Henry
Retired SOH Administrator
i do not believe they can do anything about it
they are not storing the files
and im sure they know
H
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The Staff of SOH
Somebody stop this guy
- Thread starter wantok
- Start date
they are not storing the files
and im sure they know
H
Lazerbrainz2k3
Charter Member
Don't count on it. A certain someone who is a member of this community (cough) went through a bit of a vigilante phase a few years ago where he downloaded payware aircraft which he'd already legally bought and if the files matched he reported it to the developers. The developers usually offered thanks for the information (except one, but that's another story), but when said vigilante went back in the days and weeks that followed to see a bunch of crying pirates, the files were still there.
I - er, I mean the vigilante - thinks you'd have better luck if a file were uploaded to a real filesharing website with a home office address to be sued, but going after TPB and others isn't likely to get you much victory.
I - er, I mean the vigilante - thinks you'd have better luck if a file were uploaded to a real filesharing website with a home office address to be sued, but going after TPB and others isn't likely to get you much victory.
H
hobofat
Guest
Ultimately the saddest thing is that if you were able to identify and track down somebody sharing files illegally, not only would the cost of litigation against that one person probably not be recouped with a win, but plenty more would still be pirating. The only solution would be to target it at the core, which is what the TPB case is all about, but I dare not open that can of worms on this thread 
The point being...all honest people, let's keep on supporting our favorite developers, pursue reasonable anti-piracy measures, etc. I know some people grumble about, for example, closed support forums (you have to prove you are a paying customer before accessing support forum) but it is imho just one small even if inefficient method of supporting customers who do the right thing.
The point being...all honest people, let's keep on supporting our favorite developers, pursue reasonable anti-piracy measures, etc. I know some people grumble about, for example, closed support forums (you have to prove you are a paying customer before accessing support forum) but it is imho just one small even if inefficient method of supporting customers who do the right thing.
CodyValkyrie
Charter Member 2016
Yes, as a British friend of mine might say, "What a jammy c%$t!"
They want the popularity of being the person that pirated it to hundreds, even thousands.
Sadly, I work on the telephony business and I hook guys like this up with fiber optic daily... they even gloat that they are using the new fiber optic for such purposes. Not a damn thing I can do about it. I WISH that my company had a morality clause that would allow me to walk away from said job's and report them....
J
JSpal
Guest
I have no love for software piracy, but at the same time, in the case of Flight Sim software, I don't think it's as bad for businesses as it may seem.
From what I've seen of people on those kinds of websites, most of them if would not buy this kind of software anyway. They'll take it, if it's free, but they would never spend $25+ for something that doesn't have explosions, blood-and-guts, or boobies.
So there may be 1,000 people who steal a certain add-on from a certain torrent, but if it weren't there to be stolen, only 10 of those people might actually break down and buy it. I would guess the actual number who would buy it is probably even lower.
Obviously this isn't true with big name video games, movie, or music, but the market overlap between hardcore simmers and petty thieves would seem to me to be very slim. Hardcore simmers tend to be older and have money to buy things. Petty thieves tend to be younger, lazier, and unemployed-er - and don't enjoy things that don't appeal to their more carnal urges. Flight Sims don't appeal to those urges, thus they'd never spend real money on it.
I used to work with a guy that was big into downloading torrents. He claimed to have terabytes of movies, music, and games downloaded. One day there was a discussion around the cubicles about some movie that was coming out on DVD.
He said, braggingly "I downloaded that months ago."
I said "Oh yeah, I've really been wanting to see that, is it any good?"
He said "I don't know, I never watched it."
This same exchange happened on many occasions.
Finally I asked him one day "If you download all this stuff, but you never watch it or play it, why bother? Why put yourself out there like that? Why would you risk getting caught, if you don't even enjoy or even at the very least consume what you are steeling? It's like robbing a bank, then using the money as carpet padding."
He just gave me this weird look - like he really didn't have a good answer, like he never thought about WHY he did it.
I think with the vast majority of the people that are on the those sites, it's not about the content of what they are downloading. It's about the act of stealing. They have never accomplished anything real in their lives, but when that download bar gets to 100% on something, it's an accomplishment for them. They are cowards, so they don't have the balls to walk into a store and shoplift, instead they do it in the way that is almost 100% safe for them to do it.
This is meant in no way to rationalize piracy, and while I can see that it must be very frustrating for software developers, it's not going to be the end of Flight Sims. The honest people will still pay for the products, and the thieves wouldn't have paid for it anyway.
From what I've seen of people on those kinds of websites, most of them if would not buy this kind of software anyway. They'll take it, if it's free, but they would never spend $25+ for something that doesn't have explosions, blood-and-guts, or boobies.
So there may be 1,000 people who steal a certain add-on from a certain torrent, but if it weren't there to be stolen, only 10 of those people might actually break down and buy it. I would guess the actual number who would buy it is probably even lower.
Obviously this isn't true with big name video games, movie, or music, but the market overlap between hardcore simmers and petty thieves would seem to me to be very slim. Hardcore simmers tend to be older and have money to buy things. Petty thieves tend to be younger, lazier, and unemployed-er - and don't enjoy things that don't appeal to their more carnal urges. Flight Sims don't appeal to those urges, thus they'd never spend real money on it.
I used to work with a guy that was big into downloading torrents. He claimed to have terabytes of movies, music, and games downloaded. One day there was a discussion around the cubicles about some movie that was coming out on DVD.
He said, braggingly "I downloaded that months ago."
I said "Oh yeah, I've really been wanting to see that, is it any good?"
He said "I don't know, I never watched it."
This same exchange happened on many occasions.
Finally I asked him one day "If you download all this stuff, but you never watch it or play it, why bother? Why put yourself out there like that? Why would you risk getting caught, if you don't even enjoy or even at the very least consume what you are steeling? It's like robbing a bank, then using the money as carpet padding."
He just gave me this weird look - like he really didn't have a good answer, like he never thought about WHY he did it.
I think with the vast majority of the people that are on the those sites, it's not about the content of what they are downloading. It's about the act of stealing. They have never accomplished anything real in their lives, but when that download bar gets to 100% on something, it's an accomplishment for them. They are cowards, so they don't have the balls to walk into a store and shoplift, instead they do it in the way that is almost 100% safe for them to do it.
This is meant in no way to rationalize piracy, and while I can see that it must be very frustrating for software developers, it's not going to be the end of Flight Sims. The honest people will still pay for the products, and the thieves wouldn't have paid for it anyway.
B
BananaBob
Guest
When I see posts like these, I think to myself, Wow! Your lives must be a lot better than mine if this is what you are complaining about, pirates suck, yes, but there are much more worse things happening that this, to me at least, seems quite trivial. I have to try and live off 138 dollars this month, no rent will be payed, no internet bill or phone bill will be payed, you see, the VA over payed me by a few dollars each month for the last 6 or 7 years and now that they've caught it, they take it back, all at once, so what should have been 776.00 dollars this month is now 138 dollars, now please, could we all just have fun at least while the world is crumbling around us? There is always going to be crappy people, life would be utterly boring without them and as much as I hate them, I know that the world is chaotic and trying to tame it with our laws is just ridiculous. Sorry, just having a rough day.
V
VFR Reviews
Guest
It went down!!?!?! Awesome!
I work with FlightSimwaterconfigurator, and our working acronym is FSWC. The staff were alerted, and we didn't want our name associated with such trash. So, I informed Aerosoft, Wilco, PMDG, Captain Sim, Iris, SkySim, Real Air, Orbx, Carenado, flyTampa, JustFlight, and Sky Unlimited hoping the at they'd do something. I know a lot of these companies from reviewing their stuff, so I was conveniently placed to get into touch with them.
I guess their webhosting, godaddy, shut them down, and they did
That made my day
Henry
Retired SOH Administrator
Bob if it helps
i understand
i personaly have had a few weeks of that****
Take care
H
Alexraptor
Charter Member
Nobody has been locked up, the sentence is being appealed. These court cases can go on for years before the final verdict is reached, and then and only then will they go to prison IF they loose.
Plus TPB has their servers outside the country so whatever happens swedish authorities cant touch them.
Bananabob,
I understand and share your sentiments living on $138 this month. But I find it hard to understand that this sort of thread merely trivializes the piracy issue from your comparative standpoint based on your situation. I am retired, have three kids to feed and this is my only measure of income and satisfaction that I indulge in everyday. It's not right for pirates to deny me my only form of employment.
At least you have Uncle Sam to confront about your situation. I don't have that luxury since I am, like other developers, going up against a faceless coward who has stolen my product.
Graham
I understand and share your sentiments living on $138 this month. But I find it hard to understand that this sort of thread merely trivializes the piracy issue from your comparative standpoint based on your situation. I am retired, have three kids to feed and this is my only measure of income and satisfaction that I indulge in everyday. It's not right for pirates to deny me my only form of employment.
At least you have Uncle Sam to confront about your situation. I don't have that luxury since I am, like other developers, going up against a faceless coward who has stolen my product.
Graham
CodyValkyrie
Charter Member 2016
It went down!!?!?! Awesome!
I work with FlightSimwaterconfigurator, and our working acronym is FSWC. The staff were alerted, and we didn't want our name associated with such trash. So, I informed Aerosoft, Wilco, PMDG, Captain Sim, Iris, SkySim, Real Air, Orbx, Carenado, flyTampa, JustFlight, and Sky Unlimited hoping the at they'd do something. I know a lot of these companies from reviewing their stuff, so I was conveniently placed to get into touch with them.
I guess their webhosting, godaddy, shut them down, and they did
That made my day
Yes, FSWC was taken down. The short on the long story is that the owner got scared into giving up the rights due to an ongoing investigation. Of all people, it was an X-Plane developer that managed to scare the kid straight. That's right, I said kid. The owner of FSWC was younger than 16.
Sadly, GoDaddy not only had nothing to do with it, they also are INHIBITING our ability to shut these guys down. They feel that it is a civil matter, and since they are not breaking any legalities, they essentially want developers to force their hand with a civil suit... which nobody in their right mind (unless they have a HUGE profit and good lawyers) wants to bother with.
This is the case with Mr. Ferguson, and a site we all know well. GoDaddy stripped his site for a day or two, but gave the rights back to him. The good news however was that PayPal stripped his account, so now he is not able to utilize that service... Or at least that is what I understand.
So, where are we now? Unfortunatley, very little has changed. Unless we are willing to band together and someone is willing to organize the fight on their own accord, I doubt anything will happen. The money, time and energy involved with righting these wrongs will be tremendous.
CodyValkyrie
Charter Member 2016
I feel for you Mr. Graham, having been on the receiving end of such piracy. I have watched sadly as my videos were used on pirating websites to promote illegal downloads of software that I have been involved in or marketed. Even pleas to YouTube did little to stop them, and I have little to no control where my videos are linking as well. It is a sad reality.
Let me tell you though, we are all in this game together. Eventually, or hopefully, things will change and we will be able to go after these guys.
Thats awful news Bob. I hope that something can be sorted out. Hang in there.
Best wishes
Steve P
GT182
Charter Member
I feel your pain Bob. At least you have 138 a month coming in. I went 3 years without even 2 pennies to rub together in my pocket and nothing to pay bills or buy food with. I had to move out of my home and rent it just to keep it. Thanks to some close friends I managed survive. To this day I can't stand to look at Ramien noodles. No joke.
B
BananaBob
Guest
Hey, I have 3 ex-wives and a daughter with each, the oldest being 19, yeah it's that bad, but it's no one's fault but my own. I'm just saying, this is trivial in comparison to real life. Again, this is my view. If you choose to make your living off of digital work, more power to you and good luck in the future.
H
hobofat
Guest
Woah, this thread is about a devs frustration with his livelihood being substantially affected by theft. How is this not real life? Your personal situation sounds pretty rough, Mr. BananaBob (and I say this with all due respect), but for Graham this is both not trivial, and it's real life. We all have our individual situations, but please don't trivialize somone elses.