(03-21-2018, 11:59 AM)MayImilae Wrote: [ -> ]It is a simple matter of liability. Due to our work in emulation (which is legal, though there is regional complexity in that), some companies might want us to disappear, and they have tremendously more resources than we do. So if we know about piracy within our support forum and don't do anything, it could be used against us a future lawsuit. Therefore, the rules are absolute - if someone shows evidence of piracy, you're gone. Simple as that! This is plainly stated in our rules and in the profile setup itself, and you agreed to that rule by being on this forum. That rule cannot change, so if you have an issue with it, you are welcome to leave.
Thank you for your reply MayImilae. I respect the position you're in with piracy.
I do understand this and it would be absolutely awful if Dolphin was approached with a cease and desist lawsuit.
But my question is why there is such a harsh rule system with outright banning a user for just mentioning they downloaded a file. I do know a lot about law and as far as I'm aware the very statement of them saying they downloaded a "backup" file without providing a link to the said file in question is enough for this forum to waiver responsibility of any kind.
Wouldn't it just be fairer if there was just a warning system to discourage people doing this in the first place?
I am sure that as long as the moderators enforce a zero tolerance on users providing links there would be no problem?
Also my apologies for this thread going completely off topic but I really wanted to voice my opinion on this matter.
If we give support to those that we know have illegally obtained copyrighted software, we could be seen as encouraging or aiding in piracy, which is absolutely something that a company would use against us in a lawsuit to character-assassinate us. So if we know someone has illegally obtained copyrighted software, we have no choice but to ban them.
As for the backup argument, that is a fallacy. The only legal way to obtain a game for use in Dolphin is to purchase it, and "format-shift" (the legal term) the data via ripping your disc or dumping your NAND. So the data from *your* copy is backed up onto your system. That the data is identical to what you could download off the internet is utterly irrelevant to the law, how you obtained it is all that matters. The 24 hours theory is also a fallacy, as again, that's not format shifting. That's just how US law works. Other countries have different laws of course, but in general they are fairly similar in that regard, though the argument of downloading being ok is even weaker elsewhere due to the lack of fair use/fair dealing.
(03-21-2018, 12:26 PM)MayImilae Wrote: [ -> ]If we give support to those that we know have illegally obtained copyrighted software, we could be seen as encouraging or aiding in piracy, which is absolutely something that a company would use against us in a lawsuit.
As for the backup argument, that is a fallacy. The only legal way to obtain a game for use in Dolphin is to purchase it, and "format-shift" (the legal term) the data. So the data from *your* copy is backed up onto your system. That the data is identical to what you could download off the internet is utterly irrelevant to the law, how you obtained it is all that matters. The 24 hours theory is also a fallacy, as again, that's not format shifting. That's just how US law works. Other countries have different laws of course, but in general they are fairly similar in that regard, though the argument of downloading being ok is even weaker elsewhere due to the lack of fair use/fair dealing.
I understand what you're saying and I can certainly believe that being a possibility under U.S law as you can sue for just about anything there.
So in a nutshell, if a user just about mentions anything that suggests downloading a copy of a game to use with dolphin you will outright ban regardless to protect yourselves. Makes sense, no matter how unfair it sounds. You'd rather be in the complete safe territory than in the "iffy" grey zone that some other forums seem to be in. Understood loud and clear.
I'd like to also add that the ppsspp forum also has a zero-tolerance policy. The DrasticDS forum probably has the same policy too.
(03-20-2018, 09:48 PM)JosJuice Wrote: [ -> ]Rendering the graphics usually isn't the bottleneck for Dolphin, so that calculation isn't entirely relevant 
It is often true that PAL versions run about as well as NTSC version, but it's not a rule that's set in stone.
I actually fixed it and testing ntsc versions against pal (i do own super mario sunshine as a gc game i just wanted to play it again) had better performance with pal, and also after setting auto to force 4:3 all my problems went away, i run it fine at 22-25 (pal version) fps in almost all areas and i dont even use downclocking i leave it off (100% on cpu) idk why it wasn an issue but ima happy camper
(03-21-2018, 11:31 AM)Nick Sevarg Wrote: [ -> ]And that leads me to the next part of my rant by stating that there is actually no difference in either "ripping", or downloading a copy of your own game because either is action is apparently illegal in most western countries.
I see your point, but there is a difference: There is close to no legal way to "download" a copy in the legal way, without violating any of the other rules:
- You must not distribute your game copies, eg no dropbox, no torrent.
- You shall not support organized crime (piracy), eg no website with ads, no filehoster with refund (all of them).
So copying your games from your desktop to your mobile remains. But would you call this "download"?
(03-21-2018, 01:38 PM)Ace31220 Wrote: [ -> ]I actually fixed it and testing ntsc versions against pal (i do own super mario sunshine as a gc game i just wanted to play it again) had better performance with pal, and also after setting auto to force 4:3 all my problems went away, i run it fine at 22-25 (pal version) fps in almost all areas and i dont even use downclocking i leave it off (100% on cpu) idk why it wasn an issue but ima happy camper
I hope you mean't saying "I have 2 original copies of SMS: an NTSC-U one and a PAL one which I both legally ripped from the disk"