Pirates bring down ORBX

There is a way but a lot of you will want to have me shot for saying this, one activation, next time you have to produce your sale slip from Orbx and let them verify you are the purchaser, like they do at Iris and pay a fee, now I know that is sucky but when all these people are trying to activate this software and stealing their property, it will wipe them out, this is a little outrageous of an idea but this situation requires some drastic measures. I know I have enjoyed the Orbx experience and have all four regions, some payware and some free, those guy have been more than generous in how our flight experience has become, so as I said food for thought.
:kilroy:
 
I hate pirates just as the next guy, but this looks a little like a tatrim by the developers because everyone is not buying all the products.

Now the next comment is just my opinion, so no flames.
I beleive ORBX has hurt themselves by pricing their stand alone airports way to high. I have had to stop buying their products purely because of that fact. Now before anyone crys "But it takes a lot of time and effort" (Which we all know) just add all the airports together and you will come to a whoping $320 AU which will become a justification in the little puney minds of the pirates.

I don't know the solution to the pirate problem, but maybe a better marketing stratergy needs to be thought out.

Just remember that this is my opinion.

Ben
 
Is that Jay the same one like this from http://www.fspassengers.com/forum/re...=22951&t=22951 who is there as a moderator??:mad:
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Yes, that would be me as well mate, thanks guys for the support it is very much appreciated. We wanted to make a stance and yes, I do realise that some customers might be disgruntled about this but we felt that it was necessary to show how we feel about seeing our hard work being ripped off by silly people.
 
I have noticed that it can take less than a day for a new release to show up on a pirate site. The question I ask myself is what is the purpose of people posting software including serial numbers and cracks. The main thing I noticed at the pirate site is most of the torrents are coming from just a few individuals with one individual responsible for fifty percent. The next question I have is why has the law done so little in enforcing the exsisting statutes. I am thinking some jail time with a heavy fine would go a long way in cleaning up the piracy problem. :USA-flag:
 
Henry said:
i do not disagree it is there prerogative
if they have an IP addy for the pirate
it could be beneficial for others to see
and maybe scare off others
sadly there is no immediate solution
H
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Maybe you missed this thread at Flightsim?

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?t=198866

Mr. Ferguson's presence in the Pirate community and the non-pirate community is well known. Rather funny that he was complaining about something that he couldn't "share" with his VIP members.

He's still shown as a member at Flightsim, probably still making purchases at the FSPilotShop for all I know?

But he's also been identified as a member of SOH.

Until the little weasel is left with no place to purchase products or make postings, just how effective can any anti-piracy effort be?
 
@ Trans: Thank you man, very kind of you to say
@ Mesh: If it is effective, probably not but it is worth a shot and when I opened up my email this morning I had 3 emails with 'converted' pirates with apologies and proof of purchases.

The outset of closing the site for 24 hours was never to get more sales or anything we just wanted to make a stance, we have lost too many good people in the last two years to piracy so maybe our little effort means nothing but it makes us feel good about it at least :)
 
JayKae is the forum administrator, I believe it is John Venema is the founder/lead developer of Orbx products. It's all a team though. Piracy I think hits extra hard for a company such as that because it's not just time and sweat that's been put into the product, it's a huge monetary investment in imagery, etc. that must be recouped.
 
Piracy is bad- yes- but slapping fines or imprisoning people for piracy is simply unfeasible. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe are involved in piracy every hour; torrenting shows- music, FS X addons.

Nothing you can do about it really- the progression of technology and faster internet speeds lead to things like this. It will only get worse.

Reward the customer? Better encryption algorithms? Lower prices?
Not sure what the answer might be.
 
Some of you mention lowering prices as a solution for piracy. That won't make a difference.

Pirates do what they do BECAUSE THEY CAN.

If the law actively persecuted them and charged them with crimes, piracy would be reduced. If every 15 year old girl who has downloaded a MP3 got fined a thousand dollars, piracy would be reduced. Currently there are few if any consequences for the every day thief. They steal because they can AND DO get away with it.

Software protection is useless. The hackers who figure out the ways around activation and such are just as smart as the people who write the software.

Laws, priorities, and morals will have to change if piracy is to be stopped. The big question is how...
 
Id like to say thankx to all of you that do pay for stuff (credit or paypal)..most of you who are older 35yrs old and above do the honest thing..Most kids out there download pirate stuff cause its (The thing to do) and of course there is no international law so that said stuff like protesting them is only gonna get their (Laugh off) ..downloaded software is not something (Solid) like a TV or any object you buy like a loaf of bread or a car or something and it gets stolen off your property...You report something like that to the police and they will be all over it..(But) try and report something (invisible) such as your software in electric lady land downloads to the police and they will laugh at you the same as the pirates. Its a wierd world out there:isadizzy:
 
If every 15 year old girl who has downloaded a MP3 got fined a thousand dollars, piracy would be reduced. Currently there are few if any consequences for the every day thief. They steal because they can AND DO get away with it.
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The problem with that is that even if you could identify every single user and nail them, the cost of prosecuting them all would be prohibitive as well as the backed up docket would clog the criminal courts into infinity. Going after the people who source it is entirely feasible IF the criminal laws and system were tweaked the right direction. These current so called victories in Civil Court against illegal uploaders are the biggest joke. Yes they were found liable but now they will file Chapter 7 or 13 and the entire effort is a total waste. From that point they are untouchable. The answer is Federal Prosecution and supplemental State Laws that cover any gaps against "providers" of illegal distribution of copyrighted material. Therein such laws you can prevent a person(s) convicted of felony from escaping payment of fines and judgments upon them by means of bankruptcy filings. The other answer is the aggressive identification and blockage/shutdowns of the sites that are visible and the tracking down of the less visible ones giving them the same treatment. I would not however count on such strengthening of the laws when you have the offsprings of lawmakers heavily involved in illegal downloads. Quite of few have been caught to date.
 
with the 24hr protest at orbx due to piracy, is it going to be a proud statement or a regret?

ive read some posts around the traps it normally starts with the 1st post supporting the protest then it quickly turns into dissapointment directed at orbx

from reading a lot of posts, johnny V tried to make a valid point but from majority of the public this isnt welcomed warmly, even other developers have questioned this motive and labelling it a waste of time and hurting the brands reputation

while there are some posts not supporting the actions of piracy in these threads but many feel that there is nothing that he can do about, when you boost security there will be always some one ahead of you who is smarter in cracking it, and while there is a demand for it it will thrive on the black market.

where from here?

everytime he releases a product and finds his package on a whares or torrent site is he going to go in lockdown again, or is he like most developers express their discontent in a less dramatic way that doesnt effect the average user, look at alphasim theyre no longer in a spot light and many people refuse to buy their products due to a few management decisions that showed very little respect to the customer.

seeing johnny v's character over the past yrs at other forums, it didnt surprise me one bit with what he did, what has me interested on how he indents to conduct further activity down the track, because no matter how hard or speaks against it, it will happen down the track again and again.

one thing out of all this, im glad im not in the software industry , really there is no real safeguards against all this, the way i see it is. if microsoft can prevent its own software from being pirated how can a little company prevent its own work for a game stop it. its a good thing that i dont consider FS my live style but a just a activity to kill time whilst i cant conducting my other activities.

interested on what happens next
 
It's ironic, as I took a break from working on my first ORBX scenery to visit SOH, only to see this. From a marketing perspective, I have no idea if it's a good thing or a bad. As a dev, it put a dark cloud over an otherwise lovely afternoon of modeling.

Ah, screw it. I'm just gonna go back to work on 7S3 and forget about it.
 
I for one totally support what ORBX has done. They shut there site down for one day with a display page asking people to think what life would be like with out the developers and forums.

One day without getting to their content is no big deal. It got discussion occuring and just maybe may convince a few pirates to purchase rather than steal. I don't see this harming their customers or those that just get the wonderfull stuff they give away free. It will all be there tomorrow.

Now if we pause and really think,"what if it's not there tomorrow?", I think we all can see what a loss we would have. Their protest is not just for them but all developers and most devellopers are at the same risk. This won't stop all pirating, nothing will, but it may convert a few.

I hope his customers understand he is trying to do something to protect his livelyhood and support him. Imagine someone stealling from you that you couldn't get to legally or phisically, it would get to you if it occured daily.

People please keep FSX alive by purchasing your add ons and let's not have a backlash at someone trying to stand up for what is theirs.

To ORBX,
You had my respect for the freeware you put out and the product you sell, you've doubled that by making this small stand.

Rob
 
ORBX. fantastic products. excellent support. has a valid point about piracy. JayKae, Holger, Bill and most others absolutely fantastic. WAY too much drama on a continual basis.
 
Good for them.

I can't stand pirates. If I met one, I would turn it in to the cops in a second, if I could.
 
I'm not condoning piracy, but seems to me by shutting down a legitmate business only affects legitmate customers. What message are you sending? What is the regular Joe who works hard for a buck and then spends it on your software suppose to do? I've read on here more than just a few times about the poor developers, well I got news for you, it isn't just software developers. I think that everyone in this day and age are hurting alittle more than in the past. For some people this is their only hobby and this is where they will spend that extra dollar they have been putting away. It's really getting tiresome reading some of these threads about stuff I for one don't have any control over. I come here and fly FSX because it takes me away from the everyday bull****. Don't need to hear more hear.
 
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