Electronic Frontier FoundationMay 10, 2024
"If you bought a game, if you made a game, if you love a game, technology shouldn't get in the way of that game's ongoing existence,” EFF’s @pluralistic told @IGN — tech should preserve games for those who love them and for posterity.
https://www.ign.com/articles/how-stop-killing-games-ups-the-ante-in-the-fight-for-video-game-preservation
How Stop Killing Games Ups the Ante in the Fight for Video Game Preservation - IGN

A closer look at Stop Killing Games, an initiative aimed at stopping from online games being shut down, amid the closure of Friday the 13th, The Crew, and more.

IGN
Show threadAdam Beer (old account)
@eff @pluralistic @IGN  When you shut down a game's servers, you should be required to open-source the server software. When you stop selling a game, you should be required to open-source the entire game. ✊ 
May 11, 2024 at 1:01pmWeb
Show threadChucklesMay 11, 2024
@adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN all software. All media, for that matter.
Show thread2xfoMay 13, 2024

@celeduc @adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN

I'm going to argue for it this way: they get to write off the "lost" value, so let's tell them exactly how they have to lose that value.

I would argue that the value is theirs until they give up control of it. Destruction is a form of control and should not get them a write-off.

Show threadelgregorMay 11, 2024
@adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN TBH proprietary games usually use a ton of proprietary middleware that belongs to someone else and thus can't be open sourced by the game company.
Show threadAdam Beer (old account)May 11, 2024
@elgregor @eff @pluralistic @IGN So the law needs to also say that the contracts with those middleware providers must include provisions to allow for this open-sourcing.
Show threadWade RobertsMay 11, 2024
@adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN when _any_ product is deemed EOL by its manufacturer, its schematics and code should be made freely available; and any locks, physical and/or software, which prevent modification should be removed at the owners discretion.
Show threadStephen BakerMay 13, 2024
@adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN
When I worked for a company that was creating a software suete for the government, we were required to escrow the source code, just in case the company ceased operation. This was long before "cloud" or git came into existence. I think that software escrow should be extended to all proprietary software, especially if it is tied to hardware.
Show threadoctesianMay 13, 2024
@prmam @adambyte @eff @pluralistic @IGN we still do this at the company I work for. It's a PITA because we have to manually fill out forms and upload our snapshots to several often down or inaccessible ftp servers.
Show threadAdam Beer (old account)May 16, 2024

@prmam @eff @pluralistic @IGN Oh! Source code escrow is a great idea! (I didn't even know that things other than money could be put in escrow.)

Proposal:

  • Once any piece of non-open-source software hits 100k users, its creator has a 6-month grace period to come into compliance.
  • Being in compliance means that every version of the software that was released at least 1 month ago has had its source code put into escrow.
  • Missing the 6-month deadline results in criminal fines in the amount of a percentage of the entity's gross annual income, recurring indefinitely until it comes into compliance.
  • Being in compliance at one point and then lapsing results in the same fining scheme, plus if any version of the software ever reaches 3 months after release without its source being put into escrow, all past versions that are already in escrow get immediately released into the public domain.
  • If the software ever stops being offered for a continuous 6-month period, all versions in escrow get immediately released into the public domain.