No, just because you see someone's car with the door open and the car keys inside, does not mean you are supposed or even allowed to take that car and start driving it.

That's a good point, and I've seen it happen too. I think that distinguishes the folks who genuinely love "abandoned" games and want to keep them alive versus the ones who just want "teh fr33 sh1tz".

It makes me wince and die a bit on the inside when retarded-ass topics like this pop up on the forums.

ugh yes those... -.- like people are working their a**es off for them to get everything served on a platinum plate... For people who cannot afford it i can actually understand... but the others who can easily afford it...ugh... just ugh.....
Thanks -.- I love you too.

Meh. At least he asked.

No need to get so self-righteous.

I think that should be treated more as GOG's opinion on it, what one could use as a guideline. GOG doesn't really hold the IP rights to the games, albeit I don't know what kind of deal they have with the publishers concerning the extra compatibility work and installers GOG creates on top of the actual games.

It is the game publishers, and ultimately the legislation in your country, which decides what you can do with the games for which you have a license.

To me it is morally somewhat ok approach that you'd loan games to people closest to you the same way like you'd loan retail games which have a CD check. If you loan it, you shouldn't play it yourself, nor loan it to many people at the same time. Yet, I am unsure if even that is really legal with digital games.

I would also say that generally it is a good idea not to loan the actual installers, but install the game yourself to someone's PC if they want to play it. Just so that it doesn't become too easy for him/her to also "loan" (=share) it to all his friends, who share the installer to all their friends etc. etc. etc. Since you are the license holder to the game (installer), you should also remain as the only one who controls its usage, the best you can realistically. Don't wittingly share that control also to others, by providing the installers.

I personally don't want to share my games at all outside my household. Not much reason either though, I don't seem to have real-life friends who'd be hot after mostly old PC game classics anyway.

Why self righteous? I'm not like "hey look at me how awesome i am! Look how i am paying for that game there! I'm so supahkewl, everyone should be like me!" Yeah but now that you mention it, it is a bit arrogant... but not really self righteous.

That's a flawed premise, because games are not a necessity. I think when a government or similar body fosters a market where people cannot afford the necessities, then actions outside that body's rules may be justified. But saying it's not okay to download illegally when you can afford to buy it but it is okay when you can't, that doesn't hold water. That's equivalent to saying that a rich guy who steals a yacht is a thief, but it's okay for me to drive down and hook one up to my trailer without paying because I can't afford one.

I know that example brings up the whole "no loss of goods when copying digital media" argument, which is a separate debate, but I think it's valid here because pirating GOG games means sales lost to them. And if the only way you can afford a GOG game is to pirate it, then I wager you have bigger issues that you should be dealing with first.

What about just giving away the game files... I don't think installing it on a different computer and then removing the installer would prevent anything
I don't think its a good thing i just kind of "understand". Even if games shouldnt be on top of a "what i need to survive a day" list.

Maybe not fully prevent (especially with DOSBox games), but it still makes sharing the games to others less feasible than if you shared the installer which creates also all the shortcuts to games with correct compatibility settings, possible registry entries etc. that the games may need. That's why I said "wittingly".

If you keep the installer to yourself, then you can pat yourself to the back that at least you didn't try to make it too easy to share around the games you loaned. After all, there's a reason that people are not sharing/torrenting (GOG) game installations, but rather the installers.

Ah yes, a chain mail. Remind me to wear one when a broadsword wielding maniac rushes at me.

The thing is, chain mail gives you a false sense of security. A good BW maniac will crack that thing in a matter of minutes.

Finally the thread has turned to something I can enjoy. All this talk of morality and theft just depresses the hell out of me.

Hah! (egg) Yoke's on you. I am in cohorts with a superior limb-protection scheme. The so-called always on-line Drop Regiment Maneuver. Mercenaries are on an actual line above my head, and jump down when a certain level of broadsword is detected. Unfortunately, it can be circumvented with a tramp-o-line.