Staredit Network

For you experienced computer language people it may not be hacking, but for us not computer language people it's called hacking.


Going inot his install directory is cracking since you bypassed all that security stuff and changed some files.
Registering 20 users a second all night isn't hacking it's botting.
Installing a new message board for him is hacking since although no harm done but you did change something without permision.

How does it change? It's either hacking or not hacking.




Security stuff? What security?




Actually no it isn't hacking. That would be like "logging into SEN = hacking". We input some fields, hit the NEXT button, and voila. It was the most harmful bit. It updated all of his files to the text we input and whatever. Without permission? Well of course. If you were going to a site that had YOUR files on it with NO credit, and YOU asked him nicely, HE refused, YOU demanded, HE avoided, YOU threatened, HE ignored, you would NOT tell him "Ok I'm going to do this to your site now because you keep ignoring our requests. May I have permission to do it??.".

It's his bad he didn't have security.
The message board thing, now that you put it. I say good for him. he did the same for us so he deserved it.

And if Yoshi was really in trouble he has the financial resources of all of us at his disposal.

You effectively shut down his forums by bypassing a password system (which he had stupidly left wide open I assume).
Bypassing the system violates the forum terms of agreement I think.

Of course he stole maps - and he seems like he has his head up his arse, but I don't see what all the fuss is about (and yes, I am a mapmaker, I just make maps for fun, not as a business or to make people respect me). I've never put my name in my best maps, I just keep them open source.

I can see that this could turn into another circular argument, so I'll weigh up the pros and cons of naming, locking and protecting maps on websites before we have another one:

Pros:
- Allows the maker to have some prestige/recognition.
- Prevents noobs from making alterations that can ruin a good map.
- Stops proliferation of countless versions of the map that clog up your download list.

Cons:
- Violates the Blizzard terms.
- Restricts free flow of data - less people will play the map.
- Eliminates the admittedly rare chance of someone improving the map/removing bugs.
- Discourages newb (not noob) mapmakers from starting out in the mapping community.
- Encourages noobs to come up with ways to unprotect maps.

You know of course your cons are bogus. How does this encourage unprotection or map making?

I'm not restricting free flow of data - everyone is welcome to take a few files for their website. 400? Gimme a break. Besides, they're free to link to here, which they didn't give a shread of credit mind you.

The chance of someone improving/removing is an example of unprotection. Does the creator want it? Don't think so.


You honestly shouldn't talk if you don't know what its like to have hours of work into building a site, managing it, and manually approving all the files.



By the way, I saw the damage myself and I know what invision boards are able to do. It was pure hacking. No "easy to guess passwords" or "password loopholes".



Comeon CaptainWill. I thought you had more smarts then that.

Yoshi you know I almost always take your side, not because your THE DUDE from SEN but because you have good reasoning. I'll have to go with Will on this one.

The flow of Data is restricted but not on very noticeable terms. I don't like going to a website and instead of downloading the file, it gives me a link. Sometimes, I'm not sure if the link they gave me is safe because I don't trust the other site because I've never been there before/

The Chance of Improving a map. I would really like someone to improve my map or remove bugs from my map, that would be awesome. It's like someone helped you voluntarily. The problem to this is however that some people modify too much and make the map crappy or put their names all over the place. It would be good if they left the map-makers name as it was and then in a corner put this: NAMEX fixed this bug.

The file aproving thing I agree, I know it's not easy for you.

What difference does that make on any other site? You can't get viruses from scms/scxs.


Then you can go post your map on however many sites as you want. Not all people are you, and not all people want their maps on other sites.

I really do appreciate that you've put a hell of a lot of time and effort into making SEN a great download centre for maps and editors and even other things, and I guess I'll have to agree with you when you say that they should have given you credit for the collection of maps lifted from the database. I guess you tried to negotiate with him and he was an ass (icyhell admin). I thought he would be reasonable.

Hmm, how are my cons bogus?
Oh, I see you're only slightly restricting free flow of data, so I was a little off on that point.

You seem to have a rather odd view of what unprotecting is. I view it as any way in which a protection system placed on a map can be broken. You're implying that editing an unprotected, open source (as it were) map is unprotecting it.

You've got to realise also, that newbs who are willing to learn mapping but are daunted by the prospect, need to have examples to work with. I remember poring over Zombie Hotel for ages a few years back to find out how things worked, and if I hadn't been able to do that, I wouldn't be mapmaking today. The slow death of the mapmaking community is due in part to protection of maps. Nobody wants to read through some jargon-filled tutorial when they're just starting out - they want to see how triggers and so on work in a real map.

As for your claim that protecting maps doesn't encourage unprotection... -.-
It seems pretty obvious to me that if you protect a map, it encourages noob h4x0r types to devise ways of breaking the protection. They see is as a challenge to be beaten. Besides, most map stealers seem to be hackers anyway.