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Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

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Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#51

Post by wyager »

eridius wrote: post #47
Sabinus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kotaku has a very bad reputation among some circles. Perhaps I'm wrong. It is the first time for HN, but I've seen this practice on other websites.

If you don't think Kotaku is a site worth reading, don't read it. But reading cached copies just so you can avoid giving the page view to Kotaku is stupid. If they're producing content you want to read, then just read it!

Presumably people want to read it without supporting them financially. It's not that complicated. If you don't care about blizzard's IP rights, you probably also don't care about giving otaku money for reading their content.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#52

Post by jakebasile »

jpgvm wrote: post #49
jakebasile wrote: post #44

It looks like someone found a copy of Blizzard's copyrighted source code, returned it to Blizzard, and got a reward. Why are people upset about this? It seems like the right thing to do to my mind. If someone found a copy of my own source laying in the street I'd be very happy if they returned it instead of releasing it on the net.

It's not normal source code. It's not like you found the source to the latest Halo game or something. This is like finding the source to the original Halo game, of little to no commercial value but of immense cultural value. Where possible these artefacts are archived so they will be around long after the companies have folded. Unfortunately it's just not possible most of the time as companies end up taking their sof…

But in this case, that's Blizzard's right. They own it whether you like it or not. Just because something is important doesn't mean they should lose property rights to it.

Abandonware is a thing and I remember there being some legal headway made recently in that respect, but Starcraft isn't abandoned. They just released a compatibility patch and made it free to download.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#53

Post by huehehue »

jpgvm wrote: post #49
jakebasile wrote: post #44

It looks like someone found a copy of Blizzard's copyrighted source code, returned it to Blizzard, and got a reward. Why are people upset about this? It seems like the right thing to do to my mind. If someone found a copy of my own source laying in the street I'd be very happy if they returned it instead of releasing it on the net.

It's not normal source code. It's not like you found the source to the latest Halo game or something. This is like finding the source to the original Halo game, of little to no commercial value but of immense cultural value. Where possible these artefacts are archived so they will be around long after the companies have folded. Unfortunately it's just not possible most of the time as companies end up taking their sof…

Not too sure about "no commercial value" considering the impending release of StarCraft: Remastered

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#54

Post by jpgvm »

huehehue wrote: post #46

Damn people are tearing this guy apart, the reddit threads are particularly brutal. It's a video game. The finder has no obligation to risk legal trouble so that a game can be modified, played, or even preserved. I'm all for archiving these sorts of things, and agree there's probably no great reason to keep the source private. But if I have the (likely) stolen property of a large company and they ask for its return,…

It's actually pretty simple. If you find yourself in the same situation:

1. Rip disk 2. Send to archive.org 3. Mail disk to Blizzard.

Blizzard will destroy this copy or at least make sure it never circulates again, by sending it to archive.org you have relieved yourself of the burden of releasing it. They may or may not choose to release it but they will at least keep it archived so that if Blizzard is to be lost then history will not be lost with it.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#55

Post by scrollaway »

jpgvm wrote: post #54
huehehue wrote: post #46

Damn people are tearing this guy apart, the reddit threads are particularly brutal. It's a video game. The finder has no obligation to risk legal trouble so that a game can be modified, played, or even preserved. I'm all for archiving these sorts of things, and agree there's probably no great reason to keep the source private. But if I have the (likely) stolen property of a large company and they ask for its return,…

It's actually pretty simple. If you find yourself in the same situation: 1. Rip disk 2. Send to archive.org 3. Mail disk to Blizzard. Blizzard will destroy this copy or at least make sure it never circulates again, by sending it to archive.org you have relieved yourself of the burden of releasing it. They may or may not choose to release it but they will at least keep it archived so that if Blizzard is to be lost the…

I can't make you a legal guarantee of that, but Blizzard will not destroy the copy. It seems unlikely they'll release it any time soon given SC Remastered, but they're not idiots.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#56

Post by jakebasile »

scrollaway wrote: post #50
eridius wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. A lot of people in this thread apparently never learned to tell right from wrong.

Did you? :) Starcraft influenced the culture and politics of an entire nation and became a national sport. It pioneered "e-sports". It's a piece of history, and this disc is standalone a piece of history as well. I think I know right from wrong, but I would still have absolutely no idea what to do if that disc landed on my doorstep. Edit: I cannot believe this is such a controversial thing to say. Shame on the people…

But it's still owned by Blizzard. It doesn't matter how important it was, they still own it. I am 100% sure the guy did the right thing in returning it, not only legally but morally as well. If Blizzard were to MIT license it that'd be amazing but they're the only ones with the power to do so, no matter who finds a copy in a box.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#57

Post by jpgvm »

jakebasile wrote: post #52
jpgvm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not normal source code. It's not like you found the source to the latest Halo game or something. This is like finding the source to the original Halo game, of little to no commercial value but of immense cultural value. Where possible these artefacts are archived so they will be around long after the companies have folded. Unfortunately it's just not possible most of the time as companies end up taking their sof…

But in this case, that's Blizzard's right. They own it whether you like it or not. Just because something is important doesn't mean they should lose property rights to it. Abandonware is a thing and I remember there being some legal headway made recently in that respect, but Starcraft isn't abandoned. They just released a compatibility patch and made it free to download.

I'm not talking about distribution, merely archiving.

I don't think it's reasonable to argue against archiving when it clearly has cultural significance.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#58

Post by scrollaway »

jakebasile wrote: post #56
scrollaway wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you? :) Starcraft influenced the culture and politics of an entire nation and became a national sport. It pioneered "e-sports". It's a piece of history, and this disc is standalone a piece of history as well. I think I know right from wrong, but I would still have absolutely no idea what to do if that disc landed on my doorstep. Edit: I cannot believe this is such a controversial thing to say. Shame on the people…

But it's still owned by Blizzard. It doesn't matter how important it was, they still own it. I am 100% sure the guy did the right thing in returning it, not only legally but morally as well. If Blizzard were to MIT license it that'd be amazing but they're the only ones with the power to do so, no matter who finds a copy in a box.

It's unclear whether it's a legal obligation given that the disc was found, it's even less clear whether it's a moral obligation.

If you didn't know anything about Blizzard, what would you speculate? Someone elsewhere in the thread for example is speculating Blizzard would destroy the copy -- if I thought that'd be a possibility, I would personally never send it their way and you could in no world convince me it's moral to send a piece of history to its demise.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#59

Post by tedivm »

ajmurmann wrote: post #36
Sabinus wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly so Kotaku doesn't get the ad revenue/page hits.

If they wrote the article why would we want to not allow them to get the revenue? First time I've seen this practice on HN.

It's a holdover from the gamegate crap. It's one of those things you should downvote or ignore.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#60

Post by jpgvm »

scrollaway wrote: post #55
jpgvm wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually pretty simple. If you find yourself in the same situation: 1. Rip disk 2. Send to archive.org 3. Mail disk to Blizzard. Blizzard will destroy this copy or at least make sure it never circulates again, by sending it to archive.org you have relieved yourself of the burden of releasing it. They may or may not choose to release it but they will at least keep it archived so that if Blizzard is to be lost the…

I can't make you a legal guarantee of that, but Blizzard will not destroy the copy. It seems unlikely they'll release it any time soon given SC Remastered, but they're not idiots.

Removing from circulation permanently is basically the same as destruction for the purposes of archival.
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