Yesterday, one of my long-cherished suspicions got finally confirmed.

I'm sure most of you have seen threads pop up, created by brand new "GOG users" with brand new GOG accounts, in which these "GOG users" ask for help with a GOG game.
One thing (most) of these newly created accounts have in common is: there are zero games attached to them.

I suspected for quite some time now, that these "GOG users" didn't legally purchase their games here on GOG - but downloaded them illegally instead, from one of the many piracy sites, that mimic GOG in name and appearance (usually by using "Galaxy" colors).

Naturally, I will not link to any of these sites..but trust me: for the uninitiated, they look comparable enough to GOG, to fool those that want to get fooled (a site that offers all the games for free...really, guys?)

If you ever wondered why so many non-GOG users (on the Steam forums, etc) think of GOG as just another piracy site, and of all GOG users as pirates...the reason for that are those actual "GOG-mimicking" piracy sites.

The most perfidious in all this, is of course, that these pirates then ONLY come here to ask for help when their botched pirated files don't work.
These people do not support GOG and the idea for which it stands: DRM-free access to games.

So, here's my request to all of you:
if you encounter such a "help needed for game X" - thread, created by a new and empty account (always check the "Registered" date and the account)...DON'T TRY AND HELP.

If you help them, you are (involuntarily) supporting piracy.

Instead tell the "user" in question to legally purchase their GOG games.

If that "user" should react aggressive and/or inconvincible to that proposal - report them to GOG support:
https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?product=gog&form=report

Make sure to add the links to both, user account and thread, and - if you feel inclined to do so, also a screenshot of the thread in question.

I hope, we are all on the same page, when it comes to software piracy - especially in regard to GOG games.
The DRM-free "movement" has enough obstacles to overcome already - we don't need these cheapskates' actions, to create more (and completely unnecessary ones).

So, once again: DON'T SUPPORT PIRACY!
(of games in general, and of GOG games in particular)

Ya, ran into one of these accounts yesterday, thankfully I got suspicious and checked there profile showing new account and 0 games, so I quickly deleted my suggestions and told them the evidence shows that the games were pirated and they should legally buy the games.

The moment companies of ubisoft, capcom caliber start supporting DRM-free and abolish all DRM BS in their games. Because quite frankly they are the biggest piracy advocates out there!

Yeah, I saw your edited post.
Honestly: it was what inspired me to create this thread. You're part of the problem. Not the solution.

I agree though to be honest, it's actually a perfect example of what requiring at least one paid game to unlock the ability to post to the forum would automatically filter out (on top of the usual floods of spam).

So how do you know they are pirating GOG games? Do you have any actual proof or is it just an assumption because its an account that's posting asking for help with 0 games?

For all you know it could be an alt account for just posting on the forums (i'm willing to bet that there are people that want to keep their main account as private as possible but still engage with the forums), or something as innocent as that.

But of course they could also be pirating GOG games, but non-of us will know for sure.

Yeah, when legitimate buyers (suckers?) start pirating games they bought just so they can play them normally, you know things have gone too far.

Btw, companies ARE the problem not the users.
Ok, i suppose it's partially a problem with users as well, for buying games with worse and worse DRM in the first place! If they wouldn't buy such games, we wouldn't be in this situation.

The account I dealt with included an image that, though files were not using the same names as official GOG files, were using Galaxy in there names as well as icons normally associated with GOG and Galaxy.

Then sure in that instant they deserve the no help and comment to buy the games, and I agree with that but I disagree with blanket assuming that all accounts with 0 games and asking for help are pirates.

If i've learnt anything in this world then its never assume anything as you'll be more wrong than right.

Because the OP of the thread in question (the one, which confirmed my suspicions), posted a link to the piracy site, after I asked, from where exactly he had downloaded his game.

The first post also contained the words (quote): "after I downloaded it and Try to extract it, It keep showing "the archive is corrupt".But I think the corrupt file is bin 6."

And AFAIK, there are no ".bin" files to extract, when downloading your legally purchased games from GOG.

I sure as hell never had to extract anything.

Edit: attachment

Thank you for the heads-up and I'm pleading for forgiveness as I actually tried (without reported success) to help one of these new users. But to say for my defence, I was looking to help someone without thinking about pirated games.

Ok then. But just because of that then why are you painting all accounts with 0 owned games with the same brush?

Probably because it happens more often than not, with the only larger "0 games owned" group of people consistently being spammers. The only valid reason I've seen here for "I need help and am using a different account to ask" is when someone gets locked out of their main account after losing access to their e-mail account they use to sign in. On any other store, eg, Steam, Amazon, etc, absolutely no-one would create a brand new completely empty account to ask for help for a game / product "purchased" on a completely different account. It makes no sense at all from a tech support perspective.

It owuld be so easy to fool us ... just grab a bunch of free demos or other freebies.

But who doesn't even make an effort to do THAT ... ignore him :)

Let's call it experience.

It's the same every time:
- brand new account (created the same month, though probably only hours old)
- zero games attached to that new account
- usually, when asked why there are no games on their account, they either never respond again, OR they reveal that they bought the game(s) on a key-reseller site.
The latter is of course ONLY the case, if they actually paid (little money) for a game, and that game then gets revoked from their account, after GOG learns that the key in question was purchased with a stolen CC.

Yesterday's OP was an exception insofar, that he responded and openly linked to the piracy site (while feigning ignorance to the fact, that it was an illegal site).