Interesting arguement so far, eventhough last I checked, this and many of their other topics on hand, that deal within range of their "Gamers Bill of Rights" target area, is vilacious at best. I never liked this idea, even though I can call myself a retired pirate at large, with pride in my heart, then again that was only when I was younger. One thing I hated the most was when Congress tried categorizing gamers, and making an age requirement, when everyone of us knows, that gamers aren't aged by age alone, but by their score overall.
If you have a low score, your young, high, your and old grizzly ancient, who games, with passion in your heart, I just try and keep my score, as low as possible. I also like the fact when they did try and categorize us, through an age, and put up restrictions in an already constricted enviroment. They only then again, did this after ah what was it, two kids getting stocked, because of going online and acting stupid in an in-game lobby. Having private conversations, with someone older then you, isn't good for you at all, unless it has to do with the game your playing.
When they restricted the age, the gaming community suffered, not the publishers they were only constricted to make their games for a more adult crowd. Even though last I checked, games aren't what changed or the gamers, it was the rules they instilled on us all, that made us change. This is what may or may not have sparked a very large amount of piracy, since there was a restriction on age, you have to have an ID to buy this, or you have to have your SS to register this. Then again I don't remember any that required an SS, but who knows maybe there out there now, making us do stupid crap for their glouring needs.
On piracy pursay, since the restrictions were put in place all those years ago, by none other then Senator Lieberman, Clinton, and some guy I can't remember the name to. The gaming community had to get a bit more aggressive in it's none linear actions, and start by shadily moving about in the gaming world. Now this storm they speak of coming now, isn't our storm we brought on ourselves, it's they who should not be named, who brought this upon us.
Some say it could of started with the publishers cracking down on pirates, and sewing their teenage ass' to oblivion, or when certain game making restrictions, such as registering your cd/dvd, with the publisher. Or it could be said it all started with actual discussion on piracy, that sparked this whole doonbockle we are now facing. It can't be accertained, and it can't be quantified, but what can be said, "is WE the Gamers have taken too much abuse for crimes that have no validity, or linear thought, WE the Gamers, must act, before the They(the publishers), act for us."
"Now isn't the time for us to sit back and discuss this any further, it's time to start acting, debating it, putting our idea's into text that can be both quantified, and defined, so that when history is to look back. She won't see a bunch of idiots sitting around arguing a point of a games worth and while, but a large force to be recognized, and worried upon. Since this is the time, then I say we do start acting out against those damn people who made us push to this point of validation, as to corner us, and name us for what we were never. WE can't just let this slide by, WE can't just let THEM, make the rules, if it's gamers who deserve a bill of rights, then it's WE who should pass it by. And since in history, it's always shown that it's not the gamer persay but the publisher defending us, because we are lazy and stupid, it's time WE prove them wrong."
History is such an old slut, we helped make even sluttier, by not doing anything but talking, and allowing such volacious acts of aggression as to allow many more if not large amounts of martyrs for our cause of just playing a game. The older, myself included, don't go to my profile and say I'm only eighteen, I'm 24, and been in this industry for too long to see, so many Fallen Gamers, at the hands of those who would rather have our service then have our input on said genre's.
We've allowed to much abuse to come from people who have categorized us, put us in some stupid demographic, and defined us, when it was we through shadowy ways, were truly categorized, not by name, but by experience on the many battlefields we chose to stand, and fight.
Now this new battlefield, has come, and we can't just walk away and say it's gotten too real, it's gotten too mosaic on the fact it's just a game, no more is it a game, when some kid get karted off to jail for nothing done wrong. Last I checked, it doesn't matter the age, in our world, it's the experience of the said gamer that changed his/her true age to us. Our world isn't run by rules of the water, or law of the land, or by bi-laws of the forest, it's run by vicious ravenous beasts who would rather see us their sheep, walk in an even smaller more controlled circle. Yet last I checked, we're only wolves wearing the masks of sheep, since it was the game, that made us monsters, we aren't sheep acting like wolves, we are wolves pretending to be sheep, by calling it a game, what fools we made ourselves to be, confusius would be proud.
Traise713