Got quite a few D&D games on there, so not so bad

If copyright term limits were even remotely sane, it wouldn't be an issue. As it is, illegal distribution like abandonware sites may save an orphaned work from being lost to obscurity when the last of the original retail copies degrade or are destroyed.

And old game media (floppies especially) have a significantly shorter shelf-life than books, art, or even old film stock. It's a very real problem, and I'm sure abandonware has already saved some games from being lost forever.

I second that. I think it's a great site. I'd also like to point out that when games are released here they are taken down their site. To mirror someone's point, this also where i learnt about Gog.

Such is life. But you can make a decent guess as far as the near future is concerned.
Some abandonware sites are too quick to declare games as abandonware and not quick enough to take them down in my opinion. It's your responsibility to do the research before doing something without authorization.
If GOG announces it signed the rights holder of some of the stuff you're distributing, I don't think you should wait until GOG actually releases the most expected titles for instance.

Those who want to go legal will. I have bought from GOG games I had previously downloaded without authorization. I got Freespace 2 from HOTU years ago for instance but I also bought it here.
It's not likely to happen in practice but in principle you might be asked one day how hundreds of copies of old commercial games you never bought came into your possession. You wouldn't be able to claim they have no commercial value if many of them are sold on GOG or elsewhere.

Some things are not grey however: it's not legal. You can get in trouble even if you can argue it's not a crime and you're in any case not allowed to make money off it.

I like that site. They only distribute games that aren't being sold any more (in a way that profits the owner, whoever that may be) so while they may be technically violating copyright laws, I don't have an issue with it if the copyright holder doesn't.

That said, I do prefer RGB Classic Games. They're like Abandonia except they'll only host abandonware after explicitly asking and getting the ok from the copyright holder, so legally it's all good.

but it does not stop people from already having it and already had played it.

what's the point of buying it if i already played it and beat it.

if people were not dicks an argument that if game is not legitimately sold anywhere it is okay to pirate it, would be a correct one.

Yet people are dicks. They will not buy a game from steam or gog after they played it and beat a abandonia version.

that's a huge problem I have with abandonia.

That's a problem you have with the world we live in, not Abandonia. People who want to get games without paying can do so elsewhere.

People who are willing to pay will pay even if they've already played the game. You ask what's the point but why do you buy any games from GOG? You could have downloaded them without paying.

*siiiigh*

I have a major problem with the declaration of "My problem with X is that people are dicks and will abuse/fuck up/whatever it."

Your problem should not be with Abandonia, or any other similar sites, but with the people who abuse them.

Otherwise you had better also have a problem with:
Cars
Computers
Internet
Chainsaws
Eggs
Toilet Paper
Need I go on? :p

You didn't read far enough. The last punishment listed has no quantum. You can get up to a year in jail for infringing a copyright regardless of value.

Private financial gain includes taking something you did not pay for.

Operating an abandonware site that carries advertising and solicits donations is likewise either for commercial purposes or private gain, since it is clearly not a public charity.

The only reason abandonware is not prosecuted is the cost of prosecuting exceeds the value of the possible convictions. Not because there is any doubt as to its criminality.

If a game is hard to find or out of print, I don't feel that I'm entitled to download it illegally and play it. I'd rather wait for a legal way to obtain it. I could have downloaded the Neverhood since it's so ridiculously hard to find. However I didn't and now it is being re-released for mobile phones. That and making money by offering content that doesn't belong to you free to download isn't something I'd like to support.

They're basically warez sites that rights holders typically don't give a shit about. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. In this age of shitty DRM, warez sites have their uses; and so do abandonware sites. Effectively both give us access to games we'd otherwise be unable to play.

The site, and the pirate bay for that matter, are actually very valuable tools. Having the 'forgotten' or long out of print games available in an archive is something that should have been done a long time ago.

It is ridiculous the lengths I would have go to just to find a reasonable priced copy of Shock or Shock 2 as an example. In the case of those it is solved by accessing said archive and getting it until the rights are sorted.

If more companies worked on preserving their titles instead of treating games as throw-away pieces of entertainment and made them more readily available then those sites wouldn't exist in the first place... Notice how since GOG popped up how many people are willing to part with their money for the old titles instead of getting it for free because the option is actually there.

Moving the goalposts much?
The punishment you're talking about is if you did it "for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain". No one is claiming it's not a crime to make money off abandonware.

Preposterous! Do you state free software you've downloaded as income when you file your taxes?
You're talking about a law about distribution anyway. It obviously doesn't apply to downloading.

Non-profits use advertising and request donations. Non-profits can even sell products. Many official and tax-exempt non-profits distribute copyrighted works without authorization. I happen to have worked for more than one.
Your prejudices about what constitutes charity are irrelevant.

It's the job of law enforcement to prosecute crimes, regardless of what you call the "value" of convictions. Otherwise people wouldn't get convicted for possession of illegal drugs for instance.

You have a greater chance of getting malware while surfing the web without ad\script blockers or from email than getting them from abandonware sites.

The idea of malware\abandonware sites having more malware than any other site is just put out there to scare people from downloading or from ignorance.