RE: The line of piracy in gaming
A friend of mine was talking about "cultural poverty." This is where children are not able to be a part of the culture due to the inability of the parents to afford the normal everyday parts of being a child in the current society.
Her point was that when the original Star Trek series (for example) was being broadcast, they weren't expecting it to still be making money 50 years on! As such, downloading older movies/TV shows/games, etc isn't really stealing from the original authors so much because there was never an expectation that there would be any money flowing from it now.
Obviously a new movie in the past few years is a totally different thing entirely - and the authors have every right to be expecting to still be getting proceeds from it. Equally obvious (I hope) is when software is no longer supported, updated or available commercially from the authors - if it's impossible to pay them, you should be able to download and use the software without worrying about someone coming after you for infringement.
Unfortunately, since this is a moral gray area for many people, it's hard to see where the "fine line" should be. What constitutes "educational" use of something? When is the cultural value so great that it should supersede the copyright?
Mickey Mouse, from what I understand, is about to lose his copyright protection - unless the courts extend it again.
Personally, I don't see why you should have to pay for games that someone else has downloaded and is now providing - things which they did not create. Saying that, those sites also have bills to pay - and they are providing a service...
Anyway, those are my thoughts - sorry I was late to the discussion table.
D'oh! I missed the part where you are providing such games.
I do think you have a right to be able to make some sort of profit providing retro games for people. Just don't be greedy about it and think about people like myself who could not afford to pay much for even good games.
I was recently looking for a free online source of Colonization - though FreeCol works fairly well, so I'm okay there, to be honest - though I wish it had larger maps available and some of the customization options available that Colonization has.
FreeCiv, on the other hand, really sucks from my limited experience. My favorite remains Civ II, Test of Time, so that's the one I'd want to find.
Hope I didn't offend you on the pricing things - I only share from my perspective - a poor person who can't really afford extras like pricey games, no matter how great they are.
Oh no... you certainly dont offend me.. first off.... I am a free speech advocate...Just so you know , my platform is always open for any types of discussion.. So you cannot offend me with your speech. Second I actually agree with you hahaha Games at a certain point should not be considered copyright infringement if downloaded. It actually keeps the culture of gaming alive. I love that you put this. Very well put commend my friend.