Reminder about Software Piracy - Page 2 - Overclock.net

**ENTERPRISE** · 01-29-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by nizfiz

this is to keep the image and survival of the site i imagine? i'm willing to bet more than half of the people here pirate software and files. it's one of those don't ask/don't tell things, we don't talk about it but we know we all do it. am i right in this?

Even if you do such things you just dont talk about it here.

zorpnic · 01-29-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by nizfiz

this is to keep the image and survival of the site i imagine? i'm willing to bet more than half of the people here pirate software and files. it's one of those don't ask/don't tell things, we don't talk about it but we know we all do it. am i right in this?

The first rule of "Fight Club" is, you don't talk about Fight Club.

Same goes with piracy. No matter how we tarnish our computers, or use them legitimately, we still stall out on finding that rare gem that wasn't ours and decide to contemplate the idea of how to acquire. Whether or not you did is not of anyone else's business.... leave it at that.

I wouldn't be open with my sex life to strangers. Why do it with my programming, etc? The things I DO own, and DO use regularly, I DO offer help for. Those programs I PAID for, which others have or have not for their own, I know not. Hardware, yes.... easy to discuss..... where to get the latest WPA patch, you've got me by the gonads on that one.

*VulcanDragon* · 01-30-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENTERPRISE1701

Even if you do such things you just dont talk about it here.

That's the best approach. We're not your mommy, we're not here to teach you right from wrong or to hold your hand while you cross the Information Superhighway. If someone wants to do something that they know is wrong, we're not going to stop you. Just don't involve OCN in any way. No talking about it, no clever hints, certainly no outright links, etc. (Not in PMs either, by the way.)

The rule of thumb I use when deciding whether to issue an Infraction is simple: do I perceive any risk of liability, however small, to this site? If the answer is yes, you're going to get dinged. So my advice is to always err on the side of safety. If you're even wondering to yourself whether a comment might be questionable...keep it to yourself!

*VulcanDragon* · 04-04-07

Guys - I have seen this topic come up several times in the last few days. If you think that no-cd cracks are legal just because you own the retail game, you are seriously misinformed. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 2001 explicitly forbids any bypassing of copy protection schemes...it does not matter whether you own the software or not. Does this contradict common fair-use practices of allowing a single backup? Yes. Does that mean it's okay to do it because? No. Just because laws contradict does not invalidate those laws, at least not until the courts decide otherwise.

To protect this site, discussion of illegal activities is forbidden. OCN is not taking a stance one way or the other on the many debates that could be made; we just want to stay within the confines of the law. So on the subject of NO-CD cracks:

Do not ask where to find them
Do not post links where to find them
Do not recommend their use to another member

In short, do not talk about them in any way, shape, or form. If you see someone violating this rule, please report the post...do not engage in the conversation, not even to say "That's against the ToS".

Apparently not everyone is reading the Software Piracy sticky, or I would not have had to post this. I am going to keep this alive in the "main" section of the forum for a few days to try and get it in front of more eyes. If you're reading this and have not read the Piracy sticky, please do so.

**Krunk_Kracker** · 04-04-07

Stuck it Vulcan, get it up here where it wont be pushed down the list.

iampoor · 05-17-07

one question

If the program/file is yours and you are backing it up (for YOUR use) is that wrong to discuss here? I am just making sure.

*VulcanDragon* · 05-17-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by iampoor

one question

If the program/file is yours and you are backing it up (for YOUR use) is that wrong to discuss here? I am just making sure.

This is where the law seems to contradict itself. According to copyright law, you are allowed to make a backup copy of your software for archival purposes. However, if the program has copy protection on it (e.g. requiring a CD in the drive), then the Digital Millenium Copyright Act makes it is illegal to bypass or break that copy protection. So since your backup copy is probably not usable without some sort of crack to bypass the protection, then your backup is technically useless.

So that's the framework for discussion. Backups, yes. Cracking or otherwise bypassing the protection schemes so that you can actually play your backups, no. Crazy world, eh? This is why I believe so strongly against DRM and other pretection schemes...they're just too anti-consumer. But that's the world we live in, so that's the rules we have to abide by here.

RapidFireGT · 05-17-07

Thank you for clearing some of this up.

Modki · 08-27-07

Ah I found the thread I was looking for.

Remember if you post about how to pirate something it's OCN that takes the heat. And you wouldn't want OCN to suffer now would you? Think before you post!

dskina · 02-16-08

Well deserved bump!

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Reminder about Software Piracy

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