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I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

theeggandtherock.substack.com

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Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#151

Post by [deleted] »

asperous wrote: post #55
Benjamin_Dobell wrote: post #40

I feel for the guy, making a living off of art is difficult. However, with an extensive email chain explaining the story was written as the ending of Minecraft, even going into detail about how it was to be displayed in game, an agreed upon offer (if a bit vague), and then an exchange of funds - with no immediate attempt to return said funds. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds a lot like a legally binding agreement. > So…

If he actually received $20,000 that still seems like a lot? Especially in a world where freelance writing is $0.01-$0.50 (pre-GPT3). And it sounds like at the time it was good money for the artist. I get that he feels like he was given a small amount relative to the great success of Minecraft, but I would hope he also realizes that it was risk free cash.

[deleted]

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#152

Post by bobsmooth »

lelanthran wrote: post #130
gary_0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that's the pinnacle of what anyone would want out of life?

> And that's the pinnacle of what anyone would want out of life? No one claimed that it was. Buying a mansion and shitposting on twitter isn't exactly the sign of being a failure, is it? By all measureable metrics, I'd assume that his life is better than 90% of people that started life in the same socioeconomic class that he did.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Having Tony Hawk and Skrillex at your housewarming party is cool but they're not the same as friends.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#155

Post by kergonath »

papa2034 wrote: post #128

I have a strong feeling MS will put out a statement that they own the end poem and it is not public domain. The author talks about how big the game was/became, but it’s actually irrelevant because no one bought the game because of the poem.

> I have a strong feeling MS will put out a statement that they own the end poem and it is not public domain.

I don’t think they would do that. That would be unbelievably stupid from a legal department. The funny thing with this sort of IP in most of Europe (though this could be different in Sweden but I really doubt it) is that nobody except the author can own it. All they can have is an exclusive license. If they are convinced of this and wanted to clear things up, they will sue. But they probably won’t because the guy is probably right.

> it’s actually irrelevant because no one bought the game because of the poem.

That’s a very wrong take. IP laws deal with copying and distributing works. You won’t get out of a lawsuit saying that it was not significant (unless you are pleading fair use, but it clearly was not the case here).

Whether the work is important or not does not matter before we talk about compensation. And then, an insignificant fraction of a few billions is still quite a bit of money.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#156

Post by operator-name »

Benjamin_Dobell wrote: post #40

I feel for the guy, making a living off of art is difficult. However, with an extensive email chain explaining the story was written as the ending of Minecraft, even going into detail about how it was to be displayed in game, an agreed upon offer (if a bit vague), and then an exchange of funds - with no immediate attempt to return said funds. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds a lot like a legally binding agreement. > So…

I think your focus on the financials, which was a very small part of the article is misguided. I'm under the assumption that the article is part of the author trying to "piece things together" - as a part 2 of his spiritual journey where he concluded:

> I wrote a story for a friend, but in the end, he didn't treat me like a friend, and I'm hurt.

By accepting this premise, these are examples of when he expected to be treated as a friend, but was instead treated as an outsider. As for the legality, I don't think a vague agreement can clarify if the work is licenced or if the licence was transfered.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#157

Post by meibo »

CodeArtisan wrote: post #101
pfoof wrote: post #6

Well, and karma apparently works, as notch's life after becoming billionaire doesn't seem to be too positive

I don't see any wrongdoing from Notch in this.

That's not what he said, and no, Notch didn't do anything wrong here. He's referring to everything about current day Notch(sad, alone, transphobe in billion $ mansion that panders to the right on Twitter all day and hasn't had anything creatively interesting to say since 2015).

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#158

Post by karmakurtisaani »

dcow wrote: post #30
deanCommie wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a strange thing to say. Most of us don't lose all our friends, or go in the deep end alt-right in our 20's...

My point is that he's in a shared melodramatic phase. It seems bad now, no doubt. But time heals all wounds. He'll find his friends again. He'll realize that Twitter isn't the right forum for posting batshit crazy stuff if you're sensitive to criticism. He'll repair things. He'll find his peace. Or he'll go insane. I'm hoping the former as a fellow human.

Well, he also has all the money in the world to be distracted and surrounded by people who are in for the wrong reasons. So, let's see.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#159

Post by sillysaurusx »

dcow wrote: post #144
prox wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am going to assume you are one of those reductionist materialists I read about. /s Just saying that I found the story interesting and well… lovely (in a way) but perhaps that’s different backgrounds at work (I dabble in art) so I wonder what makes this such an unbearable thing to read, perhaps a very practical person? Not necessarily directed at you dcow.

I actually did find parts of the essay quite reassuring and beautiful and the story in isolation rather interesting. As a copyleft non-believer in intellectual property (and rather that you must apply labor to ideas and can only own the outcome of such acts), I am also pleased with the outcome. So the sour aftertaste, for me, is likely related to the juxtaposition of positive and negative elements and I think ultimat…

Sounds like his art had a bigger impact on you than you realized. :)

I share your beliefs about IP, and I hope one day the world breaks free of the concept. But maybe try to be a little less mean. It’s worth it if only not to be one of those people that just post dunks for internet points. (I’ve done it a few times and usually regretted how I sounded after the dust settled.)

Cheers for openly expressing “down with copyright” though.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#160

Post by dheavy »

pgsandstrom wrote: post #149
rosywoozlechan wrote: post #41

That's a lot of anger, negativity and bitterness, and entitlement (one of the game's creators for writing the ending text?). Reminds me of the kid on the cover of the Nevermind album and other people that are kinda tangentially connected to something massively successful, but not connected enough to benefit materially, and they let that define who they are and ruin their lives. Could have been a neat personal story,…

Im honestly chocked that people react so negatively to this piece. Yes, the author expresses many negative and self centered emotions. He is very clear about that. It is part of the story. It is a story about being a flawed person. I sympathize with him. I loved this piece. I hope he truly did let go of all the hangups he described. And it does seem that he actually did sell the the rights of use to microsoft, making…

My thoughts exactly!
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