just my 2 cents, but it might be better to not concentrate too much on the "GoG adds evil DRM" part.
As seen in this thread (and in hundreds of internet discussions before), we will just get lost in pointless arguments about the semantic subtleties of the term "DRM". Better stick to the actual technical facts and maybe we can avoid an emotionally and ideologically charged "war of words". ;)
ssokolow has posted a nice list earlier iirc, which I think provided a good basis (uh, though I can't find it right now)
let's see:
- browsers who automatically treat the bin files as RAR archives(via content-sniffing), can be avoided with the right HTTP headers( see
and [url=https://www.gog.com/forum/general/on_gnulinux_has_anyone_be_able_to_extract_the_rar_innosetup_installers/post219]here)
- choosing a unique filename ending instead of .bin would avoid the automatic association with VLC (and the attempted playback as a video file)
- preventing the spreading of modified gog installers is a nonsense argument: a) people who download illegal versions don't care about the digital signature b) malware authors are clever enough to circumvent the password protection c) illegal users don't deserve more consideration than legitimate buyers
- many games can be played without the need for a Windows environment(dosbox, ScummVM, etc), which makes the possibility to extract the installer instead of running it under windows a very desirable feature.
- while running under wine is not supported, there seem to be quite a lot of linux users here (see the wishlist item for more linux support). Hindering those users on purpose without a real technical justification goes against the mutual respect between GoG and its users, which (in my mind) is also one of the core principles of GoG. Listening to the wishes of the userbase has worked in the past, let's not abandon it.
- we are totally fine with the fact that we only get support when running the game in the environment listed on the game page
- adding restrictions on how the users has to use the game goes against the spirit of what GoG stands for. Even if the intended purpose of minimizing potential user problems seems legit.
- since currently the new installers don't work under wine, this makes getting a pirated (older) version more attractive
forgot anything?