FSPlanet thread information

[FSTipster]

The First-Class membership is optional & not illegal.

I think you're misunderstanding my point.

Of course it's not illegal. I'm suggesting that he wouldn't get many applications and the revenue attached to them if he didn't have files up there of the quality of the b1b-lancer - another recent example of a file he's distributing contrary to the licence issued by I3D.

Justin Data of their team has been corresponding with me since this debacle.

Because of his history of doing this kind of thing, the man and his site have very few supporters in the flightsim community. Consequently, hardly any files are voluntarily uploaded to his site. Thats why he takes them without permission.

Who's going to pay First Class Membership to get in to a site with hardly any up-to-date files and a dead forum? (Take a look at it).

[Beery]

Well, I don't know.  I guarantee that I'm the most anti-capitalist guy on this forum - I despise any form of exploitation for profit (even the legal kind), but even if one accepts the theory that this guy is a thieving, moneygrubbing S.O.B. who is making a part of his profit illegitimately from the labour of others, I still really don't see what the big deal is.

In an effort to stop this thread becoming like a broken record, let's try to look at this from a different angle.  Would you folks be happier if, instead of having a download right there on his site, he instead used links to your preferred download sites and included a note saying that those files were at that site?  If so, what's the difference?  He would still be offering basically the same service, but without infringing on your licensing rights.  Would you still have a problem with that?  If so, why?  If not, why not?

[Hagar]

Thanks BMan old friend. I have now established the true & genuine reason behind all this.

He makes his money from ........... his cut of the payware CDs that are sold by mondalori.com (who host his files) full of freeware software from his site.

If this has been pointed out before & I missed it I apologise for my misunderstanding of the situation. I will fight anyone who tries to do this with everything in my limited power. I have done so before with some success. Any other reasons are irrelevant in my view.

[FSTipster]

There's absolutely no need to apologise.

You might find Ric Barker's message at the top if this page useful:

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... ;start=120

[FSTipster]

To be fair, I would have persued a similar course of action without the payware element. To me, it is simply an extension of the same problem - uploading files he doesn't have permission to.

[Beery]

"He makes his money from ........... his cut of the payware CDs that are sold by mondalori.com (who host his files) full of freeware software from his site. "

I'm not sure I understand fully (I'm obviously missing a lot of context in regard to the history of this situation).

[Beery]

To be fair, I would have persued a similar course of action without the payware element. To me, it is simply an extension of the same problem - uploading files he doesn't have permission to.

That's where we certainly disagree.

[ozzy72]

This guy is making money (his ISP are actually doing the selling) from freeware files on CD without the permission of the authors. That IS illegal. Ah well, let us hope that they get closed down by the Gardia Civilia. Nice gentlemen who open doors with sledgehammers!
Unfortunately there will always be people who are prepared to flaunt the law to make a few quick bucks of someone elses hard work, but look at his forum, he is going out of business fast as he has slightly less ethics than a rattlesnake with toothache. Couldn't happen to a more deserving individual.

LONG LIVE SIMVIATION, home of the best people in Flight Simming.

Ozzy

[BFMF]

LONG LIVE SIMVIATION, home of the best people in Flight Simming.

You got that right!

[Hagar]

There's absolutely no need to apologise.

You might find Ric Barker's message at the top if this page useful:

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... ;start=120

Thanks. I have followed the gist of the 2 threads on this subject for some days. Now I know the crux of the matter you have my full support, whatever good that may be.

I'm no legal expert but I think to have any chance of success you have to concentrate on the actual piracy issue rather than cloud it with arguments on the morality of posting essentially free files on a free site. This is why it took me so long to understand what this is really all about. I'm sure this is how the lawyers would look at it. Providing it is clearly stated in the conditions that a file is Freeware & not for commercial use, it is is llegal to include it on a CD & sell it for profit. This is perfectly straightforward & how I would approach it.

Let's face it, it would be easier for him to simply download the files & put them on a CD without posting them on his site as well. He doesn't really need a website at all except to advertise his stuff. If what you say is true, which I no longer doubt, at least he is doing this quite openly for the time being. The danger is that he will go underground & continue his piracy. This would make him much more difficult to track down.

There are a few little tricks you could do by hiding messages in the files themselves that would be seen by the end-user when selecting them in the sim. I won't go into detail as he or his accomplices could well be reading this. Something like "This file is Freeware. If you were charged for it return it immediately & demand a refund. Also report it to your local Trading Standards Office" should have some effect.

[FSTipster]

There are a few little tricks you could do by hiding messages in the files themselves that would be seen by the end-user when selecting them in the sim. I won't go into detail as he or his accomplices could well be reading this. Something like "This file is Freeware. If you were charged for it return it immediately & demand a refund. Also report it to your local Trading Standards Office" should have some effect.

What an excellent suggestion. I'm aware of how to hide such entries, and I'll most certainly include them in anything I upload in future.

Thanks.

[Leesw]

[quote]Would you folks be happier if, instead of having a download right there on his site, he instead used links to your preferred download sites and included a note saying that those files were at that site?

[FSTipster]

Welcome to the forum Lee.

[Lethal.Ambition]

LONG LIVE SIMVIATION, home of the best people in Flight Simming.

Ozzy

OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN MISSING ALL OF THIS! Right now i am hitting myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Urgh!

Ozzy, Simviation will LIVE forever! Yeah

Tipster, this might seem a little late and well, my ISP was having some trouble these past days. Anyways, i back you up 100000%. I do not know what making a panel or spending time on it is like but just imagining myself doing it and then seeing it somewhere else without my permission just makes me mad, as if i was the the one that built it!

I believe Ferdy is reading all of this, there is no special reason why he shouldn't be.

Tipster, i hope you come down on him on all possible ways. You were finally one to take action and well, I am sure everyone here backs you up. Right? Maybe 95% of the people? That is enough to win this thing.

Ferdy, why the hell are you doing all this crap?

.......Ferdy has to be missing something, maybe respect for the wishes of an owner.

[Lethal.Ambition]

Oh, you were also talking about Mondadori.com

Does this have anything to do with
http://volftp.mytech.it/indexe.htm

It appears after i tried and see if your panel download worked. That was something else i forgot to post, it asks for a username and password.

--John