Why online activation sucks

[DABhand]

Originally Posted by AstralWanderer

Online activation has two problems:

• if the company dies, the software goes with it (covered in more detail in this Authorization Servers article). I have no way of knowing how long Daemon Tools (or any other developer/publisher) is going to stay in business, but as a paying customer, I shouldn't need to.
• the company can change the rules on activation any time it wants and enforce them. They could levy extra payments (Stardock does this if it thinks a licence has been transferred), require you to install software (e.g. adware, an "anti-cheat scanner" to check your system for cracks or even the publisher's own electronic store software) or just arbitrarily terminate your licence (as EA were threatening to do to anyone banned in their forums - they withdrew this threat but the fact that they were in a position to make it should give anyone pause for thought). Even if DT's LocutusOfBorg is the most honest, upright person on the Internet, who can guarantee that a more ruthless, money-grabbing, EA-tattoo-touting miscreant can't take over sometime in future?

Easy enough for a firewall to detect - have you seen this happen? In addition, no requirement for an Internet connection is given in GJ's requirements - now that doesn't guarantee no-phone-home (plenty of other software has that "let's check for updates automatically" feature) but it would seem to rule against any type of compulsory activation.

And they can give a patch to make sure you dont have to in the future. I mean lets not start this whole what if arguments, there is nothing wrong with online activations.

You know the amount of people who moaned about SF being too intrusive etc, now they moan about online activations which are not. Its rather simple and easy and most these days dont require media bar exception of one or two titles.

The stardock thing is totally irrelevant, its when ownership changes hands which when you agreed to when installing a specific game that it was for you only as was your account, and to swap ownership there would be a cost. So they just didnt invent a charge to charge everyone with.

As for the EA thing, that was one person from EA who went too far when they shouldnt have and EA explained why. So lets not use that argument either :P

So now EA is the big bad wolf? Why? Because they decided to make it harder for the warez users and do online activations, and limited installs are to stop installing games on numerous machines, and the installs can be regained by applying for them, its easy and painless.