[AstralWanderer]

Originally Posted by DABhand

Two Worlds. Earth 2160. To name a few. There is more out there.

Very much the exception though - and to judge from threads like this they don't seem to work too well.

Originally Posted by DABhand

Would be stupid of them to buy something that only requires an internet connection when they have none wouldn't it. Who is at fault there?

Depends on the information supplied prior to purchase. Most boxes I've seen only mention activation in very small print and if you purchase online, you are reliant on the webpage description. In both cases, it can be quite easy to miss such a requirement (note in particular how many Half Life 2 purchasers were caught out, finding that they could not play until Valve started allowing activations).

Originally Posted by DABhand

Again not the fault of the developer/publisher.

Well it is their fault if their copy protection stops purchasers from being able to use their software. Following your line of reasoning it presumably would be the customer's fault if their CD/DVD drive was not compatible with SecuRom or if they had any software installed that StarForce took a dislike to? This is about the consequences of online activation, many of which may not be immediately obvious (your posts in particular show a touching, albeit greatly misplaced, faith in the ability of the legal system to counter such issues).

Originally Posted by DABhand

Not all IP addy's are static just remember that. And the permabanning was mentioned by you, do NOT forget this.

And your point is?...

Originally Posted by DABhand

Now here is a legal matter, If say someone is banned but went out and bought another copy of a game to make a new account, they cannot ban this new account without good reason, and the reason of being banned before is not valid.

If you read most EULA's (Steam's especially - "Valve may terminate your Account or a particular Subscription for any conduct or activity that Valve believes is illegal, constitutes a Cheat, or which otherwise negatively affects the enjoyment of Steam by other Subscribers. You acknowledge that Valve is not required to provide you notice before terminating your Subscriptions(s) and/or Account...") you will find that there is, in effect, no requirement for companies to have a good reason (or any proof of misconduct) before terminating online accounts.

Yes, you can work around a ban by purchasing another copy of the game in question. In Steam's case however, you would have to re-purchase every item requiring activation - so if you had US$200 worth of games on your account you'd have to shell out another US$200. If you don't see the problems with that, then you're either ridiculously wealthly - or Daddy hasn't found out about you using his credit card online...

Originally Posted by DABhand

"Credit charge chargeback" what the feck is this?

Google is your friend...

Originally Posted by DABhand

can you speak english please lol

Nice to see some irony from you here - though doubtless unintended on your part.

Originally Posted by DABhand

It is illegal for any software to receive information via its software of anything other than the data attributed with the software.

Unless you can actually quote (and preferably) link to the relevant legislation, statements like this are nothing more than a statement of opinion. And given the wide range of examples of software that collects private data (trying Googling ComScore) and ISPs that sell users' web history (trying Googling NebuAd), thinking that your privacy is protected legally (if you live in the United States, it generally isn't) is dangerously naive.

Originally Posted by DABhand

Only time they can see your files on your PC is if your silly enough to share your HD on a P2P server.

Now that is a foolish statement - any software you run and allow Internet access for can report on what files you have present, your system configuration or system activity (last webpages visited, last commands typed, etc) and such data could be encrypted in transit to prevent users from running packet sniffers to see what was happening. Some companies may be up-front about what information they collect, but that is no guarantee that all will.

Originally Posted by DABhand

If they are going bust they HAVE to give a way for the game to be usable after this event. Or else they would find themselves in hot, infact very hot water.

As others have noted, bankrupt companies have no legal obligations to their customers (obvious example: technical support contracts which cease when a vendor goes out of business). Unless another company chooses to acquire those obligations, customers have no legal remedy whatsoever (yes, you could try suing a bankrupt company but even if you received a judgement in your favour, they would have no assets to cover it - if they did, they wouldn't be bankrupt in the first place!).