Here's your chance to catch a pirate

[ChrisB 11]

It's part of the job spec - I keep an eye open for people who steal stuff from the people I work with and respect.

Spotted on one of those "unpleasant" sites...

It looks suspiciously like an Aerosoft beta tester here is abusing his privileges? Here you go Aerosoft, he's all yours for wrapping up sorting out... please check this user ID and take any action you might deem necessary

(edited in response to the concerns voiced below)

[Shaun Fletcher 570]

Thanks Chris,

Coincidence that the user here with the same name was indeed on the Falcon Beta.

[ChrisB 11]

He used the same name???

Now pirate I understand (not approve) but pirate and mad? Oh well

OK, to be fair, the guy was just asking for a cracked version.... Personally I'd just love to have some "magic switch" to shut down those sites, but they are weeds with deep roots. They need to be physically found and taken out one by one.

I don't mind publicly embarassing users of hackware though. The less people do it the better.

fswmd - here is your moment of fame...

[thomas29 5]

Hello ChrisB

Software piracy is bad, but I am not a fan of public witch hunt. This case looks funny, but remember that your user name is not protected. Next time a pirate uses the name of an forum member. Whats then ? I think its better to send an email to aerosoft, so they can proof the case.

Many greetings Thomas

[Guest M31]

Hello ChrisB

Software piracy is bad, but I am not a fan of public witch hunt. This case looks funny, but remember that your user name is not protected. Next time a pirate uses the name of an forum member. Whats then ? I think its better to send an email to aerosoft, so they can proof the case.

Many greetings Thomas

Also, one has to ask, what was ChrisB doing, looking at a site like that in the first place?

Piracy should never be Supported, but airing dirty laundry over an unprotected user name, should not be either. when you accuse someone with stuff like this, you better be damn sure you are right.

BTW: No affiliation with the accused, whatsoever.

[ChrisB 11]

I am glad you remind me Thomas.

You are right of course. Except that in this case the guy outed himself as a beta tester. Shaun - please feel free to save and delete the graphic from the thread and just let folk see that even beta testers are sometimes bad.

But even though I am not an online seller of anything, I really do think hacking and piracy is bad. It isn't just "being smart" and saving money. It is a crime and deserves punishment. And even though medieval practices such as the stocks and the pillory are considered "barbaric" these days, they did have a highly effective result - once pilloried, folk wouldn't "do it again" and it was far more effective than a jail sentence for petty criminals in many cases.

So "naming names" here will serve a purpose - and besides - the foolish person even admitted to having been on the beta team and so deserves a day in the stocks.

Hackers and pirates make any use of computers less enjoyable because they are the cause of higher prices and ever more complex but necessary copyright protection tools. The Hacker may be clever at whatever it is they do to break software protection, but he or she is also stupid, ignorant, unintelligent and above all, criminal.

There are far worse criminals out there, I agree. And there are still good reasons for capital punishment that even the most devout pacifist would agree are necessary (especially if they are parents in Dendermonde right now).

But for here, the most dangerous criminal is the hacker-cracker who is hurting our hobby - badly. Tracking and prosecuting criminals is not a witch hunt and naming self-confessed users of stolen property will at least make that user think twice and maybe, just maybe, a potential abuser will read this and buy his next addon rather than accept a cracked copy. Like drug abuse, it's a problem with two possible counter actions

1. Catch and prosecute the thieves who hack-crack

2. Make using stolen software so unpleasant and embarrassing that people don't use it.

But again - I accept your comments Thomas and will bear them in mind next time around.

[Edit]

@ M31: What was I doing there? Part of my job. Protecting my bosses' interests. Looking for his products being hacked and distributed. Looking for stolen property is not a crime. I found this particular person as a "side effect" or "spin off" as I was looking for another series of products (which I did find and which I did report to the owner privately)

[Snave 466]

Such sites are useful for the dissemination of large files for business and personal needs. Inevitably they afford pirates the opportunities they seek, but then cars are used as vehicles for criminal tasks, misuse of a household knife can kill, and words can be used to libel and inflame.

And let's not forget the computers we all use are the greatest criminal tool of all time.

One really should not blame the tool, when it's the tool that's using it is to blame...

It is just as easy for an idiot to post his user name, as for a clever one to use someone else's.

This is a very slippery slope.

And that's before we get into the argument about if he holds a valid license for the product, how he/she chooses to obtain the goods is their own lookout.

[ChrisB 11]

OK, OK...

I have spread some grit on the slippery slope.

The criminals win anyway, because the "goody two-shoes" stand up for them more than the victims. There are two things the world needs to return to...

One: the local bobby giving the scrumpers and cheekers a clip round the lughole and

Two: the lord high executioner singing "My object all sublime, I shall achieve in time - To let the punishment fit the crime - The punishment fit the crime..."

[Paul Golding 159]

One could of course ask why on earth an Aerosoft beta tester is trying to get a crack for a product in the first place. As a beta tester, he's entitled to a free copy of the finished product!!

Paul

[Guest M31]

@ M31: What was I doing there? Part of my job. Protecting my bosses' interests. Looking for his products being hacked and distributed. Looking for stolen property is not a crime. I found this particular person as a "side effect" or "spin off" as I was looking for another series of products (which I did find and which I did report to the owner privately)

Thats quite a hole you are digging there my friend, But don't worry ... I believe you, thousands wouldn't.

Would you like DNA testing for proof of ownership next?

[ChrisB 11]

Thats quite a hole you are digging there my friend, But don't worry ... I believe you, thousands wouldn't.

Would you like DNA testing for proof of ownership next?

There's no hole and I don't care if I am believed or not because my conscience is clear. Eighth and tenth commandments...

DNA PoO? Good idea. Expensive, but if everyone does it, the price will drop

[Shaun Fletcher 570]

As with all cases, the user can contact us at support@aerosoft.com and explain it if they should so wish.

[newmanix 61]

There's no hole and I don't care if I am believed or not because my conscience is clear. Eighth and tenth commandments...

DNA PoO? Good idea. Expensive, but if everyone does it, the price will drop

Your conscience is clear eh? A lot of people in prision have clear consciences and sleep very well at night as well.

I am not saying I do or don't believe you. But one has to admit...

I will say, good for you for exposing the Beta tester. No need for people like that screwing things up for the rest of us.

As it seems that Microsoft may not release another platform, we all need to support 3rd party developers as much as to ensure that FS9/X lives as long as possible!!

If we never see a new platform, if 5 years from now, Aerosoft is still making FS9/X seneries, I will keep buying. Computer systems are only getting better. Imagine how much we can push FS9/X to the limits! It hasn't been done before because MS kept releasing new platforms.

[Robert S 75]

I can see both sides of the issue here...for what it's worth, I recently had to change my username here because I was emailed awhile ago that my former nickname was being used on a pirate site. Bummer. :-(

Back to this matter, this user admitted to being a beta tester, which is incriminating...but should be provided an opportunity to establish innocence if possible.

[ChrisB 11]

I could probably need a new nickname myself soon...

There are a few ChrisB and CBris around the net - there's even another CrisB here. No matter what I call myself, there's bound to be a duplicate around somewhere...

But rather than being a "Let's bash ChrisB as hard as we can" debate, the real point in question is the fact that software piracy is spoiling our enjoyment of a wonderful hobby and if we, the community, don't do something about it, the lawmakers won't. They only start work if someone "prefers charges".

... and from the way I have been lashed out at here in the past, I get a very distinct feeling that I have hit on a few "perps" bare nerves. Of course, by responding myself, I am probably doing exactly the same. I could just ignore the backlashes with the disdain they deserve. But by taking a stance, I must also be prepared for the feedback. Although why anyone would support what the "pirates" do and then publicly admit it defies all logic.

So... are software pirates a good thing or not?

[VinFlyer 8]

I pointed out this pirate to Mathijs some months ago, few weeks after the release of the F-16 so he knows. I don't think it was a high priority as I believe it's Aerosoft's policy to invest the time in customers and products rather than trying to catch all those pirate bastards. But it's sad to see that the products you've been working on are for grab for 'free' within a matter of days, sometimes even hours

[Slays 0]

Piracy world is to big... Torrent is just a part of it. Most files being hosted @ rapidshare, megaupload etc... You can delete the links, but you cant catch the uploader. YOu better mess arround with the music industry which is more easy than piratebay. I think everyone of us downloaded something already, just the fact that you have been on this site, says that you probably downloaded any cracked product. Why else would you hang arround their.

BUt basically: YOu cant get them. TorrentBay is the biggest torrent site ever, and many tryed to shut them down. Game industry, music industry but they all failed.

The only way to prevent this: Game indsutry have to spent more time into making their products more secure. Serials, Master server etc...

[Chaders 97]

One could of course ask why on earth an Aerosoft beta tester is trying to get a crack for a product in the first place. As a beta tester, he's entitled to a free copy of the finished product!!

Paul

Hi Paul,

Depends if he just signed up but didn't make the effort to contribute. I too was on the F-16 beta but due to my ATPL studies I couldn't contribute as much as the project deserved so haven't had the cheek to ask for a copy.

The issue here is why people on the internet continue to make excuses for those who pirate or share software! It's something I don't understand? I would guess that members on this forum have actually paid money for the addons they use, surely they must understand that for development to continue the developers need to SELL their products. Why if we have to spend our hard earned money on our hobby should we make excuses for these Theives?? As an ex-retail manager I see no difference between people stealing software from the net and a shoplifter neither should be tollerated.

[Snave 466]

I agree. But that's a long way from assuming for oneself the role of judge, jury and executioner. And until the user names are as secure as the software that people download and pay for, then the possibility of misuse exists.

I myself have been the `victim` of such faux posturing. Fortunately the individual gave themselves away by such lack of perspicacity, absence of wit and pithy observation, not to mention the poorest of grammar skills, that it was self-evident the assumer was an ASSumer. And no, it wasn't in flightsim-dom.

On that basis there is ALSO the possibility the claim of `beta tester` may be BS, picked from a number of known-to-be-dormant testers. We've seen that in beta testing circles too...

Perhaps Chaders you need to be worried..?

[gavinbarbara 2]

There's no hole and I don't care if I am believed or not because my conscience is clear. Eighth and tenth commandments...

DNA PoO? Good idea. Expensive, but if everyone does it, the price will drop

I agree with you wholeheartedly in that we should do everything possible to prevent and discourage crime.

I do, however, find contradiction in your use of the 8th & 10th commandments on one hand, and the fact that you chose to ignore the 'You shall not kill' one in your support of having certain convicted criminals (and the occasional person convicted by mistake or due to skin colour) executed.

It never ceases to amaze me that people who express belief in all this superstitious mumbo jumbo find so many ways to justify what they are so clearly forbidden from doing.

[Guest M31]

I still don't get it?

We have been told there is a shark in here?

What i don't understand is ...

Why accuse and I mean *ACCUSE* Anonymous user names?

In the first instance, this person was supposedly an official Beta tester, who is recognised here.

But the Accusations are thin, and could lead to legal action.

IF HE WAS A BETA TESTER, HE HAS A FULL VERSION ... SO WHY WOULD HE ASK FOR CRACK?

Jesus !!!

[Guest M31]

If this Guy has got crack with Aerosoft, it looks likes we are all compromised,

Aeeroft ... should not allow person details.

[Snave 466]

"Methinks he doth protest too much"

With apologies to Will Shakespeare

But instead of popping in to whine about the treatment, perhaps you might look to use the balance of your intellect to actually benefit other forum visitors, or else you risk looking like a `one trick pony`... or worse.

[Guest M31]

"Methinks he doth protest too much"

But instead of popping in to whine about the treatment, perhaps you might look to use the balance of your intellect to actually benefit other forum visitors, or else you risk looking like a `one trick pony`... or worse.

Perhaps you might not want to be a soft ######, Thespian.

All the time.

[Guest M31]

As with all cases, the user can contact us at support@aerosoft.com and explain it if they should so wish.

Shaun.

I take it you are taking this sort of example as Standard?

Explain why, if he was a known beta tester ... and I'm assuming he was? by this ridiculous proof) Explain why he wanted a crack, when as a Legitimate user, he would have presumably have a full working edition, anyway?

Whats to stop me going on there Tomorrow, using a name like Shaun Fletcher? Absolutely Nothing.

I'm looking into buying Black Shark, and there are some very fake user names used on that Bay site, in relation to this ... But I for one am willing to wait for a bound, spiral English manual and Sim.

Dont be so quick to paint Black and White ... Please.