa Universallis" or "Europa Unniversalis" or "Europa Universalis". Search for the three options!

[Triumvir Emphy]

I am sure shrapnel has more to do than look through forums.

And even if they did, you are in a foreign country and untouchable/not worth the trouble for the small amount in question.

Distrust is good sometimes, if not, i have some swap land to sell ya.

but we may stop conversation, the horse is dead, we are making glue.

[Darwin]

No one is saying your a pirate Ubik.

Mearly that we believe it isn't right. Not only that its careless. It shows those that don't know how to steal the game how to.

And yeah the Statement in America is "In God we Trust" Maybe we should have said it better. "We trust ONLY god. No one else"

[Tenryu]

Since everyone else has something to say on this, I had to make a comment.

" Comment "

There now I feel better.

[nmoppa]

SE IV is, as far as I know, the ONLY game that is not distributed through shops ( perhaps besides Stars!). Anyway, that's how Aaron decides to do it, and Shrapnel agreed to help him. There is NO WAY that somebody can use the BB to ask for the main source of the program to be distributed by email or anything else THROUGH participants on the BB. IF you miss anything, want to reinstall it, or whatever, send a request to Shrapnel or MM. They KNOW you bought it, or not.

So don't complain that we gamers don't trust any requests for sending .exe files or whatever files to somebody who sends such requests to the BB. In spite of all good arguments, WE SHOULD STICK TO THIS POLICY!
There are too many software pirates to believe the exceptions to the rule .

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PERHAPS THIS IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE <Worf facing another critical fight>

[This message has been edited by nmoppa (edited 24 February 2001).]