this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Related: Internet Archive hosts zillions of abandoned games. Publishers are currently trying to sue it out of existence. They accept donations.
I mean, I'd like games to be available, but I don't see archive.org's legal basis for providing it. I mean, the stuff is copyrighted. Lack of commercial availability doesn't change that.
Yeah, some abandonware sites might try to just fly under the radar, and some rightsholders might just not care, might not be much value there. But once you're in a situation where a publisher is fighting a legal battle with you, you're clearly not trying that route.
You can argue that copyright law should be revised. Maybe copyright on video games should be shorter or something. Maybe there should be some provision that if a product isn't offered for sale for longer than a certain period of time, copyright goes away. But I don't think that this is the route to get that done.
It already has been, there is a ruling that allows an exemption to copyright law for the specific use of preservation by libraries and museums.
Maybe they could do more about it but what's already there is way way better than nothing.