A very sad and at the same time enraging annoucement to make..

[Roger]

Michael,
Any action we take (SOH rather than Razbam) will be on the strength of whether we want such people as members. Any litigation would be with Ron.

 

[CodyValkyrie]

Michael is sadly right, even if the semantics of it don't necessarily mesh with common sense. Most of the large distribution centers for such things are either in other countries where these laws do not apply, or take on the concept that sharing of such links is not illegal, the actual downloading of them is. Many countries have outdated copyright laws which primarily pertain to pre-internet subjects like hard copies of music, etc. It is a very sad state.

The "new" (although not necessarily) thing in town that all these pirates now simply share the torrent files. Websites like GoDaddy refuse to take action against such posting, claiming exactly as Michael had, which requires a larger cease and desist (noneffective) or actual legal proceedings to abolish... and then, and only then will they remove such material, and usually only of the scope of the specific issue at hand, not a broader brush stroke.

My blood pressure is rising thinking about it. Hence why I don't do this any more.

 

[flaviossa]

Personally I wish he had called them out by name!!!!

+1

If there is enough proof about the alegation, and there is a public topic about the matter, the path is to say everything about the subject. If this must be restricted than there is no room for a topic and should be dealed in the backroom. The rest of us that only knows what is written in here stay without understanding nothing!

 

[Wingnut172N]

I´m also aware i´m not the sole victim of these low life...and one of them, YOU "SIR" SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, YOU´RE A DISGRACE TO THAT UNIFORM YOU ONCE WORE AND TO ALL YOUR COLLEAGUES
You 2 characters, are the kind of rats that this community should fight to banish from our hobby.

Best regards

Prowler

Prowler. I hope to God that you're a vet, or have somehow served our nation, because otherwise you are 110% out of line. If you have served, then disregard the following. Otherwise;

You are making light of a serious commitment that an individual has made to serve their country, possibly in time of war. If you have not served, you do not understand what this means, so don't pretend to. In that case, maybe you should take a step back from the comfort of your computer screen and instead spend your time thanking those who have endured unforgiving deployment cycles, time away from loved ones, difficult training, and the loss of buddies in an unforgiving profession of warriors.

Instead, you choose to be yet another one of the petty, self-entitled scum who believe themselves to be above service to our nation, and then condemn those who protect them. Over a computer game, no less.

Piracy is wrong no doubt, but to disrespect a member of the military who has dedicated a better part of their life to protecting what you enjoy so much is completely out of line. I suggest that next time you take some time and gain some perspective before making a statement like you did above.

Indeed, that phrase is at times deserved, but you have no right to pass that judgement. Career soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines have earned that right. You have not.

Again, if you have served, then disregard my statement, and carry on smartly. Feel free to PM if you have a problem with anything I have said.

**Also, I don't care if the individual turned out to not be a member of the Armed Forces, your comment was still out of line, because at the time you believed him to have served.**

 

[michael davies]

Michael,
Any action we take (SOH rather than Razbam) will be on the strength of whether we want such people as members. Any litigation would be with Ron.

Roger, fully agree, I posted as it looks like a hanging party going on, I've been here many times in the past 13 years and the end result is a bloody mess, for the author, the alleged individuals and worst all, every one else caught up in it, ie the forum. From the checks I did I knew pretty well who was doing it, not just sending links but uploading the host file, and they resided here. Banning them from here, calling them, slagging them off or ostracizing isn't going to solve anything, just make them bitter and probably more likely to go and do more damage and the only way they can do that is to the original payware company, so what ever happens here could have large knock on effects downstream, seen it happen all before .

Kindest

Michael

 

[michael davies]

My blood pressure is rising thinking about it. Hence why I don't do this any more.

Me too LOL, lifes so much more peacefull , after a four month break from FS I actually flew my first non commercial model development test mesh check poly bending flight in 13 years....so this is what FSx is all about then LOL.

Kindest

Michael

 

[ZEUS67]

You really think pirating a 30 dollar piece of software is worthy of shaming someone who has dedicated themself to defending our country? Not saying it isn't bad, but trying to shame them for doing this when they are a veteran, is completely wrong.

$30 is not a lot if you are the one spending them. $30 is a lot if you are trying to make ends meet by selling a product that you have sweated to produce.

The people who use pirate links to download products are not business lost. They were never customers. But, what has disheartened Ron was to find somebody here that is part of that comunity and probably helped in creating those links.

 

[Wingnut172N]

FYI Ron is .... entitled to his opinion.

Good to hear. Thanks.

 

[Roadburner440]

I must say that while I think these people are grossly in the wrong. I am unsure about what outting them in public would do. Other than maybe giving the rest of us an idea of who the rest of us have been dealing with, and that they have not been honest brokers in the community. It is a disgrace to steal someone elses hard work. Let alone to diseminate it publicly for others to take as well. Hopefully the matter gets resolved and the appropriate actions are taken.

 

[michael davies]

The people who use pirate links to download products are not business lost. They were never customers.

And that is a very important point for everyone to take on board, 95% of pirates are not lost revenue, they never bought, and they never will, stopping them is pointless, you will gain nothing to the business. The critical 5% you need to target are the up-loaders, the ones who bought and then uploaded and truth be told its probably a very small number, once the file is in the system it cascades at an exponential rate, not just that site but globally, once it gets to that stage its a lost cause.

Kindest

Michael

 

[deathfromafar]

I'd encourage the powers that be to err on the side of caution with this matter in making certain aspects public. Ron has evidence and by that very fact he has legal remedies available to him and probably in more that one jurisdiction. Publicly outing the offenders and information may risk compromising any chance he has at civil litigation and may inhibit criminal proceedings should the elements be complete enough for the proper authorities to take action.

As for SOH, again prudence should lean towards simply banishing anyone who's been proven to be in connection to such matters and be done with it. Getting involved in the matter by publicly outing the persons & information could have unforeseen consequences or even worse, possibly trigger counter legal consequences.

Banish the offenders now, and if legal action is successfully taken, then it's public record for anyone to see.

 

[Willy]

I've seen Ron's evidence and I'm convinced. The member involved is using an alias that makes him out to have been a member of the US military. But we've had dealings with this guy for quite a few years now and every time we ban him, he comes back with a different alias. He's not from the US and never has been a member of the US military by his own admission to me in a PM long ago when using another now banned alias. To me he's just double scum by virtue of being a software pirate and his posing as a serviceman. Although he likes to think of himself as some kind of Robin Hood.

 

[heywooood]

well this is a mess - don't know what purpose it serves other than raise eyebrows and /or blood pressures

caught in the act is good, means no wiggle room for the inevitable lies that go with theft..

separating the offenders from the rest of the community is good...I don't want to associate with such types.

public shaming? when there is little to no LEGAL recourse, this option can look attractive, but it is risky.

I come here to read developers' posts - get updates and paint files etc...not for intrigue - but we live in the world, and the world gets messy sometimes.

Please keep cool - hyperbole makes no difference...only real consequences for real transgressions do. Everything else is just so much sauce.

 

[michael davies]

I've seen Ron's evidence and I'm convinced. The member involved is using an alias that makes him out to have been a member of the US military. But we've had dealings with this guy for quite a few years now and every time we ban him, he comes back with a different alias. He's not from the US and never has been a member of the US military by his own admission to me in a PM long ago when using another now banned alias. To me he's just double scum by virtue of being a software pirate and his posing as a serviceman. Although he likes to think of himself as some kind of Robin Hood.

Sounds like someone I got involved with a few years back at Alphasim, we didn't have quite enough proof, but just enough to be pretty sure he was up-loading, can't remember his name/handle, not that it matters, fairly confident its the same character, do remember his alleged military profession though, feel free to PM if you need any information I can remember.

Kindest

Michael

 

[Kiwikat]

Sounds like someone I got involved with a few years back at Alphasim, we didn't have quite enough proof, but just enough to be pretty sure he was up-loading, can't remember his name/handle, not that it matters, fairly confident its the same character, do remember his alleged military profession though, feel free to PM if you need any information I can remember.

Oooooh.... HIM... I remember that guy!

I agree, it does sound like him.

 

[Willy]

Thanks to one of the Admins with better investigative skills than I have, we've ascertained that the member involved is not who we thought he was, but he's still guilty of what Prowler has lined out for us.

We're still digging around to get to the bottom of it and be certain of our facts, before we take any action.

 

[michael davies]

Oooooh.... HIM... I remember that guy!

I agree, it does sound like him.

Thought you might LOL, an unforgettable character .

Best

Michael

 

[Scratch]

I hope the hunt is a successful one. Pirates suck.

 

[Sunny9850]

Prowler. I hope to God that you're a vet, or have somehow served our nation, because otherwise you are 110% out of line. If you have served, then disregard the following. Otherwise;

You are making light of a serious commitment that an individual has made to serve their country, possibly in time of war. If you have not served, you do not understand what this means, so don't pretend to. In that case, maybe you should take a step back from the comfort of your computer screen and instead spend your time thanking those who have endured unforgiving deployment cycles, time away from loved ones, difficult training, and the loss of buddies in an unforgiving profession of warriors.

Instead, you choose to be yet another one of the petty, self-entitled scum who believe themselves to be above service to our nation, and then condemn those who protect them. Over a computer game, no less.

Piracy is wrong no doubt, but to disrespect a member of the military who has dedicated a better part of their life to protecting what you enjoy so much is completely out of line. I suggest that next time you take some time and gain some perspective before making a statement like you did above.

Indeed, that phrase is at times deserved, but you have no right to pass that judgement. Career soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines have earned that right. You have not.

Again, if you have served, then disregard my statement, and carry on smartly. Feel free to PM if you have a problem with anything I have said.

**Also, I don't care if the individual turned out to not be a member of the Armed Forces, your comment was still out of line, because at the time you believed him to have served.**

Sorry mate but it really does not matter at all whether or not Prowler served or not. The fact is that simply by committing theft the person or person(s) he is addressing would have forfeited any right for respect of their service as they clearly show none of the character that a true service member does have.
To grant these fellons the "protection" of being a service member indeed would diminish the respect the 99.99% of honest and proud deserve.

To try and soften your comments by speculating on his service record really does nothing at all. He addressed a pair of particular scumbags...not all service members.

A bad apple is a bad apple and deserves to be thrown out....not protection by the tree it may have once belonged to.

Stefan

 

[guzler]

Gees, this is more grippin than Eastenders !