Software piracy scene and r/CrackWatch

[AMHOLIO]

A woman screaming that she is, in fact, a woman is one of the most basic functions of a woman.

Disagree: If this was true then "It's ma'am" would be an unbeatable argument.

In the early days of MMOs women were divided into advertising their womaness to nerds and having 4000 men try and slobber over them at once for being the one in a bazillion nerd girl of their dreams to going stealth so they can play the game in fucking peace without losing friends to nice guy syndrome. While there's a much more even split on the net these days, hacking is certainly a community where the ratio is out of whack and women who are serious go stealth (all 5 of them). The attention whore type women are all doing twitch streams while selling their onlyfans subs or still waving their tits in online gaming since they're too lazy to be in a labor intensive hobby when cameras and boobs work for most simps. The 0.5% of actual women who want to engage shut up, the 9% of troon women advertise that they're a true and honest whamen fighting against gendernorms teehee but don't show their face so they can get attention (just like Girl online guy irl attention whores back in the day) without breaking the illusion that they're wahmen (and hackers are criminals and yada yada).


Thanks on everything else though. There is a reason programming socks are a troon meme.

 

[awoo]

I've always been mixed about this.

On one hand, I don't like outright theft -- yes, I know I've joked about sailing the seven seas for RPG books. I will offer in my defense that books I download and like, I will buy print copies as well.

On the other hand, many anti-piracy measures step over the limits of what I would consider reasonable (hello, Sony rootkits).

You should support sites like GOG.com then. They deliver DRM-free media as an alternative to Steam (as you can probably guess by their copycat UI).

Incidentally, many games are stolen from GOG, but I've also seen comments of pirates claiming they bought the game because they wanted to show appreciation for the DRM-free aspect.

 

[Alcatraz]

Most modern games are shit anyway.

I've got everything from the Wii down at my disposal, so really, fuck these power tripping homos.

 

[seri0us]

Incidentally, many games are stolen from GOG, but I've also seen comments of pirates claiming they bought the game because they wanted to show appreciation for the DRM-free aspect.

Despite "stealing" a lot of media, I don't have the heart to pirate GOG games because that would be taking advantage of the whole DRM-free thing.

 

[Exist0]

yaarrrrggh

 

[Coffee Shits]

I've always been mixed about this.

On one hand, I don't like outright theft -- yes, I know I've joked about sailing the seven seas for RPG books. I will offer in my defense that books I download and like, I will buy print copies as well.

On the other hand, many anti-piracy measures step over the limits of what I would consider reasonable (hello, Sony rootkits).

I've found pirating to be less morally ambiguous when I admit that yes, it's stealing, and no, I don't care that the authors are not being paid.

The alternative is endless navel-gazing about whether or not logging on to $TORRENT_SITE is a sin, and if my ISP doesn't give a damn, neither can I.

 

[niqlo]

I've always been mixed about this.

On one hand, I don't like outright theft -- yes, I know I've joked about sailing the seven seas for RPG books. I will offer in my defense that books I download and like, I will buy print copies as well.

On the other hand, many anti-piracy measures step over the limits of what I would consider reasonable (hello, Sony rootkits).

I only give money to a game developer that I think actually deserves it, like small indie developers and stuff. "legitimately purchasing" games seems like a complete waste of money, when it could be used to pay for things I actually need. Studio developers still get paid by their bosses. I have far more respect for people who crack games than I do for the companies who make them, honestly.

 

[DumbDude42]

I've found pirating to be less morally ambiguous when I admit that yes, it's stealing, and no, I don't care that the authors are not being paid.

The alternative is endless navel-gazing about whether or not logging on to $TORRENT_SITE is a sin, and if my ISP doesn't give a damn, neither can I.

its not stealing, stealing implies taking something away from someone and thereby causing direct damage to him. piracy does not do that.
the closest IRL equivalent to piracy would be something like sneaking into a baseball stadium and watching the game without having paid the entry fee.

 

[Coffee Shits]

its not stealing, stealing implies taking something away from someone and thereby causing direct damage to him. piracy does not do that.
the closest IRL equivalent to piracy would be something like sneaking into a baseball stadium and watching the game without having paid the entry fee.

I get the physical argument where it's not equivalent to shoplifting - downloading a torrent doesn't prevent someone else from buying the disc. But I'm still getting it where I should be paying for it - someone else's labor is not being compensated. I'm not sure how else to describe it without using the word "stealing".

I suppose the question becomes, does it matter when duplication is so easy? I would say that someone should get paid but rarely does one get what one deserves.

 

[DumbDude42]

I'm not sure how else to describe it without using the word "stealing".

how would you describe someone sneaking in on a baseball game or movie theater without paying the entrance fee?

 

[Coffee Shits]

how would you describe someone sneaking in on a baseball game or movie theater without paying the entrance fee?

Flippantly I would use "stealing"; I don't have a better term off-hand to describe it. If you're sneaking in and sitting in a seat that, even potentially, someone else paid for, I think "stealing" would work. Movie theaters probably much the same. Let's say it's sold out. You're sitting in a seat that someone else paid for, and depriving that person of an experience that he spent the money he earned to gain.

This is kind of deviating from the point at hand - the seats are infinite when you're talking torrents but you're still benefiting from something that you should pay for.

 

[HumanHive]

The problem with the IT’S STEALING argument is that it assumes the copyright holders are the perfect stewards of their own product.

Increasingly often the only ones who give a shit about preserving media are pirates and “I’m putting this up online for free” archivists. So if piracy disappeared tomorrow, we’d likely end up with a dark age (in the traditional lost media sense) very quickly. Culture would be completely transient and no preservation would take place other than the occasional remaster or heavily edited rerelease. The original uncut Song of the South? Gone forever. That old DOS game you liked? Dust.

When we’re talking about physical property, yes copyright should matter. Digital objects need different rules, leaning heavily towards fair use unless you are outright profiting off of a Win11 version of some old DOS game.

 

[Shaka Brah]

The problem with the IT’S STEALING argument is that it assumes the copyright holders are the perfect stewards of their own product.

Increasingly often the only ones who give a shit about preserving media are pirates and “I’m putting this up online for free” archivists. So if piracy disappeared tomorrow, we’d likely end up with a dark age (in the traditional lost media sense) very quickly. Culture would be completely transient and no preservation would take place other than the occasional remaster or heavily edited rerelease. The original uncut Song of the South? Gone forever. That old DOS game you liked? Dust.

When we’re talking about physical property, yes copyright should matter. Digital objects need different rules, leaning heavily towards fair use unless you are outright profiting off of a Win11 version of some old DOS game.

Definitely. The value of back-channel media sharing in the age of the digital memory-hole can't be overstated. Retaining absolute control and ownership of media you've purchased (and defeating media-as-a-service systems) will be the only way to see anything that is unsanitized in the future. Absent some sort of legal mandate, pirates and home recordings are the only way to get anything out of the hands of globohomo.

 

[awoo]

I don't play many video games these days but I feel no guilt over pirating 2005 era Windows XP games because the original companies aren't making money from the game any more

 

[seri0us]

I don't play many video games these days but I feel no guilt over pirating 2005 era Windows XP games because the original companies aren't making money from the game any more

Moralism involving computers / media is so silly... "Noooo... You shouldn't download that abandonware or go through hard drives people threw away..."

 

[Maldavius Figtree]

FYI this thread is not about your tired and half-assed moral justifications for piracy that were already beaten to death 20 years ago. Just download the shit because you want to save money and don’t be a faggot about it. Who cares if you sometimes pay for the stuff you really like, that’s like a dine-and-dasher expecting backpats for sometimes paying the bill if it’s been exceptionally tasty.
Stop being so gay.

 

[seri0us]

FYI this thread is not about your tired and half-assed moral justifications for piracy that were already beaten to death 20 years ago

clearly it is

 

[ZMOT]

Despite "stealing" a lot of media, I don't have the heart to pirate GOG games because that would be taking advantage of the whole DRM-free thing.

I do - as a form of trial. if I like it I buy it at some point, if not it's not a lost sale because I'd never have bought it in the first place or refunded it if it's shit. turns out demos of "good" games do increase sales, but requires some effort from the customer, which lot of people are too lazy or dumb to do. even then I still generate positive word of mouth, any retarded claim of MUH SALE gets offset by the reduction in marketing budget when people start talking and shilling your game.

the whole issue about MUH STEALING is that "piracy" can mean fuck all. someone hoarding shit on his harddrive without ever looking at it or using it for it's intended purpose ("playing" it for 20 minutes before deleting the whole thing while laughing) makes zero difference in the grand scheme of things. "content" shifting towards digital instead of moving physical carrier media around requires adapting to that new environment, drm is just trying to hold on and replicate that limitation.
just look at napster and all the retardation it generated, yet spotify, apple music and other stuff make plenty of dosh, and while sturgeon's law still applies, even with all the mumble rap on soundcloud it was never easier to produce and release music if you want to and find an audience.

there was also the thing of "based poles" sucking chink dick with the whole devotion kerfuffle, so gog made it pretty clear which money they value more.

 

[awoo]

Latest drama with EMPRESS: put up a vote for the next game to be cracked, but now asking for $500 per crack.

This has generated some controversy on the r/crackwatch thread (archive), with some people saying asking for money for a time-consuming activity of cracking is justified, while others bemoaning how "the scene is dead" because EMPRESS is the first to be asking for money or he is now profiting off of someone else's work (instead of usual piracy which doesn't make any profit).

Link for EMPRESS's own subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/EmpressEvolution/comments/ou0ks7/vote_for_the_next_game_crack/ (archive)

Pinned comment from EMPRESS:

**Few Extra Words**
requiring money to keep working on this cancer is something that is a "must", and its not my choice or anyone else's.
The undeniable truth is-- this life requires this whether we like it or not... because otherwise there is no human capable of just magically producing cracks for the most annoying cancer drm in this world.
the most talented crackers in the SCENE left and worked for DENUVO for this same reason ... and to avoid my fate ending up the same, i am requsting all of your help to keep struggling and crushing this drm with every new version they make.

Current vote tally. Apparently Watch Dogs was winning earlier which made some people salty.

1.9k 32.5% Nier Replicant
953 16.0% Doom Eternal with Ancient Gods DLC
1.8k 29.5% Watch Dogs Legion
1.1k 18.2% Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 - 2
226 3.8% Maneater
2 days 8 hours left

 

[bluegenius8585]

wow that interview has some insane quotes.

If you ask Empress what got her started breaking DRM, she says it was a dream she had one night in 2014. Chains made up of numbers wrapped around the video game Dark Souls 2. It was anti-piracy software, she realized. As she focused, she began to see “what every number meant ‘universally,’’’ she says. Turning deeper inward, she says, she soon entered “the ‘ZONE,’ which allows me to SEE MORE into everything.” The chains broke.

If you ask Empress how she got to this point, the most she’ll say is “by mixing philosophy with coding. It's very complicated.”


“I have a ‘Goal’ that no one else has,” she says. “I have no need for ‘Ego.’”

“i always keep in the ZONE till i crush their pathetic puzzle prisons,” she says. Cracking DRM has taught her that the only real way to view the games industry right now is through the lens of philosophy. Philosophy helps people discern what is valuable, she says. And to discern what is valuable, you must look for higher truths. The higher truth in gaming, she says, is that “wanting to preserve something you ‘Buy’ should NEVER be a ‘Crime.’”

Anyone betting how long it takes for this person to become Terry Davis II.