The First EQEmulator is heard of
This is another one of those weeks when I've gotten myself embroiled in a controversial EverQuest topic. I heard rumors of a team of people working on an EverQuest server emulator. And so I went looking. I gathered up all of my righteous anger and jumped onto a web board in the heart of evil, and began to lay waste to the corruption that I found.
I really did. My first post on their site was full of self-righteous anger. As a writer whose work exists mostly on the web, I feel strongly about intellectual property. I get angry when I see someone stealing the hard work of others. I'm not particularly creative. My mind tends toward the logical (or at least that's what I call it, logic...). And so I am jealous of those with creative minds. But I also respect them. So much so that I feel the desire to support them and defend them. And to me, an EverQuest emulator is blatant theft of the work of the Verant team. It's the sum of their careers over the last three or more years (though I've not forgotten their better work - Tanarus). I can only imagine how annoyed I would be if someone decided how my work of three years would be used. I would be angry if someone were to change the intent of that work.
So I laid into them. I raved, using terms like "...if you or your crew have a decent bone in your bodies you'll walk away from this project right now." and "The fact that you are in your home somewhere across the globe from the real people that worked 60-80 hour weeks building EverQuest over the last three years seems to make it a lot easier for you to ignore their efforts and their wishes." And I felt really good about it. And I don't feel bad about it now.
But I did learn a few things that I didn't know before. Unfortunately, the first thing I learned was something I already knew. The loudest and most talkative people on the net, especially when it comes to hot topics, are usually the least... intelligent. Many of the people on that board were more interested in calling each other, and me, names than they were discussing the topic at hand. It was a very polarized group. And, as is obvious from what I wrote, I was prepared to be ballistic back. I went in expecting a yelling match, and I got it. There were, however, a few that could discuss the topic with me, and they taught me a few things.
I learned some things about the idea of a server emulator. I'll admit to being almost completely ignorant about it when I went in. But through all the static and name-calling, I was able to come to some understanding. I also learned a bit about the vagueness of the laws that govern such things. Through it all, I've not been convinced that creating a server emulator is legal. I am still convinced that if it isn't illegal, it should be. The creator of something original should have complete control over its use.
Recently Sony lost it's bid in court to keep a Playstation emulator for the Mac off the market. This is not something that I like. And it doesn't bode well for those of us that don't want to see an emulator for EverQuest. But this one case is not a good precedent for something like EverQuest...
Nobody really understands that entirety of the legal issues here. And for me, a complete legal nincompoop, to make any judgements on the legality of such a thing would be a waste of my time and yours. But there are more than enough moral issues to discuss. And any idiot can talk about morality and be within his expertise.
We're not talking about a single product in the arsenal of a huge company like Sony. We're talking about the work of real people. Work that they've lost sleep over. Brad, in case you didn't know, is a father. His child was born while he was working on EverQuest. I have several friends that have new children, both men and women. I can't even imagine how hard it was for him to spend such a tremendous amount of time in the office working on this game when a new baby was waiting for him at home. All of these people worked long hours on this project. Real people, the cogs in the big machine. These are the people that an emulator would affect. No, it's not going make them lose their jobs. It's not going to cost them a penny financially. But it will affect them, emotionally. This is their hard work that you're distorting.
Don't get me wrong. I would be just as thrilled to play a game like EverQuest on my own server with a group of people that I get to choose, under the rules that I set forth, and with the world built the way I want it. Who wouldn't? But I would never steal something from someone just for my own happiness. That would make me... unhappy. Argue all the law you want, that decision can't be made on our level. But the right and wrong of the matter IS up to us. Take the time to make certain that you're on the right side before you act. A good rule for life, not just for people in the gray area of the Internet...
Editorial by Absor
Please enjoy this issue of EQX!
|