Chevieblazer
Spaceman
i was wondering if i could get wc1 anywhere as freeware?
WC1 as freeware?
- Thread starter Chevieblazer
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Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
No, it's not freeware.
Chevieblazer
Spaceman
wow, there's a lot of younger games that are 
AKAImBatman
Spaceman
The closest that WC1 ever came to freeware was the version included on a special PC Gamer disk. If you've got a friend who's willing to give you his copy of this disk, then you can basically get it for "free" as it were. (Of course, you might be able to just get him to give you his WC1 disks. Good luck on that.) It also exists on "Abandonware" sites, but people around here prefer if you purchase a copy on Half.com or Ebay.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
"Abandonware" has absolutely no special legal status. It's a term jerks made up so they could feel better about themselves for stealing.
Chevieblazer
Spaceman
@ AKAImBatman: that about what i was thinking of. unfortunately, no pc gamer in germany...
don't know about abandonware, never heard the term before, but i could imagine the wc right being a pretty good mess
don't know about abandonware, never heard the term before, but i could imagine the wc right being a pretty good mess
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
If you want to pirate software, pirate software -- it's your choice, there are certainly many less moral things you could do... but at least have some backbone and call a spade a spade instead of inventing an elaborate explanation about why you've been *forced* to steal an entertainment product.
AKAImBatman
Spaceman
Bandit LOAF said:
Oh, come off it LOAF. You know just as well as I do that things aren't quite so cut and dry. Yes, Abandonware is technically illegal in many circumstances, but at the same time hundreds (if not thousands) of games are being lost to time because of an exceedingly long copyright. How much history are we losing just because of this? How much history are the people who are archiving these files saving? Especially since there are many cases where original copyright holder doesn't even have a copy themselves! (Or perhaps doesn't even exist.)
The same thing happened with early Film and Music recordings which were not considered valuable enough to keep around. Only because of shorter copyrights and a few copies of degraded film stashed in attics are we able to recover these pieces of history. If a film was lost under current copyrights, it'd likely that it would be lost forever! e.g. A film from a company that went bust in 1987 wouldn't have an expired copyright until 2062!
As a result, I am not so quick to condemn the idea of Abandonware, just the freeloaders who misuse it. Not to mention that there are perfectly legal uses for abandonware. For example, a damaged or lost floppy disk can be legally replaced thanks to these sites. Alternatively, the copyright holder can be tracked down and asked for archival and/or redistribution permissions. These efforts have led to the now common practice in the industry of making old software, freeware or open source. e.g. Your favorite desktop, GEM, might be nothing more than a footnote in history if it wasn't kept alive by Caldera Open Sourcing the software.
Of primary importance in abandonware is that the archive owners are attempting to save history and not violate laws. To that end, it's always best if they attempt to get permission from the copyright holders before redistribution. Not all do (especially the ones that are actually "warez" sites in disguise), but enough get permission to where it is a perfectly valid and legal concept.
Sadly, grey areas still exist in places where the copyright has been effectively abandoned. Since no copyright holder still exists, no permission can be obtained. Yet the law states that the content is still protected. If you redistribute it, you run the risk of someone with sufficient legal power taking the time to sort out/assign who legally owns the copyright (*someone* inherits the IP even in the case of death), then sues for an "easy" buck. Along with the issue of exceedingly long copyrights, this is one of the primary issues that must be sorted out under current copyright law. The Supreme Court of the US has already stated that the copyright is too long (Life + 75 years), but they've dodged the issue by stating that the Constitution doesn't define how long is too long. Hopefully, this can be sorted out in Congress at some point.
Now, just to wrap this all up and make my point, I'm going to play with fire and link to an abandonware site. All ye beware, for I give you Worlds of Spectrum http://www.worldofspectrum.org/. Will I get banned now?
AKAImBatman
Spaceman
That, I fully agree with.Bandit LOAF said:
Just to be clear on this, I wan't suggesting that WC is quasi-legal abandonware. I was merely pointing out the fact that it exists on such sites, but that the community in general feels strongly toward obtaining legal copies.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
If you have to ask, you probably already know the answer. Goodnight.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Paddybhoy said:
Yup, he proved that making good points and acting like an asshole aren't mutually exclusive.
Seriously, though, "it should be different" isn't the same thing as "it *is* different". I would love to be able to let people download Wing Commander - that and a bucket of chicken will get me a side of biscuits. As I said before he even posted, there are certainly less moral things you can do than steal software -- just do it somewhere else and don't insult us all b by making up elaborate stories wholly exempt from the actuality of the law.
Nine Cycle
Spaceman
Bandit LOAF said:
Come on... you've proven that more times than we can count...
Sorry, just calling a Spade a Spade...
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