Instead of using the acronym DRM for current versions of "digital rights management". I think companies should use,
WAACAT
WE
ASSUME
ALL
CUSTOMERS
ARE
THIEVES
I'm not saying we should not have DRM, I'm just wondering if we should start using the WAACAT acronym now. Because thats how I feel like I'm being treated by companies like EA.
I would encourage this. The name of something holds a lot of psychological sway in people's minds
When copyright infringement was called copyright infringement, nobody cared. Then they changed it to piracy and also called it theft when neither are technically correct. Because of that play on words, it became much more serious. (That said, I don't think copyright infringement is good, but I don't like to mince words either).
Changing it from digital rights management, a seemingly unobtruse name to WE ASSUME ALL CUSTOMERS ARE THIEVES may help bring the nasties of what DRM is into people minds quicker.
Do you also believe stores with antitheft devices consider all customers to be shoplifters? Does the presence of the TSA mean the government considers every traveller a hyjacker? NO, these just mean there are POTENTIAL troublemakers in any given population, and those troublemakers don't conveniently sort themselves out.
Keep DRM - dumbass retarded monkeys describes the creators very well.
I think the point of this would be as a backlash for disruptive drm.
I have no problem with non disruptive drm and i agree that copyright infringement is bad for the developers in general. However, what I hate even more is politics that use psychology to try to implant certain presumptions into people's heads. I don't believe DRM truly exists because they assume all customers are thieves. In fact, the disruptive DRM is probably mainly targeting second hand sales (and also making the controlling board members feel secure and fuzzy inside).
Still, I hate disruptive DRM and if they want to play the dirty word psychology game - calling copyright infringement theft and piracy - then I'd love to call DRM WAACAT. Tit for tat in my eyes
DRM is stupid for one very simple reason.
Once it's broken, that's it. Game over. Genie can't be stuffed in the bottle.
All it takes is one hacker and BOOM! The entire world can now rid themselves of the DRM.
So why even bother investing all that money? Stardock clearly prove that not everyone is a pirate and their games have sold like hot cakes.
Jinx: Nice to see SOMEONE realises the semantic games going on with calling copyright infringement "theft" and "stealing". Totally different things. That's why copyright infringement carries far harsher penalties. But then most people will go "Huh? What?" So the industry whores call it stealing and theft, because those are scary words.
EA can shove it. I am done with them. I've rarely bought their stuff for years due to their attitude, but really, with this latest, they can stick it. In fact I have to say it's reaching the point where I almost WANT to start pirating their software. They treat me like a thief, then fine, I shall live up to their perceptions.
You haven't bought anything from the store that employs anti-theft devices. Once you have bought something, the anti-theft tags on the products are removed. They no longer infect your purchase.
DRM sticks around even though you've paid for the product, happily installing malware drivers and disabling your optical drives.
Not to mention that you don't walk into a store, buy a microwave or something, then go home and read the part that says you can only plug it in three times before you have to ring customer support and they MIGHT let you plug it in again.
EA has no customer support.
The books I've purchased with little magnetic tags in them beg to differ. Annoying little bastards, leaving an irritating bump in an otherwise pristine book
Just think about it: If you started buying movie DVDs and it would not work saying "this is not your DVD player, so viewing movie not allowed". You could not loan anyone the movie either. That's what computer games are comming down to Seems music is almost that way now; I lost all my music when I got my new computer (I had NO idea it was specific to my computer only)
Well, if you truly bought the books, then go ahead and tear the magnetic tag out .
Well, there are oline stores selling MP3s now. In addition, I've been buying from iTunes Plus whenever possible.
MP3s and iTunes Plus music are not tied to any particular computer. Regular iTunes music, on the other hand, still is.
But that little tag will never affect our ability to read the book, nor will it affect your ability to read other books. DRM potentially makes the purchased software and/or other programs on your system unusable.
DRM works: Diabolical Reaming Method
or how about:
Customer Rights Infringment MalwarE
Seriously though, DRM hasn't caused any problems to me yet, and on principle, the only DRM method i have a problem with is the UNREVOKABLE activations version that EA seems to be bent on using. But still, that didn't prevent me from buying Dead Space. A good game is a good game, and the developers deserve money for their work, despite the DRM the publisher might ship it with.
BTW, i am a (business) software developer, so my opions may be consireded to be biased
EDIT: "We assume all our customers are thieves" - Is there an alternative? The software doesn't know wether it's legal or not, so it has to use the "white list" method (Everyone denied as default, those on the 'list' are exceptions).
And yes, not using DRM is an alternative. Not to some publishers though apparently.
Yeah, maybe they're still there, but you don't have to activate the tag in order to read the book. The tag doesn't phone home to make sure the book's still in your house. The tag doesn't investigate your other books and force you to remove some from your shelf before you can read it. And when you're done with the book and get rid of it, the tag's not still sitting there on your shelf (and it doesn't require special tools - or you getting a new shelf - to get rid of it).
That's just plain funny Coelocanth... but also sad since it's at least partially true.
Amazon mp3 the best music there is without DRM. I purchased nearly 200 CDs in the past few months and will purchase dozens more in the next couple weeks since I just got a new Zen with 32GBs of flash to fill and an extra slot is waiting for 32 more - woohoo!!
Anyway, I liek the following for the real name of suckrom:
Secondhand
Exterminating
Customer
Undermining
Restrictive
Operating
Mechanism
With the Orwellian DRM that keeps getting worse I might just have to go back to board games. Think of all the money saved by not having to upgrade graphics cards every couple of years!
Years? Try six months or so on average.
Do stores only let you wear the clothes 3 times? No. You can wear them as much as you like because you payed for them. DRM makes it with the install limit and mandatory internet access required (I think), more like renting a game to play, except you are renting it for life. DRM does nothing more then kill the used game market, which is what EA was probably trying to do anyway. They must have known that nothing will stop a determined pirate.
It has been shown over numerous games now that it is useless and games get cracked the day they are available whether they have DRM or not. So why do they insist on using it still? To kill the used game market and make people buy new games, therefore netting them more profit.
Protecting your investment is very important, so I can understant the reasoning behind using DRM.
There is a saying, "It's not who you are or what you're selling, it's who you're selling to."
As long as EA and those like EA keep treating thier own customers like thieves, the more they are going to act that way.
Customers are the very foundation of -any- company. If you can't trust your own customers, you may want to find another business and a new customer base.
I feel "digital rights management" is far to soft a title for games like Spore. Maybe if Spore wasn't labeled with just having DRM and maybe something with a little more negative stigma, you wouldn't find it as often.
HAHAHAH, you should start a thread, "If DRM was found in everyday life".
Six? only if you want to play the game, more like 3 if you want to do it smoothly.
Yes, but once you buy the product, you actually OWN it, but EA and their Securom **** seem to think differently. They are pretty much saying, "You can buy this and have an actual copy of the program on a disc, but if you try to "turn it on" too much, we'll prevent you from ever using it again."
It is interesting that you use this example... Just so you know if Apple and Nike have their way you will be limited to wearing specific items with other specific items only. Yes they have DRM on clothing now - no joke.
The TSA and antitheft devices don't follow you home and police what you can and can't have in your house. Tell you who you can or can't talk to or require internet, phone or their presence in your home with access to what they want on demand in order for you to keep what you bought or stay where you went.
The difference is, that clothes, books, cars and houses are PRODUCTS. They are yours after you buy them. When you buy a game, you buy a LICENSE to use SOFTWARE (and the disc, manual and package, which are products, confusing, right?). The game is not yours, you just buy a permit to use it.
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