Blizzard, Bnetd Respond on Bnetd Shutdown

EvilDonut writes: "Following the roar of protests following the shut down of the BnetD-project, Blizzard has posted a Battle.net emulation FAQ, citing their reasons to to search out and close any project that allows people to play Blizzard games online without using Battle.net. Their main arguments are software piracy and the ability to control and expire the WarCraft III beta." There's also a brief note from the Bnetd people, included below.

From: "Tim Jung"
Subject: bnetd.org shutdown

If you would like more information on this please feel free to contact me. I am one of the developers and the hosting ISP for www.bnetd.org. I have talked at lenght with both the Blizzard/Vivendi lawyers and with EFF lawyers about our options both as an ISP and as a developer.

As an ISP I did not force the group to do anything, but rather presented them with all the legal information I have recieved and asked them what they wanted to do. As you can imagine neither my company nor any of the developers have the money to fight the Blizzard/Vivendi lawyers at this time. So until we are able to get some legal help to fight this we felt we had no choice but to close down the site for now until the time at which we could fight this legal battle.

If you have any questions or suggestions let me know.

Tim Jung
System Admin
Internet Gateway Inc.

Comments

Re:Well....

[DarkEdgeX]

You're an idiot.

You clearly aren't thinking this through.

What's wrong with you?

Big deal, they wrote a server to emulate another server-- it happens all the time with other products, what the hell makes Blizzard so special? Their arguement about piracy, while entertaining, is also irrelevent. If I bought their product, I should be able to use it any way I choose-- I should not need to go through an intermediary to play online (it's like being forced to ask Mommy if it's okay to play-- I grew up a long time ago, didn't Blizzard get notice?).

Now, regarding the legality of their claims, the DMCA and so forth-- I have complete faith that if something like this were to go to trial, Blizzard would lose. Nobody involved with BNetD is pirating Blizzard software. It's like holding gun manufacturers responsible for the murders caused by their guns-- madness. How can the manufacturer control what their product is used for? The BNetD folk can't, just as Smith and Wesson can't.

They're well within their rights

[Scooby Snacks]

Blizzard is 0wned by Vivendi. I mean, if huge corporations can't make more money than God, the terrorists have already won!

You are part of the problem

[FreeUser]

I will be buying War3 despite this BS

And that is why you will remain, all of your life, little more than a product to be harvested by corporations such as this, with your rights, priveleges, and opportunities trampled at their merest whim. In short, little more than a corporate slave.

Go on, escape into your little War3 playworld and continue giving money to the very people who wish to destroy your freedom of choice, indeed all of your freedems, in order to add a few percent to their next quarterly profits. Flee the real world, which you have helped, through this sort of mindless foolishness, to make a little worse not only for yourself, but for all of us.

Whether it is DVDs, Adobe products, or games from these jackasses (I will never purchase another Blizzard game for as long as I live ... and that will cost them a tidy sum in lost revinue), it is the Bread and Circuses junkies like you, who cannot deny even the least of your petty appetites to protect your own diminishing freedoms, that are largely responsible for the decline in all of our liberties over the last two decades.

In short, this sort of attitude which you express is at least as responsible for the ever increasing number of debacles and tramplings of indivudual rights we see today as the corporate fearmongers (read: legal departments) such as this one, and you, like they, are worthy only of the deepest contempt of free thinking, pricipled people.

I would urge you to reconsider, and really think about what you are doing ... while you still have the freedom to do so.

oh do fuck off.

[QuantumG]

It's their game, they make the rules, if you didn't read the license you are the moron, not them, so either put up or shut up and write your own freakin' game.