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General discussion (archive)Is it legal to sell a GOG account?(118 posts)(118 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 06, 2010
On several occasions I've noticed people trying to sell their GOG accounts and I started to wonder how does GOG look at this. I quickly read through the terms of use, but found nothing about this particular issue.
Since games distributed by GOG are DRM free, there is a high probability [if not a certainty] that the person selling his / her account would keep the installs for themselves and continue to use them, while allowing someone else to access their account.
I know Valve doesn't approve of this when it comes to Steam accounts, even though in Steam's case, only one person can actually use the account.
So is selling a GOG account to someone, giving them access to purchased games, legal? Can there be a transfer of ownership or is this against GOG rules?
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Posted June 10, 2010
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ChaunceyK: Think of it this way...why might selling your mp3s be wrong/illegal, while selling a cd or a book would not?

No, I still don't see why selling my mp3s would be wrong, as long as I lose all my access to them and the one who bought them from me will gain it.
Wait, were you agreeing with me? I can't tell :D
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: I still don't see why selling my mp3s would be wrong, as long as I lose all my access to them and the one who bought them from me will gain it.

Sure. As long as you WOULD lose access to them, permanently and indubitably.
That's the tricky part ;).
Posted June 10, 2010
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Vestin: Sure. As long as you WOULD lose access to them, permanently and indubitably.
That's the tricky part ;).

Yeah, that's what selling means. Thus, I don't see what would be wrong with it
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: Yeah, that's what selling means.

Well - you sell the ACCOUNT. It's no longer yours and all that matters is whether or not you kept the files... They were not DIRECTLY being sold, so it's not THAT obvious.
Regardless - it would simply be too risky for all the sides - the buyer, the seller and GOG...
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: Yeah, that's what selling means. Thus, I don't see what would be wrong with it

Yes, but a dishonest person could presumably save the data they've already fetched and simply sell the access to wherever the data came from.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Vestin: ...
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Miaghstir: ...

Dishonest person might as well throw all GoG games on Torrent sites, that doesn't make all games being DRM-free wrong, does it?
I am not talking about how dishonest people are, I am talking about act of selling an account, which surely is not wrong. Actually, it feels very right to me to be able to sell my possessions.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: Dishonest person might as well throw all GoG games on Torrent sites, that doesn't make all games being DRM-free wrong, does it?
I am not talking about how dishonest people are, I am talking about act of selling an account, which surely is not wrong. Actually, it feels very right to me to be able to sell my possessions.

It might be legal in the sense that it is not a criminal act to do so, but it is clearly a violation of the terms we all agreed to when joining GOG and in that sense it is very wrong. Regardless of the legality of selling the account, you agreed to not allow anyone other than yourself access to the account when you signed up for GOG. By selling the account, you are going back on your word. From an ethical standpoint, you would be very much in the wrong.
The worst that could probably happen is the sold account ends up getting banned by GOG, assuming they get conclusive proof that the account was sold, but at that point it is a classic case of closing the barn doors after the horses have already escaped. Both the original account owner and the new owner would very likely already have downloaded the games in question and are happily playing them.
Posted June 10, 2010
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cogadh: ...

I do not care about legality, nor do I care about agreements right now. I am talking about what is right, and selling what I own is right. GoG had to include this rule to prevent people from doing precisely that: Downloading them and then selling the account. But I repeat, I'm not talking about honesty of people.
You guys, of all people, should be the ones who understand what I DO mean: That I wish to be free to do whatever I want with my possessions. We are not in ideal world and therefore I have to step back from my requirements quite often, still, it doesn't mean that freedom to do what we wish with what we own is wrong.
Yes, I am talking about the 'ideal world,' but right and wrong is pretty much derived from the vision of ideal world.
If you hate DRM tying hands of customers and, at the same time, disagree with this statement, which also ties hands of customer in another way, you are contradicting yourself.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: ...

I do entirely agree with you, we just seem to be approaching the discussion from different angles.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: I do not care about legality, nor do I care about agreements right now. I am talking about what is right, and selling what I own is right. GoG had to include this rule to prevent people from doing precisely that: Downloading them and then selling the account. But I repeat, I'm not talking about honesty of people.
You guys, of all people, should be the ones who understand what I DO mean: That I wish to be free to do whatever I want with my possessions. We are not in ideal world and therefore I have to step back from my requirements quite often, still, it doesn't mean that freedom to do what we wish with what we own is wrong.
Yes, I am talking about the 'ideal world,' but right and wrong is pretty much derived from the vision of ideal world.
If you hate DRM tying hands of customers and, at the same time, disagree with this statement, which also ties hands of customer in another way, you are contradicting yourself.

I also agree with you that in an ideal world, that would be the case, but this is not an ideal world and the moment you agreed to GOG's TOS, the reality of what you can and cannot do with your GOG account changed. The real world is not black and white, right and wrong, it is shades of grey. This is one of those grey areas where what is ideally right and what is really right are not the same.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Miaghstir: ...
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cogadh: ...

Someone agrees with me on the boards for a change, I shall dance a happy dance!
Anyway, yes, world is not black and white. Nevertheless, the same train of thoughts could be applied to DRM. It is here - or began to be here - out of necessity. Because people were illegally pirating games. The constraints most DRM schemes put on users are reasonable, with just a few exceptions out of thousands of games. And yet, most people insist that DRM is 'wrong' by itself, even thou they know we are NOT living in an ideal world. Oh, just for elaboration: I am not implying you are doing it as well, I am merely presenting my standpoint.
So yes, it pretty much just comes to that. A standpoint.
Posted June 10, 2010
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Fenixp: No, I still don't see why selling my mp3s would be wrong, as long as I lose all my access to them and the one who bought them from me will gain it.

You are talking about transfer of ownership and there is nothing wrong with it.
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Miaghstir: Yes, but a dishonest person could presumably save the data they've already fetched and simply sell the access to wherever the data came from.

You are talking about copyright infringement and that is illegal. The OP didn't ask if copyright infringement is legal or okey-dokey with the GOG team so this point is irrelevant.
What you are suggesting is that someone will do wrong if given the capacity to do so. It is baffling, really. Then again, maybe assuming guilt is commonplace in your country. In that case; you probably have garbage bags in your house so you could stuff a baby in one and throw it in the river if you wanted to therefore you must be a murderer. I have notified the police. They should arrive at your house shortly. All in a day's work... [/absurd ramblings]
Posted June 10, 2010
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Darling_Jimmy: What you are suggesting is that someone will do wrong if given the capacity to do so. It is baffling, really. Then again, maybe assuming guilt is commonplace in your country. In that case; you probably have garbage bags in your house so you could stuff a baby in one and throw it in the river if you wanted to therefore you must be a murderer. I have notified the police. They should arrive at your house shortly. All in a day's work... [/absurd ramblings]

That made me smile, awesome reading. :-)
Posted June 10, 2010
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Miaghstir: That made me smile, awesome reading. :-)

I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D
Posted June 10, 2010
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Darling_Jimmy: You are talking about transfer of ownership and there is nothing wrong with it.

See? A grue agrees with me. FACE THE MIGHT OF THIS CREATURE!
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General discussion (archive)Is it legal to sell a GOG account?(118 posts)(118 posts)
(118 posts)