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Aliasalpha: Into it? INTO IT??
I used a discussion of Abandonware games as part of my uni exam in Security, Privacy and Ethics! I was naturally arguing for it being no different than public domain stuff and that since there's noone losing out on income or prestige then there's no ethical issues with downloading it.
I went fairly shit in the exam, didn't answer enough questions correctly but I ended up getting a Credit for it so I have a feeling the marker might just have been a fellow retrogamer.
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michaelleung: I have to do an Extended Essay for my IB studies (I'm in high school), and we have to write it on anything we like that's not like porn and stuff. You know, normal people things. So I'm either doing it about the RIAA, Abandonware, or Creative Commons. What should it be?

You could do something like "Abandoned but Not Quite Forgotten: Abandonware versus the Creative Commons"
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michaelleung: I have to do an Extended Essay for my IB studies (I'm in high school), and we have to write it on anything we like that's not like porn and stuff. You know, normal people things. So I'm either doing it about the RIAA, Abandonware, or Creative Commons. What should it be?

You could always combine them into one super essay, examine the principle of ownership in total rather than looking at any one specific area and argue the case from both a & [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics]deontological perspective.
Summary of both stances
Utilitarianism (AKA: Chaotic Good)
* One must act to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number
* Places public good over private good
* Possible harmful to minorities and individuals, sacrificed for the majority
* The ends justify the means
Deontological theories (AKA: Lawful Good / sort of Lawful Evil)
* It's about moral obligation
* It's about actions (not ends)
* Rejects acts that harm minorities, individuals
* Stems from Immanual Kant
* Opposite of utilitarianism
* "Do what is right, though the world should perish."
If nothing else, something like that would make a damned fine entry into a uni portfolio if the subject you want has any ethical component
Post edited January 21, 2009 by Aliasalpha
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michaelleung: I have to do an Extended Essay for my IB studies (I'm in high school), and we have to write it on anything we like that's not like porn and stuff. You know, normal people things. So I'm either doing it about the RIAA, Abandonware, or Creative Commons. What should it be?
avatar
Aliasalpha: You could always combine them into one super essay, examine the principle of ownership in total rather than looking at any one specific area and argue the case from both a & [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics]deontological perspective.
Summary of both stances
Utilitarianism (AKA: Chaotic Good)
* One must act to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number
* Places public good over private good
* Possible harmful to minorities and individuals, sacrificed for the majority
* The ends justify the means
Deontological theories (AKA: Lawful Good / sort of Lawful Evil)
* It's about moral obligation
* It's about actions (not ends)
* Rejects acts that harm minorities, individuals
* Stems from Immanual Kant
* Opposite of utilitarianism
* "Do what is right, though the world should perish."
If nothing else, something like that would make a damned fine entry into a uni portfolio if the subject you want has any ethical component

Anything that acts as filler for 4000 words is fine by me!
Hey folks!
Having been there since the days of Alley Cat and Fooblitsky, Ultima IV and King's Quest, I started early and have been a gamer ever since.
More recently, since about 2000 or so, I started to yearn for those older games that I had sold in car boot sales or had been lost when moving or lent to friends and never seen again.
Once I had access to a reasonable internet connection, I began to look for these classics and found HotU, and I guess thats when the abandonware bug hit me.
Several years later, I'm now causing a nuisance as best I can over at Abandonia.com, and generally enjoying supporting GoG.
I'd be over the moon if the majority of "abandonware" titles and those that are being sat on by EA/Lucasarts etc. were to be put on here, and I'd pay for those same ones yet again to keep this site making a (hopefully) healthy profit.
Here's to a bright today, and a brighter tomorrow!