Legal Battle Between Glider and Blizzard Will Likely Continue

[Olrod]

... arguments whether it's illegal or not to use a third party program to not play World of Warcraft may be heard in the highest court of the land.

When you put it that way, I can't help but be amused.

I do wonder though, how exactly does a bot program that plays a game (which not only needs to be purchased to begin with, but also requires constant monthly subscription) harm Blizzard in any meaningful way?

 

[Cryo84R]

That PA comic is, as usual, pure gold.

 

[Baresark]

isn't a EULA an agreement which you sign to use the program?
as in when you violate it, you cannot use your license?

so glider is actually not guilty (i don't want to say innocent), as it's the end user that's using the bot.

basically: murderers get convicted, gunfactories do not.

I understand what your saying, but I think you have it backwards. This is more like gun factory gets convicted, murderer goes free. Glider and gun are tools, user and murderer are the perpetrators of the act.

 

[Baresark]

isn't a EULA an agreement which you sign to use the program?
as in when you violate it, you cannot use your license?

so glider is actually not guilty (i don't want to say innocent), as it's the end user that's using the bot.

basically: murderers get convicted, gunfactories do not.

I think the difference here is that you have a gun specifically meant to kill an individual in a specific way. IE innocent people only. The bot program in question can be used for WoW, but for nothing else. It has a single purpose and a single use.

So your comparison isnt entirely correct.

someone violated a contract (the law is in it's own way a contract), they did so using tools made by someone else. but now blizzard is sueing the toolmaker, and not the person who violated the contract.

But in making the tool the maker also violated the contract, and then gained by providing the tool for others to break it. Its abit like dealing and using in drugs, guess which has the greater penalty under law?

I doubt the rule existed in the contract when the Glider was made. It's more than likely they couldn't foresee the invention of such a product. That is not to say the rule is not present in the contract now.

@Serris - The law is not a contract. A contract is an agreement between two or more people or parties, and the law defends the agreement. The only fallacy of your statement is the belief that all laws were agreed upon by all parties involved. which they were not(aka. not everyone will agree with this ruling and their interests are not defended by the law in this case).

Edit: Petromir: it was easier to handle both comments from your quote, these are not both directed at you. My apologies for my laziness.

Edit: EULA had to be agreed to by the user, but on that same note, did you read the EULA? Interesting fun fact, it is a federal crime to agree to something without reading the contract before you sign it. But there is also a reason they do not just tell you the changes and you sign an amendment to the EULA. They don't want you to actually read it. I am sure if you went back there is all kinds of stuff you might not like in it.

 

[Baresark]

This is another argument that is frivolous. The Glider doesn't mess up the economy. That is like saying my rich neighbor messes up the economy for me because I'm not rich. It's simply a false statement. The real issue here is that you pay for the glider. Blizzard is simply mad someone else is also making money off of WoW. It doesn't run within WoW, it doesn't invade any WoW programming or change anything about the game. It's a program that runs in the backround, like my web browser does, or my IM program. Sounds to me like the interests of the users are not being protected at all. Don't use it if you don't want to, but don't want to see it end because you don't agree with it. It's not like an aim bot in an online FPS. This doesn't change the playing field at all. It is just a way to grind levels or loot. WoW is so equipment dependent it doesn't matter at all.

 

[FarleShadow]

Sorry, but what?

So you pay to play WoW. You pay for a program to play WoW instead of just playing it.
Right, well its abit lame, but you paid for your time on the game, so....

What's the problem? How are bots detracting from the game anymore than someone who's just playing trolling-u-24/7?

And why would blizzard even care enough to sue?

 

[Patrick Dare]

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of paying a subscription fee for a game and then buying a program to play that game for you because you can't be bothered to play it enough. Some folks have more dollars than sense, I guess.

-- Steve

It's about skipping the boring parts and playing the fun ones. Grinding on hundreds of enemies for a "ding" in lots of MMOs isn't fun, farming certain types of ingredients or bosses for that 0.001% drop isn't fun (and gaming is supposed to be fun not work) yet game companies seem to include those tasks because they can't add content fast enough and it keeps the addictive personalities playing and more importantly paying.

Personally I think there should be less tasks in MMOs that a very simple bot can accomplish (with parallels to very basic menial labor like sitting at a conveyor all day and screwing object A onto object B that has largely been replaced by mechanisation) and more of the ones that require skill, knowledge and using your brain. If you spend hours upon hours of your time every day clicking TAB and 1 in certain areas cause you want that level or running around an area looking for herbs or whatever you're at worst wasting parts of your life and at best not managing your time right.

This. When I played I used it to grind for money and stuff because I didn't have time to sit there doing that all day just so I could raid a couple days a week. The raiding was the fun part, working as a team to complete challenges and advance. This is largely why I quit WoW and will probably never play another MMORPG.

There are also the people who would glide like five accounts at once to either sell money or sell the toons themselves.

I also don't understand how they're saying this has lowered subscriptions. Maybe I guess because some people get sick of bots and quit? but I never saw that many bots when I was playing. Saw more Asian gold farmers than bots and I know there were a lot of people who had multiple accounts because of glider.

 

[Alandoril]

Good call, I don't see how developing a bot could possibly be copyright infringement.