«

[locutus12]

i know im new here on the forums, but ive drifted through this site on a number of occasions and now i find when i come to download some games i had before which i lost after a hard drive crash, that i can no longer get them... so i wrote this and sent it to the ESA. whether anything will come of it who knows, but at least i try`d :bye:


Dear to whom it may concern


I am trying to find out the status of so called abandonware software titles. until recently older titles were freely available on the internet from several different sources and now restrictions are being imposed and the ESA`s name keeps popping up. now i understand the need to maintain copyright on comercially viable products, but many of these products are way beyond that point. to the point where they are not even comercially available anymore.

abandonware sites do a valuable job of sharing the creative media of yester year to an entirely new generation and to old time fans alike. they distribute this software for free, with there own time and money being used. 90% of these products will never see a shop shelf again, imposing restrictions on who can post them for download will do nothing but speed up the death and eventual disappearance of these titles that were the birth of the pc games revolution.

i would ask, beg, and implore you to work out a system where by such titles can be released under the abandonware flag and not just lock them off and throw away the key which is comparable to cutting off your nose to spite your face. it will do you and others no favors. and it will especially not do the original developers any favors, most of whom are long gone or merged into bigger company's as 1 by 1 there titles will fall into obscurity and be forgotten. you cant make money of these titles any longer, but you can make good will. and good will can be worth far more for the future than any amount of dollars.

[Tom Henrik]

The letter looks serious to me, BUT...

It would be much better if you started new sentences with a capital letter, and also spelled "i" with a capital letter as well.

It just makes the letter look more serious.

[locutus12]

the e-mail checker didnt have that type of functionality :bleh: the spellings correct and the message is clear though

[BeefontheBone]

starting it "dear to..." is a bit redundant too - don't need the "dear".

[A. J. Raffles]

And you'd normally spell out "one" in a letter that's supposed to sound official.

But it doesn't really matter, since locutus already posted that email.

[Swiebertje13]

Besides that......the ESA will most likely respond with......thanks for you info....blah, blah, blah....

I saw that once with someone which site also got a visit from the ESA.


Only problem was.....it was an emulation-site......for commdore 64.

So the Soldier of Fortune and Doom he had for download are not the ones which ESA is protecting....

[locutus12]

Dear God!?,

I just thought I would try and set the ball rolling, see if anyone else wanted to send a message, firstly I am in England. You always start a letter with “Dear To Whom It May Concern” if you have no clue who you are writing too, secondly I am not writing an official letter! The reason for this is because I am not an official of anything! just a fan with an idea, 3rd why in the name of god are some of you so bothered about my grammar and spelling, it was a rough draft I posted, office took care of it. Might I suggest if you are to be that picky in the future you take up a career in teaching.

[Fruit Pie Jones]

...or you could join the Grammar Squad. We could use the help.

[Flop]

I don't think anyone meant any offence, but if you don't want people to comment on your letter, then shy did you post it?

I think it's a good idea to email them and express your opinion, but like Swiebertje13 I think they'll only respond with a "blah blah" mail, if they respond at all. Still, it can't hurt.

[BeefontheBone]

Fine, shan't bother trying to give you any constructive criticism in future. Also, you start "To whom it may concern..." without the "Dear" since it means te same as "To" in that context.