This is my last post about this topic today, but I'm just going to try to clear some misconceptions. Direct download sites are not identical to torrents. Hopefully you know the difference, but I fear you don't.
I am very factual about certain term, because they point to an underlining issue and enable distinction. Abandonware is a subgroup of pirated software. No one denied this. But it's an important subgroup, since a lot of people download abandonware for the sole fact that it is otherwise unavailable (sometimes you find it on torrent sites, most times you don't). Some people prefer PtP transfer because true abandonware titles lack music and videos for bandwidth reasons.

Yes, the whole point of GOG as a service is to make these otherwise forgotten titles a viable commercial option and an alternative to pirated software. The moment a title becomes available on an digital download service (or retail store as a new and updated product, but that's more problematic), it ceases to be abandonware.

Well "piracy" is just as much an official legal term as "abandonware" is.

The point from the very beginning has been that legality is of little concern to me, morally I think abandonware is a-okay. You then said it was the same thing as pirating anything else, which I think is insanity and ignores common sense differences.

So if you want to say "I consider it piracy but of a much different and much better variety" then I guess I wouldn't debate that. Saying they're the "same thing," which was your original debate point, is crazy though.

The problem I have is with the term abandonware is that it gives most people the false impression that the games are freewared or no longer licensed to anyone. I do not divide distributing someone elses intellectual property into sub categories like you, unfortunately, therefore I can't divide it into different levels of "right" or "wrong". So to me, they are essentially the same thing, as they are to the developers of ScummVM, who have been sued quite a few times for promoting piracy. And not only by LucasArts.

So I guess we agree on some level, except for the statement that "nobody cares". Because I know of quite a few people who do.

Should we call it a day and go play some games?

I highly recommend Gold Rush! Collectors edition, buy it online: http://www.softwarefarm.com/gr_home.htm

Supported by ScummVM(tm)

Alternatively, download it from the aforementioned website.

Cause why recognize nuance and difference when we can just lump everything together!

Well I hope you paid Lucas for your avatar.

I personally don't consider "true" abandonware (cannot be purchased anywhere except second hand like Ebay) to be piracy. I think of it as "illegal salvage."