Again, what is so "responsible" about giving people easy access to other people's works?

Abandonware sites (which are full of crap, from a legal standpoint, by the very usage of the term "abandonware") might stop letting people download something if a DD service picks it up (unless they have a vendetta against said service) or if there is a re-release. What is teh difference between that and finding copies of a game on eBay or Amazon? The developer not getting revenue? Well, the dev ain't getting revenue from GoG either, it is the publisher or IP-holder who gets the revenue.

No, the only reason they take crap down is because it makes them more likely to get sued (hence why most ESA-protected games are also not on those sites, even if they are unavailable).

You didn't ask that question before, so it's not asked "again", but that's beside the point. Responsible use of abandonware is a term used primarily to distinguish sites like Abandonia and the former (not the current) Home of the Underdogs from obscure Russian scam-sites that offer you half the moon, but end up taking your credit card details.

One of the better definitions of responsible use can be found on the Wikipedia entry for Abandonia.


You seem to have missed something, so I'll highlight it for you:

The consumers on this forums are just that as are most people. There's basically a huge gap in understanding. So yeah GOG isn't really the place for what you are looking for. As with most other forms of media that require archival that are not officially recognized (and even for those that are) it's best to leave it up to the community to solve the issue. (Just not this one or other consumer sites)

I actually like abandonware and fansub sites, they make culture available to folks who otherwise can't afford or otherwise acquire it. Copyright is a granted right, not inalienable, and is granted specifically to cause a greater increase in the public domain, i.e. culture. And culture is important. I'm sure there was some dude 2000 years ago saying, "No one will die if they don't have this hand painted vase of a dude with a super-huge phallus, lol." Well, yeah, guess those turned out to be pretty important.

The above is my opinion only, YMMV.

Yerrup, I kin remember when this thread were about GoG hostin' unmodeefied originals, not piracy. 'Course, that were when I wuz young an' yer still had ter wax yer modem ter make it faster...

Okay, let's take a look at those three criteria:
Unavailable on retail market and no longer distributed by its publishers nor by legitimate retailers in any form:
So they don't even follow their own rules? Amazon and eBay tend to have a lot of these collections, and those are pretty legit sources. Many of them ARE retail shops that are selling their stock online (that is how I got Redguard a few years ago).
Official support for the game must have been dropped both by its publisher and its developer:
Okay, ignoring just how little this is worth (84% of games that are more than a year old fall into this category :p), what defines "support"? Patches? Sales? A desire to hold onto the IP for future use?
Third, (lots of crap that basically says "nobody will sue us")
This is the "covering our asses" clause. I don't think we need to argue about how this makes them responsible or moral or ethical.

Again, what is so "responsible" about this? All it means is that they are REALLY terrified of being sued (a side effect of being popular). By those definitions, very high-class brothels and auctions of illegal goods are also "responsible" because they have VERY strict criteria regarding behavior and clientelle so as to cover their asses.

Okay. How is providing copyrighted material legal? Or are we going to play the "I don't think the law is moral, so I am going to do whatever the hell I want" card again?
And again, how is giving away the hard work of other people responsible?

And I am just going to cut you off before you play the "There is no way to send the developer any money, so it is okay to steal it" card. As was mentioned in this/another thread, if people really care about making sure the creator gets supported, send letters full of money.
Beyond that, do you honestly think that half the developers for the games GoG sells are getting their cash? Hell, do you think half the original publishers are getting the cash? Nope, it is just the guys who own the IP currently who get the moneys. So if the real issue is "Jim's Discount Software shouldn't profit off of Wizardry", then you guys better keep pirating stuff even after GoG inevitably gets a hold of all the Wizardry games and makes me a very happy person.

If you want to argue it is "morally right" to steal the hard work of other people, feel free. I don't see the point in arguing that following "morality" is a really bad way to handle society (you would think someone who likes video games, many of which contain gruesome depictions of torture and murder, wouldn't play the "morality is all that matters" card, but whatever :p). Throughout history, there have been plenty of Robin Hoods who redistribute the wealth. Many of the existing works of art were saved from destruction through rape, pillage, and thievery.
But that doesn't mean that the guys who stole the pretty paintings (a month before the embassy exploded!) were out to save art. Maybe some of them wanted money, and maybe some wanted fame and prestige. And maybe some just wanted to sow anarchy.

And THAT is my point. ALL abandonware sites (again, except for "the good ones" :p) are out to promote piracy. Simple as that. Maybe they also promote other stuff, but at the end of the day, they are pirates.