Previously, on GOG forums:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/gtagrand_theft_auto_1_complete_pack_in_steam/page1

"Take the L"...?!

The OP is linking to pirated software, which is a direct violation of GOG's forum rules. There is no possible way that any users who point out this fact are "taking an L" for doing so.

You are welcome! ^^
Thanks for the tip! =) I know this mod, there is a mod that adds a radar (mini map) too. If memory serves, I posted the links in a post much higher. Honestly, I even thought about uploading a ready-to-use GTA 2 package that I have here, but if I did that we would be witness to a collective heart attack. XD

Authorities seem to be twiddling their thumbs, so maybe this is somewhat paradoxically becoming pro-yo-ho.

Yep, currently is an abandonware, and abandonware games have always been a grey area, they are not legit per say, but nobody has right over them so nobody is hurt and nobody can sue nobody.

Someone has rights over them. Often they don't care, but don't mistake ignorance or absence of active enforcement for "no one has rights."

Bro, precisely...

Abandonware is NOT a grey area, it is very clear. Abandonware is copyright infringment, in other words what is generally refered to as piracy. The way copyright infringment work is legaly it is a civil case, this means that for the police / government / autorities to interfere, it must first be filed as a complaint. the autorithy can then do an investigation, usually it will be a civil suit where the complainer must establish that there has been a copyright infringment.

So, just because the right holders do not care enough to start this process, becuase it costs time and money to do so, it does not mean that the actuall piracy is not clear. Whenever someone distribute copyright material without the concent of the right holders, then it is per definition copyright infrigment. Rockstar have never formaly given this concent, so.... and thats it.

On the matter of fair use:

I've been creating music for 25 years now, and have been getting paid for it for 20. I've had my music used under licensing agreements, I've sold my music on hardcopies, and online. A few years ago, I made one of my projects free to download (mainly because I didn't want people going to dodgy sites to download it unofficially).

Within 2024, or 2025 at the latest, I'll be removing my stuff from online stores.

Are you suggesting that my personal, copyrighted creations are fair use?

I retain the copyright, and the right to exploit it commercially. Giving it away for free doesn't mean I'm handing over my copyrights, or the legal recognition that I'm the creator of said works. Removing them from stores online doesn't mean it's fair use.

In these 25 years, I've had handlings with contracts & dealing with lawyers. As others have said, it is evident you are way "out of your element, Donny."

On the matter of the links you posted:

It's not my copyright, so it's up to Rockstar to protect their works, and I'm definitely not gonna be doing their work for them. However, safety concerns are an issue, and that affects everyone here. Both the link you posted with its frequent updates, and the link on that unofficial Ukranian site could be seen as potential safety hazards.

Uhh, no. Paladin181 and amok are completely right. Abandonware has always been illegal at least for most of the world. Someone still owns the copyright on it somewhere and just because no one is enforcing those protections doesn't make it legally grey.

These are rather garbage parallels. The victim of theft is in fact not shouting and crying, despite being an over-sized corporation that can turn their tears into legalese bullets. Most of the rest would sound leagues more foolish if you could clone a car as easily as data. Since we're talking about data and not a physical item, do you see where I'm going with this? The legality lives and dies on Take2's laziness on the matter, which hasn't run out yet.

Just wanna say that the piggy in the first pic made me chuckle :)
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To the other users repeatedly "stating the law/legalities":
feel free to report the thread here and the stuff on the other forum to GOG staff and the IP holders, and stop wasting everyone else's time with pointless and boringly drawn out paragraphs of authoritarianist virtue signaling.

One thing is music... Another thing is games. You know, if I take a music file from 1997 and play it on my PC, it will just play. However, I can't do that with a PC game, as old games require countless fixes to work, no one can deny that. The idea of ​​fair use or abandonware is pure and simple preservation. No one wants to make "fair use" of a game for profit, or steal other people's intellectual property. You guys look at these concepts in the worst way possible, and it's hilarious!

And speaking specifically about your music, you know, the Internet Archive is DMCA exempt, so if someone downloaded and uploaded your music there, unfortunately you won't be able to do anything. But look on the bright side: Nobody copies the bad, and nobody preserves rubbish. So feel honored if one day you see people copying your work, because you will be sure you did a good job. In my country there is a saying that goes: "Nobody throws stones at a tree that doesn't bear fruit."

Ultimately, the preservation of games is driven by the passion for playing which, unfortunately, many of those who criticized here lost it a long time ago.

And lastly, nothing on the Internet is 100% secure. This is a concept known to everyone. If you or someone else doesn't believe in the files, don't download it, it's as simple as that. Now if the files weren't secure, many people would have already revealed it here and on the other forum, and did you think about that?! I was trying to avoid stating the obvious, but it seems that those who criticize only have one neuron in their brain.
Oh that's the spirit! =D

So, "fair use" is different for music, and different for games. And nothing is secure, so we might as well throw caution to the wind. Got it!

And I've never heard that specific Bible saying be twisted in such a warped way. Congats! This is a whole different level of asininity.

As the saying goes: "Every fool is pleased with his own folly."