Bworp
Member
I'm definitely in the "don't pirate software" camp, no matter how old it is and hard to find. (Wasn't always the case, but I'm trying to atone for my past sins)
But I've found myself in some borderline situations, and I wonder what everyone would think of as "OK"?
Sitch 1: As a warmup, I have an original boxed and complete copy of Ultima VI, but one (maybe both) of the disks is corrupted. I also own it 100% legit on GOG. I haven't tried the GOG version on old hardware yet (I know that some games on that site are slightly different versions to the original), but surely there could be no ethical argument against downloading it from an archive somewhere?
Sitch 2: I have a bunch of other old games on my GOG account, but never owned a physical copy of them. Again, some are a bit different to the versions originally sold on floppies etc. (Already unpacked, unzipped and configured, amongst other things). Do you think it would be OK to find an archived version closer to the original for installing on vintage hardware?
Sitch 2.5: What about newer "remastered" versions owned on GOG, but download the older original versions to play on old hardware?
Sitch 3: Should be a no-brainer, but who knows? I bought a copy of Master of Orion 2 once. A re-release boxed copy on CD. The box proclaimed it would work on DOS, but when I tried installing it it turned out to only have the version modified to work on windows 9x. Didn't work on my DOS machine. Again, OK to download the proper DOS version from somewhere?
Sitch 4: A bit more of a grey area now. I still have the original boxes, manuals, registration cards etc. of DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 that I got new with a 386 back in 1992 or 1993. Problem is, the disks all died and subsequently disappeared (probably thrown out) long ago. Would it be OK to download a copy of these, or is that getting too iffy?
Sitch 5: Pretty sure this is pushing it a bit far, but what about games and software that I once owned legitimately but have simply vanished entirely? No? Didn't think so...
That's all I can think of for now. I'd love to hear what you think, and I'd be interested in any other borderline situations you might have come across, and what you think the right course of action is?
But I've found myself in some borderline situations, and I wonder what everyone would think of as "OK"?
Sitch 1: As a warmup, I have an original boxed and complete copy of Ultima VI, but one (maybe both) of the disks is corrupted. I also own it 100% legit on GOG. I haven't tried the GOG version on old hardware yet (I know that some games on that site are slightly different versions to the original), but surely there could be no ethical argument against downloading it from an archive somewhere?
Sitch 2: I have a bunch of other old games on my GOG account, but never owned a physical copy of them. Again, some are a bit different to the versions originally sold on floppies etc. (Already unpacked, unzipped and configured, amongst other things). Do you think it would be OK to find an archived version closer to the original for installing on vintage hardware?
Sitch 2.5: What about newer "remastered" versions owned on GOG, but download the older original versions to play on old hardware?
Sitch 3: Should be a no-brainer, but who knows? I bought a copy of Master of Orion 2 once. A re-release boxed copy on CD. The box proclaimed it would work on DOS, but when I tried installing it it turned out to only have the version modified to work on windows 9x. Didn't work on my DOS machine. Again, OK to download the proper DOS version from somewhere?
Sitch 4: A bit more of a grey area now. I still have the original boxes, manuals, registration cards etc. of DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 that I got new with a 386 back in 1992 or 1993. Problem is, the disks all died and subsequently disappeared (probably thrown out) long ago. Would it be OK to download a copy of these, or is that getting too iffy?
Sitch 5: Pretty sure this is pushing it a bit far, but what about games and software that I once owned legitimately but have simply vanished entirely? No? Didn't think so...
That's all I can think of for now. I'd love to hear what you think, and I'd be interested in any other borderline situations you might have come across, and what you think the right course of action is?