The bnetd case is moving!

[Jarulf]

Seems there is things happening agian. There are 4 new entries from the last month or so. Interesting reading material I would say.


http://www.eff.org/IP/Emulation/Blizzard_v_bnetd/

[Roland]

Reminds me of SCO vs. the world.

Just another trip 'round the ol' merry-go-round.

You can't do that. Yes I can. No you can't. Yes I can... blah blah blah.

Interesting, to a point, but it gets SO old reading the same BS over and over (and the whole SCO thing has burned me out when it comes to repetition). Just make the damn thing end. BNetD are in the right, Blizzard has their head up their ass, everybody kiss and make up, and we can all get on with our lives. :P

If it weren't for lawyers making so many BS laws, we wouldn't need more lawyers just to interpret them. :P

Thanks for the heads up, though. It's amazing - I was just wondering about the BNetD issue only a few hours ago. Good to see the fight is still on, even if it's about as amusing as a "Pong" battle. ;)

[Occhidiangela]

I can only say that by the time this case is resolved, Diablo II may not even be of interest to the gaming public anymore.

[kandrathe]

I think the "Agree" button argument would be more interesting if the defendants had bought the software and did not install it or connect to Battle.net before deconstructing it. Then, you have not agreed to any EULA. Also, the defendants case would have been stronger had they intended to improve the product, and needed to make this version an interim step to the better product. Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and many other big companies are very guilty if deconstructing software is considered a copyright violation.

This is one case where I'm very conflicted as to who is in the right. I see the merits of both positions. I think had Blizzard allowed bnet.d, the world of internet gaming would have been even further expanding at this time. On the other hand Blizzard would have lost the exclusive control of their product, and it would have been likely that eventually a free version of a retooled D2 would emerge and could have been more popular.

[Occhidiangela]

WC III was the issue that brought this to a head, and screwed with Blizzard's WC III beta.

[Roland]

But that issue, as I'm sure you well know, was spurned by an OFFSHOOT of the BNetD project, and was in no way affiliated with BNetD. The wonderous benefits of Free Software / Open Source Software ended up turning on us on that one. Pity, eh? Oh the irony...

ALL of it is a moot issue now, anyway, IMO, but I'm sure there are still traces of worry here and there, on both sides. I just want the damn thing to be done with; call me impatient. ;)