I am aware that Blizzard threw a shitfit over bnetd in the past, so I suspected that they took steps in the EULA or ToS of WoW to forbid emulation. My suspicions were validated, so I am left to wonder if I should bother. I'd be perfectly happy to buy WoW, run an emulated server on my spare machine, and play by myself. If this is illegal however, then I'm perfectly happy doing none of the above, excepting, of course, play with myself.
So, what do you think? Given that server emulation violates the ToS, is the expense of buying WoW, setting up a private server for my own use, and piddling around on there worth the effort and potential legal action? Or does Blizzard not give a shit about emulated servers? I have no idea how prevalent they are, or if Blizzard actively hunts them.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
Getting an emulator to run by yourself is... pretty pointless, unless you're planning on inviting other people to play on there. I don't know about any specific 'good' servers, so I can't really be any help there.
They have no content. All content on an emulated server has to be created from scratch by whoever runs it. It's an impossible amount of work, even for something so comparably simmple as an EQ emulator. I can't fathom the amount of work it would take to get a WoW emulator running, stable, and decently full of content.
It's far beyond the efforts of one man. Sean fucked around with this message on 09-13-2005 at 01:22 PM.
It's not something people hear about.
As far as setting up your own server goes, it'd be pointless other than to fuck around unless you planned to actually build a server. There'd be no mobs, NPCs, etc. It'd only be good for running around in zones and checking out items.
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Sean stopped staring at Deedlit long enough to write:
They have no content. All content on an emulated server has to be created from scratch by whoever runs it.
Actually, I believe Lineage 2 servers don't need to create everything from scratch. A lot of stuff, including mob spawns, work without having to do all of it yourself, which is why there's a ton of emulated Lineage 2 servers out there. I could be wrong in this, but I'm pretty sure I'm right.
I guess I'll do more research on the emulator before I abandon the notion entirely. Hell, I don't even know if it'll run under Linux.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Talonus was naked while typing this:
Technically, its both illegal and not illegal. Whether or not you play on an emulated server is up to you. No MMO company has targetted players of emulted servers, but they have targetted owners. So I wouldn't worry too much if you wanted to play on one.As far as setting up your own server goes, it'd be pointless other than to fuck around unless you planned to actually build a server. There'd be no mobs, NPCs, etc. It'd only be good for running around in zones and checking out items.
Actually, I believe Lineage 2 servers don't need to create everything from scratch. A lot of stuff, including mob spawns, work without having to do all of it yourself, which is why there's a ton of emulated Lineage 2 servers out there. I could be wrong in this, but I'm pretty sure I'm right.
Most of the 'good' RO emu servers include a mob DB pretty close (and in some cases EXACT because of 'leaks' at Gravity) to what the live servers are. You don't have to do any content building.. just enable mobs and Bammo... instant playable server.
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Sean stopped beating up furries long enough to write:
I think you may be a bit mistaken in how things work in regards to emulated servers;They have no content. All content on an emulated server has to be created from scratch by whoever runs it. It's an impossible amount of work, even for something so comparably simmple as an EQ emulator. I can't fathom the amount of work it would take to get a WoW emulator running, stable, and decently full of content.
It's far beyond the efforts of one man.
Not to mention you can receive no money for all of this work. The moment you start profiting off of an emulated server is the moment Blizzard will have your butt in court.
So people who do this either half-ass it, or quickly realize how much work it requires and cannot continue after a short time. Some folks can stick with it, if they have no need for money & free time, but there's quite a few basement dwellers out there.
diadem fucked around with this message on 09-13-2005 at 09:31 PM.
TOS/EULA != Law.
Just an FYI. Densetsu fucked around with this message on 09-14-2005 at 04:09 PM.
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Verily, the chocolate bunny rabits doth run and play while Anakha gently hums:
but the TOS/EULA == Contract ifin i remember right, and You = Breaking Contract = Can Be Sued.
Exactly--"I didn't break any laws," isn't an absolute defense against being sued. Breaking the law = criminal prosecution; numerous other things = civil suites.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Everyone wondered WTF when Bloodsage wrote:
Exactly--"I didn't break any laws," isn't an absolute defense against being sued. Breaking the law = criminal prosecution; numerous other things = civil suites.
Actually, no. Violating criminal law = criminal prosecution. Violating civil law i.e. violation of contract = civil suit.
ANOTHER COMMON MYTH.
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Maradon! attempted to be funny by writing:
But you can't be imprisoned for violating TOS/EULA.ANOTHER COMMON MYTH.
That's because it is a violation of civil law, not criminal. 
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Maradon! spewed forth this undeniable truth:
But you can't be imprisoned for violating TOS/EULA.ANOTHER COMMON MYTH.
I'm sure that the DMCA says otherwise.
Depending on HOW you violate their EULA they may be able to file charges under the DMCA which means your going to a Federal "Pound Me In The Ass" Prison when found guilty.
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Over the mountain, in between the ups and downs, I ran into Random Insanity Generator who doth quote:
I'm sure that the DMCA says otherwise.Depending on HOW you violate their EULA they may be able to file charges under the DMCA which means your going to a Federal "Pound Me In The Ass" Prison when found guilty.
You're getting into a whole other can of worms than EULA violations.
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Bent over the coffee table, Sakkra squealed:
Actually, no. Violating criminal law = criminal prosecution. Violating civil law i.e. violation of contract = civil suit.
True, but I didn't think the technical distinction important here. But, yes, there are criminal and civil statutes, as well as various assumed rights or guarantees.
Point for you. 
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Maradon! had this to say about Matthew Broderick:
You're getting into a whole other can of worms than EULA violations.
No, I'm just violating the EULA. The EULA states that I will not modify the client for any reason. If I modify it to connect to an emulation server I have violated the EULA, correct? That also opens the door for charges under the DMCA.
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Random Insanity Generator's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
No, I'm just violating the EULA. The EULA states that I will not modify the client for any reason. If I modify it to connect to an emulation server I have violated the EULA, correct? That also opens the door for charges under the DMCA.
In which case, any criminal punishment would fall under the violation of the DMCA, rather than the EULA.
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The propaganda machine of Anakha's junta released this statement:
More to the point, why would you want to emulate a server for yourself? The game is made for player interaction, be it PvP or PvE. There would be almost no point to a server with 1 person in it.
Oh, well, see, rare was it that I interacted with anyone during WoW's beta. Parce and I had some fun a few times, and I helped Bajah with a quest once, was a non-participatory member in a guild, and I did the occasional instance/group effort and raid, most of which I publicized here with screenies. That probably accounted for...5% of my overall play time. I was otherwise out on my own and took little notice of those around me.
Plus it'd be fun to poke around with class/race combinations I never tried. And I love playing with myself. 
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Sakkra painfully thought these words up:
In which case, any criminal punishment would fall under the violation of the DMCA, rather than the EULA.
However it's still violation of the EULA. The statement was that you couldn't be imprisoned for EULA violations. Since it's still a EULA violation, even if it's acted upon under the DMCA, it's prison time for EULA violation.
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Random Insanity Generatoring:
No, I'm just violating the EULA. The EULA states that I will not modify the client for any reason. If I modify it to connect to an emulation server I have violated the EULA, correct? That also opens the door for charges under the DMCA.
DMCA = Digital Media COPYRIGHT Act, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with EULA violations that don't pertain to copyright violations.
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A sleep deprived Maradon! stammered:
DMCA = Digital Media COPYRIGHT Act, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with EULA violations that don't pertain to copyright violations.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
And in this case, as I have stated: EULA forbids modification of the client. The client is a COPYWRITTEN work. You modify it to access servers other than Blizzard's server. You have violated the EULA and at the same time opened yourself up on grounds of DMCA violations. No one has said you *have* violated DMCA, but that's where they're going to press charges at.
As for the DMCA, the provisions for damages it makes are utterly out of bounds for something that is not part of the criminal justice system. Civil suits are supposed to revert unlawful transfers of wealth, i.e. restore the property of the victim to a state in which it would have been had the offender not somehow infringed upon it. They should not be a vehicle for punitive action, which should be solely within the domain of the criminal courts. They should least of all be a means for organizations to blackmail individuals into settlements. If you tallied up the amount of music shared on the internet against the provisions the DMCA makes for damage payments you'd most likely end up with a situation in which, had Napster never come to be, the music industry would own the entire world economy, this fact alone should be enough evidence of the act needing immediate reform.
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Quoth Tarquinn:
I'd like to violate Eula too. Is she hot?
ftw
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Tarquinn stopped beating up furries long enough to write:
I'd like to violate Eula too. Is she hot?
She lives on the hill
She won't do it, but her sister will.
/jams to some ZZ Top
