Indie Lineage 2 Servers Shut Down 29
Gamasutra reports on efforts by NCSoft and the FBI to shut down independently-run Lineage 2 servers. The servers, run by an outfit called 'L2Extreme' were making a profit off of the unauthorized MMOG operation. Gamasutra had the chance to talk with FBI agent Thompson from Austin office. From the article: "Regarding the Lineage II server code, Thompson explained that it was 'really not determined' who had originally made it available, but the L2Extreme creators were 'certainly someone who was using [NCSoft's proprietary code] — that is at least part of the investigation.'"
I just felt a disturbance in the force (Score:5, Funny)
-Eric
What the ?? (Score:1)
Maybe I am clueless, but that seems a little high... Even if the claimed 500k registered L2Extreme users downloaded the client each 1 time, that would mean it costs them close to $2 to upload the file each time.
Re:What the ?? (Score:4, Informative)
It's more like besides the initial download, all the little incremental downloads as well (patches, updates, etc), which were hosted by NCSoft.
It's more akin to some website linking against photos you host on your website - you're stuck with the bills, and they profit. Of course, why NCSoft couldn't push an update, I don't know.
I find the Ars Technica [arstechnica.com] article informative.
Ars and UO (Score:2)
What's the actual evidence that closed Lineage II code was stole^Winfringed, versus clean-room reproduced? What's the actual evidence that the knock-off groups were offering unlicensed copies of Lineage II clients? And like the RIAA-$$$$-per-song arguments, what's the actual
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Also, if anyone from NC reads this, I might be able to dig up some extra info on the L2X guys for you if I can find it in my chat logs. I also have a few friends who could help out as well, and p
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I don't think using the server itself would be copyright violation, though it would probably fall under trade secret violation.
Distributing a modified client is clearly copyright infringement though, just as uploading a copy of a Windows XP CD or a copyrighted work of art is copyright infringement. If they can't nail him on th
Indie? (Score:3, Informative)
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Why Say "Indie"? (Score:2, Flamebait)
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That's not theft. It's copyright infringement. Illegal yes, but not theft. Theft is depriving someone of property they own. IP is not property that can be owned; you can only hold the rights to distribute it.
If you own a widget shop and I steal some of your widgets to re-sell, that's theft. If I copy your plans to make the widgets and make identical widgets
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This has always been a curious argument to me. All property is like a bundle of rights. For example, you can lease your land to someone else. That person does not have all the rights to the land, but they do possess some rights, even against the true owner.
Or, let's say you have a car. You can sell
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Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that, to you, only tangible property equals "actual property". That is to say, by your argument, no intangible property could be "actual property".
I just pop a flash-drive in your PC, copy the code on my disk, and run off with that instead. You still have your code. I have not deprived you
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One has little stimulation to be creative/innovative if it provides no benefit. The ability to profit from your creations is a significant benefit, and consequently a significant motivator. (Probably THE most significant motivator)
The current events in Second Life is a prime example of this. Players are able to freely copy the creations of others without permission. This is causing creators to close
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For the same reason that pirated copies of Windows affect Microsoft's support costs. You'd be amazed how many idiots out there will use a pirated copy of software and then try to get technical support for it.
Even it's just to connect to a first-ring support operator to tell you to shove off for using an illegal copy, that's still wasted time for the CSR, utilization of the inc
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If microsoft provided technical support.
Their knowledge base doesnt cost more, it has a base price whether is supports 1 person or a billion (outside of bandwidth)
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If you exclude all the bits that don't support my viewpoint, my viewpoint is the correct one.
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It's partially NCSoft's fault... (Score:4, Interesting)
It's also worth noting that not just koreans play this game... there is a huge populace of spanish speaking, european, as well as north american people that play this game, especially on these 'indie' servers.
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So, people all over the world of Korean ancestry play it too. Got it.