TSR: In Ur Accounts, Deletin Ur Stuffs!

[CatOfWar]

Unfortunately, T$R is in Sweden and Peggy is in China.  The FBI has jurisdiction in the States.  I don't think any government agency would actually care that much, would probably blow us off and not even see a problem.  However, before anyone tries going to the FBI or such, maybe talk to a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law, or computer security and privacy?  Or ask a professor who teaches about such things.  Ask them if there is even a faint hope of getting the gooberment to do anything, and if so, how.  I'm looking for someone like that here, to advise about Peggy's violation of Wes Howe's terms of use, but there's not really a lot of folks like that where I live.  (edit: In the case of Peggy/Wes, I'm just asking if it could be taken to court, not if the government would do anything.)

[MrsBulldog]

Unfortunately, T$R is in Sweden and Peggy is in China.  The FBI has jurisdiction in the States.  I don't think any government agency would actually care that much, would probably blow us off and not even see a problem.  However, before anyone tries going to the FBI or such, maybe talk to a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law, or computer security and privacy?  Or ask a professor who teaches about such things.  Ask them if there is even a faint hope of getting the gooberment to do anything, and if so, how.  I'm looking for someone like that here, to advise about Peggy's violation of Wes Howe's terms of use, but there's not really a lot of folks like that where I live.

I posted a whole long rant in the other thread about this, but you're right--at least in the area of copyright protection.

However...

Cybercrimes (like illegally hacking into competitor website accounts for the purposes of cybervandalizing, and planting spyware/malware in downloadable files) are a whole different matter. In the cases of cybercrimes, I'm guessing the FBI works with foreign agencies which DO have jurisdiction. TSR generates a good deal of revenue from their American customers and therefore has a good deal of information on their American customers as a result. Furthermore, they have their hands in the back pockets on a major American company while they engage in cybercrimes. These are factors that the FBI may be interested in.

So, if you want to have a kvetch (even if you're not sure any good will come of it), here you go:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

[SoggyFox]

I agree with one thing - not all paysites are evil, all paysites must be destroyed and all are bad, but true evil is hacking computers, sending out trojans and the like with your merchandise, and trying to destroy anyone else - starting with the free sites.

I mean, selling something illegally isn't necessarily evil, just immoral, or so it seems to me.

[dstar]

The major issue with the is  proving which of the 100's of different sites that people in the Sims Community visit everyday  is causing their computers or their games  to be hit by a  BFBVS's  The FBI will  want definitive proof before the will even look at white collar crime and even then the chances are that they would do nothing

The hacking into other peoples sites/blogs etc would be easier to prove other than the fact it would require getting credit card receipts handed over from a Temp ISP company in Sweden used by Thomass or his TSR Twats to cover their tracks - which is not likely- Also many of the people involved in this prefer to keep their personal identities private- it is not in the best interests of someone like Coconut to have their identities revealed in a court case- Legal papers have your real life personal info on them. Would you really want Thomass and his TSR Twats having your personal address?

None of us has the money or time to pursue legal actions againstTSR even though some of use have been collecting evidence of their illegal activities for quite some time- it would still require private investigators and lawyers to tie it all together and take it to court . Freesite owners and creators  don't usually have second homes they can mortgage to pay for legal fees, and unlike Thomass who is using other peoples blood sweat and tears to pay his site and server maintenance bills- free community members pay for this shit out of pocket.

Also in terms of EA doing anything  - TSR and EA have a longstanding relationship- whether it is personal between the CEO's or financial as in TSR handing over extra cash to avoid a lawsuit for copyright violation or licensing violations - no one truly knows - but this relationship makes it highly unlikely that EA will ever do anything about the EULA violation -

This debate has been going on for a long time - and there really is no long term solution to it not to sound hopeless cause I am not but all legal actions  would possibly do is to cause idiots like Thomass to become even pissier and then try to cause legal  or physical butthurt to  people like Pescado and Coconut should those people pursue legal action against them. Advocacy  has done just as much good- and has served to put many paysites out of business. TSR, Rose and Peggy, are just bigger fish and will take longer to catch

[mrnapolean]

first post here but ive been posting on other fourms like insimenator.org and mts2.com

i agree with you dragonballz thomASS is a bloody waste of air in which you can call a corpse.

[MrsBulldog]

dstar, you raise some very good points and I'd like to acknowledge you taking the time to consider the issue and respond. Thanks!  That said, I'd like to offer some counterpoints:

The FBI will  want definitive proof before the will even look at white collar crime and even then the chances are that they would do nothing

Well, not necessarily. The point of conducting an investigation is to gather definitive proof. The FBI (like any law agency) just needs "reasonable cause" to investigate. If enough people complain, then that would constitute reasonable cause.

Also many of the people involved in this prefer to keep their personal identities private- it is not in the best interests of someone like Coconut to have their identities revealed in a court case- Legal papers have your real life personal info on them. Would you really want Thomass and his TSR Twats having your personal address?

I agree. No one should have to be part of an investigation who doesn't want to. However, I'm sure if an investigation did happen, the agency involved wouldn't release the personal information to the private parties involved at the behest of the unidentified party as that would violate confidentiality laws (which are taken very seriously in the legal profession). Those who want to remain anonymous just have their information recorded in litigation (which clients and private parties don't attend, just counsel). But that's even assuming any of this would play out in court, which is highly unlikely. Since no one is accusing TSR of theft or identity fraud, chances are they'd just get a fine and a cease and desist order (and a shitbucket of bad publicity-i.e.- they'll get handed a big bowl of poop, a spoon, and maybe a napkin).

None of us has the money or time to pursue legal actions against TSR even though some of use have been collecting evidence of their illegal activities for quite some time- it would still require private investigators and lawyers to tie it all together and take it to court . Freesite owners and creators  don't usually have second homes they can mortgage to pay for legal fees, and unlike Thomass who is using other peoples blood sweat and tears to pay his site and server maintenance bills- free community members pay for this shit out of pocket.

Exactly. But no one would expect a private party to pay being that what TSR is doing is a civil offense and the gov't pays for that. The reason why cybercrimes are investigated by the FBI is because it's a civil offense. Civil cases aren't paid for privately.

Also in terms of EA doing anything  - TSR and EA have a longstanding relationship- whether it is personal between the CEO's or financial as in TSR handing over extra cash to avoid a lawsuit for copyright violation or licensing violations - no one truly knows - but this relationship makes it highly unlikely that EA will ever do anything about the EULA violation -

You're right, EA won't do anything about the EULA violation because they don't care enough to pursue it (as is EA's prerogative). However, imagine (if you will) surfing Google and The Sims Resource pops up in the search results. Next to it are BIG FREAKIN' RED LETTERS that read "WARNING, SUSPECTED ATTACK SITE". Now, do you think EA would continue to list TSR as a fansite partner with THAT sword of Damocles hanging there? Hells no! EA doesn't want that kind of bad publicity, they'll just hand TSR a "goodbye and thank you" if that ever happened and send them to the same naughty chair that Mod The Sims is (unjustly) inhabiting. Maybe EA will still never pursue the EULA, but TSR won't be able to wear the cc daddy pants anymore. It's not the specific resolution that PSMD might be looking for, but it's still a "karma is freakin' sweet" scenario.

Advocacy  has done just as much good

If this was entirely true, TSR wouldn't be so convinced of their unaccountability that they blatantly commit cybercrimes.

Dstar, I think what you have to offer is very valid, when discussing TSR from the perspective of EULA. But. this isn't about EULA, AT ALL. Honestly, I couldn't care less about the EULA debate. That's EA's gauntlet and I'm not picking it up. If people make a living with their paysites and they're allowed to get away with it, more power to 'em. That EULA debate (which has been going on for ages) is not the issue here. And the Chinaman is not the issue here either. Er... sorry, ADHD moment and I love The Big Lebowski...

Anyway, EULA is not the issue here. The issue is about TSR releasing Spyware/Malware in their downloads without user knowledge,  and using personal account information on its users to hack into other websites. These are crimes, and serious ones at that. The folks at TSR may be above EA's policies, but they are not above the law. THAT is the issue here.

[Lady Vader]

I think HeyBubbe has brought to our attention something very important. The TSR cybercrime issue. Yes, we knew it before, we spat brimestone about it before but I don't think we really thought about it the right way before.

All the time, we mainly concentrated on the EULA and payshits being illegal - and we shouldn't cease that, because copyright is an important issue since the era of the internet came. But because of that, we might've missed a deadly tool that we have in our hands. Since the era of the internet, cybercrimes have been put under a magnyfying glass, and are considered a serious civil offence.

Certain people here have gathered info and proof about TSR's cybercrimes. Why don't we finally use them, like HeyBubbe suggests? TSR is evil, we all agree on that, they deserve to be smacked down. Do we honestly care, what tool we smack them down with? If there is a chance, that using the proof we have against TSR, we can finally kick them out into outerspace, then I say, why not? We might never smack them with the EULA hammer, so lets smack them with the cybercrime baseball bat.

I would gladly take a shot at this myself, the only thing is, that I don't have the type of proof Pescado or Coconut have stored.

[MrsBulldog]

I would gladly take a shot at this myself, the only thing is, that I don't have the type of proof Pescado or Coconut have stored.

Thanks you for the 2nd, Lady Vader. I already opened a complaint about the cyberccrimes issue without offering the names of any parties involved. Basically I told them there is suspicion of spyware/malware in their downloads and that their registered user's secure information may not be safe due to lax encryption standards. Chances are that nothing will come of it without more voices behind me or first-hand accounts of actual wrongdoings from the people involved (e.g.-Buggybooz (sp)). I have the opportunity to add examples, names, and other info to my pending complaint if anyone wishes to supply me with ammo. Otherwise, I'd suggest submitting your own complaint via the URL here:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

I just hope the reports of TSR's wrongdoings are accurate and not made-up hullabaloo to make TSR look bad--otherwise, opening a complaint based on fictitious information will only strengthen their position and weaken the position of PSMBD. I really can't stress that point enough. But if what people are saying on these boards is accurate, then TSR is in quite the bad position. So again, the more people that submit a complaint, the more likely something will happen. Think of it this way: If you saw someone breaking into your neighbors house and taking a shit on their kitchen floor, you'd call the police, right? You wouldn't ignore it until you came home to find a poop on your kitchen floor, would you? Well, this situation is basically the same. And honestly, this situation scares the bejeezuz out of me due to TSR's apparent lack of morality. I'm just glad I never gave TSR any financial info on me as I never bought a subscription.

But to bastardize another movie quote: you shouldn't be scared of your paysites, your paysites should be scared of you.

[SimARR]

<This message is by ShanOw who still doesn't want an account here for some reason>

Although I have no proof to back this up (yet), I believe that TSR is up too evil *again*

My forum, www.sims3central.net/forum was hacked today only a week after I shared screenshots of the spyware reports of the TSR workshop.

The hacker was able to access to admin area and delete all the boards, topics and members by logging in with my username and password (Which is the same as my tsr password). After a brief check of my logs I found that the most recent ip to access my admin area was a proxy IP: 78.129.197.69.

The reason I think tsr may have been behind this: http://tsr.mustbedestroyed.org/?p=462 - Check the IP address in this article.


**Now back to fixing everything.**

[CatOfWar]

Which is the same as my tsr password

ShanOw, ShanOw, I sympathize, a lot, but why, WHY, have the same password at T$R as anywhere else, especially after the whole Buggybooz affair?  Last I heard, T$R doesn't encrypt passwords, and they've been known to hack before.

[SimARR]

Well, the good news is I was able to restore an older backup.

I also changed the passwords and added some extra security measures. I'm still having a bunch of issues with it but at least the site is up again.

[Light_Angel]

I'm sorry to hear about your problems, Shan0w.  It's definitely a dirty trick which even affected those who checked out your updates linked on other sites.  I was pretty miffed that this cretin that hacked you actually replaced all the pictures in your account with goatsee/porn crap. (I was one of the unfortunate ones who caught a glimpse at what happened to your InSim updates thread)  And now I'm seeing that they got to your site, also, which was really getting somewhere with all the hard work put into it.  How low can these people get?  But then again, it's reeking TSR "handiwork" once more... I shouldn't be surprised, and should be expecting more stupidity to come.   The whole thing about your password being the same there as your site and the IPs that coconut mentioned just reaffirms the fact that they're up to no good yet again, and they shouldn't get away with it like they did in the past.

But I'm glad you were able to get the site back up.  Hope things continue to work out better for you.   

[SimARR]

Thanks a lot.

Currently I'm unable to delete my photobucket account since the password was changed. I've contacted support but still have no reply.

I feel so embarassed that I have porn posted all over the internet. If you see the posts can you report them to staff to clean it up, since I've lost track of how many places I've posted.

[dstar]

I am sorry for what happened to you Shanow. This is the main reason that my TSR account is not linked to an  username email and password not connected to any of the sites I post to on a regular basis. They are juvenile fools and idiots if they think that that childish cyber bullying crap will make anyone who supports the free community change their mind about them at this point- No one believed them when they hacked Coconut and claimed that she did it herself, no one believed it when they hacked MTS and tried to get Delphy to believe that someone here did it and no one is going to believe them now. The only thing that this is going to do is give credence to our claims about their morals, ethics and basic human decency namely that they have none

[Dr House]

Wow, yet another victim of T$R. You would think that after all these years, T$R would stop doing this kind of shit but nope.
I'm sorry for your site Shan0w. And having to go after every single photobucket you've put on the internet seems enormous to do. Account infos and private MPs are T$R's dope and weapon. And they love hacking enemy sites. T$R is evil.
Really don't hesitate to make an account for yourself here.