Maybe you wouldn't "cop so much flak" if you didn't subtly poke fun at those who disagree with you or seemingly lump them all under one umbrella?

(i.e. instead of thinking "oh those people are just haters/etc", maybe consider if maybe some of us have valid points/criticisms that you might be blowing off/dismissing too readily?)

Nothing says goodbye like a bullet. -- Philip Marlowe

Gawd, I am bothering to respond to you again .... don't I ever learn.

If only what you said was true.

I do fully respect the opinions of others, but it is all about how they voice it and how diligently they have read what I have already posted.

Respect is a two-way street.

I posted they replied. If they did not show respect in their reply, well naturally my respect is gone too.

And honestly, despite that, I do bother to reply, even to you, at times. It may not be what you want to here, and it may be some form of attack, but hey I could just ignore, like I do so many already.

How valid is a point, that was already dealt with, but ignored by the reader ... either deliberately or not.

I have next to no patience with people, who refuse to read properly, but then think it is okay to have their say anyway.

In any case, any half decent point brought up, I always address ... even if to just shoot it down in flames.

Such is life, and I am under no illusions why some post here what they do.

Now while I really did not intend to touch on the GOG Downloader specifically in this thread, it occurs to me that some things need saying.

I know many of you don't care about the GOG Downloader, and I have no beef with that, your choice.
Many of you do however, care about DRM-Free, even though I fully admit the vast majority who come here and make purchases from GOG, don't.

You should ponder, if you do care about DRM-Free, that perhaps removal of the GOG Downloader, is just a test and therefor a stage in where GOG will be heading, which will I suspect end ultimately in DRM.

You can laugh about my suspicions all you want, you are quite free to do so and who knows you may even be right to do so. But I think not.

This could well be the beginning of the end.

Yes, I know GOG makes posts every now and then about how firmly they support DRM-Free and even have their website called F##K DRM or whatever it is called.

I'm not easily dismissing those things, but I also look at things through the prism of history, and history as we know, is always repeating itself, and many have gone right to the wire claiming something, only to seemingly reverse in an instant, when things magically go belly-up out of seeming nowhere.

Anyone who has been around for more than a moment, knows things happen in stages, and that change is often inevitable, especially when things aren't working real good or goals are failing to be met.

So sometimes, even the inconceivable happens.

Many will do whatever it takes to stay alive. Even if they do so with the right altruistic motivations in the beginning, events often lead to an obvious conclusion.

GOG for instance, could soon explain, that they are allowing a few DRM games into the store, because doing so would bolster financial support for the continuance of DRM-Free ... and it no doubt would, and in theory at least, that could be a good thing.

Of course, there would be a big uproar from some quarters, but no doubt as ineffectual as the uproar over the GOG Downloader, so in time would die down mostly ... especially if GOG let things lie for a bit, before introducing more DRM games.

However, once the cat is out of the bag, very hard to put back again. So more DRM games will come, and at some point a rationalization will be made, that DRM-Free cannot support itself, and they will dwindle away ... though never entirely.

This I am guessing, is the future ... only a guess though.

Ultimately we will see who is wrong or right ... though I will take no joy if I am right.

Despite what some of you often overlook, I love GOG ... the old GOG anyway ... the jury is still out about the new one.

These were some mostly well written replies so I figured i'd try to respond in kind to them:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is this re: the criticisms part? If so, then imo some of us(me in this case) have voiced some valid criticisms....if you can't see them(due to us both being a bit on edge over this back-forth) or don't want to see them that is fine, though.

If it is on the other part of what I wrote, I will address it in the next few bits.

On how stuff is voiced: What if that is just how a person talks and a person means no ill will but you assume they did & reply as such?

That is why imo it is best to ask what people mean before/instead of assuming ill will/intent & replying as such.

On how diligently people read what you have posted: What if they did....and you just assume they didn't?

Agreed on this

But what is "showing respect"? Agreeing with you and/or not criticizing(albeit civilly) your points?

Going against both of those(disagreeing with someone or criticizing/refuting their points), imo, are valid & not deserving of not showing respect to others. To me, only someone outright insulting or trying to be rude to someone else is worthy of such replies.

Fair enough

Objectively or subjectively(on a point being valid)? Honestly asking, as my answer differs a bit between the two.

But it seems you default to that stance with a good number who voice criticisms/go against your stances(at least on the GOG DLer topic).....you said several times that they didn't read/etc and seemed to lump them all in one pile and dismiss them.

Also I will say this: Your stance that people should be able to have their say is one I 100% agree with.

Well at least you bother to reply....although I wish you'd maybe address/consider the validity of points others make a bit more instead of just saying someone didn't read/etc and moving on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't think it will happen or that it is the start of the end....BUT if such happens or was sure to happen soon i'd be up in arms 100% over it. For now, though, I will just wait and see what happens.

The thing is that it's the same GOG.....it's just the sad eventual "evolution"(or de-evolution) of most companies.

Sometimes I wish it wasn't, though.

Just as an example, while on my phone. Went to a gamepage directly from a link. It shows a video (and some pictures in that rollbar). Nothing works. The video fills the entire screen, and it's impossible to either scroll past it downwards or change to a picture, and maybe then be able to scroll past the idiocy.

Totally fucking nuts. I bet they are losing sales due it as well. Yet this retarded design and often non-functioning front page and gamepages are still here -- years later.

(Now feel free to vote this post into oblivion as well)

backup your games
so that if gog dies
you'll still have
your games
gams

Certainly not before a long while. Gog's position in the market is still dependant on the "look how different we are freedom freedom" narrative, it's their only argument to compensate for steam's effectiveness. It would require them to be a serious competitor to steam before ditching this marketing symbol. Or to start betting on epic-like exclusives, but they don't go this route.

However, I completely agree about the fact that, when it will happen, it will be largely embraced by the customers. First because, as you say, it will be staggered (advance notifications, half-measures, etc) so that thediffrent subset of users with different threshold of idignations will split into tiny waves out easily shrugged off outrage. Secondly because by then the cultural habits will have been sufficiently shaped by the obligatory client for customers not to see any practical issue with DRM (anyway they need the client, anyway the connexion is required for achievements, anyway it doesn't change anything in practice, etc). Plus the usual denial and clanic defense line, minimizing the issue and justifying it with the usual "there is no alternative", "it's a capitalist world", "i hate to do that but it's the laaaaaw of the west". GOG wouldn't take such decision before feeling that their core customers are ready for it, and that the annoyed ones can be ditched with less loss than benefit.

So the only certain thing is how the mass of gogers would react. The next in turn to feel annoyed by a further drift towards steam will also be a minority, deemed out-of-touch by the fanboys. Hilariously, many of them will face then the very same hypocrisies and inepties that they're currently spouting against the currently annoyed customers. It's the cycle of life on GOG.

I would like to say that I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

I have seen these moves before.

I have mentioned it before but it is relevant to this discussion. Egosoft, who previously released patches and additional content themselves, quietly announced a new free DLC but it was only available through Steam.

Many rebelled and were faced with huge criticism, largely the same as the criticism leveled here by people who claim that the removal of the gogdownloader is a non-issue.

Once they had the numbers, they went steam exclusive only on all their products and abandoned a chunk of their fanbase claiming it was the only economical approach. Perhaps this was true but they have since abandoned this steam only stance. I will never purchase another Egosoft product again.

I do believe firmly that dropping support for the gogdownloader is a similar approach and will be followed up with moves that may upset more people than dropping the gogdownloader will.

My collection of gog games was backed up in full some time ago (the last time gog outraged its customers, you may remember this).

I would advise all gog customers to be extremely wary of their direction.

The fact consumers give in to DRM when they want a game that has it does not change the fact GOG's sole difference from Steam is DRM free. They have nothing else, and it would be insane for them to drop it.

As I've said elsewhere, GOG have been providing DRM free installers for 12+ years now and the whole time people like yourselves have been chomping at the bit to declare GOG a betrayer that supports DRM. It's a broken record, and endlessly irritating. An optional client that downloads DRM free installers on top of being able to download them from a browser is NOT the coming of the end times, no matter how much your paranoid fantasies want to make it seem like it is.

Imo a few(in general) are so pissed at GOG for whatever reason that they likely want such things to happen so they can feel vindicated/rub it in people's faces, or they want it to happen to be proven right so they don't continue to look more and more like loons.