PMBD

Did this get missed? Fan Interview-Simcredible  (http://thesims2.ea.com/community/interview_simcredible.php). Another paysite, inverviewed on the official site. *sigh*

I saw that yesterday. SecuRom peddling bastards.

What a pack of raging fuck-knuckles.

If this keeps up, EA should be rewarded with a Golden Fucknut Award.

They really are bastards, aren't they.  :evil:

yes Requip.  They really are.  

I'd like an interview conducted by maxoidmoonbelly to end with a question like:  

MaxoidMoonBelly: So, how does it feel fleecing the loyal sims 2 customers?  

Generic Paysite:  It feels pretty good.  Knowing that I can charge whatever I want and people will be stupid enough to buy it.  It's an awesome sensation of power, only provided by taking moneys illegally for a hobby, and using it to buy a new mansion...err...i mean feed my chilluns and pay for "bandwith".  

MaxoidMoonBelly: Yes.  I see what you mean.  Even though it is illegal, we here at EA aren't actively trying to stop you.  As a matter of fact, we help create the customer that doesn't know any better by doing interviews with you.  

Generic Paysite:  Yeah, thanks for that.  Not only do I get a free advertisement, and more hits to my site for appearing like such a nice fansite owner, by doing this interview it really allows a lot of the naive to think that my charging for custom content is the preferred method of business.  

They may as well get that interview over with.  I feel it's only fair.

I absolutely loathe EA at this point. I lived with being an unpaid alpha tester when I bought their games, the wishy-washy response to paysites, but when they completely fucked up 2 of my computers with their SecuRom shit, that's it.

When I get my FIVE MONTH OLD computer back after repairs, I'll install up through Seasons and play until I'm tired of the game. They can shove Spore and Sims 3 up their corporate asses.

I'm a grown-up with credit cards and a life. I'll find something else to do.

I have already decided that I will no longer purchase anything from EA Games.

I knew when the Maxis brand disappeared that EA was going to screw up the Sims 2 franchise. This paysite peddling as well as the SecuRom debacle just puts the nails in the coffin.

I'm done.

Hmm. Has anyone else noticed that free Sims 2 communities, such as MTS2 and InSim seem to be more quiet nowadays? I get the sense that people are tired of the controvery and EA's lack of stand, so they seem to be drifting away from the community. People just don't seem to be as exited about the game as they were.

Oh, and the suckurom debacle and the fact that BV does not run on my computer very well even without any CC as it hogs all the resources, are not making people to feel any sympathy towards EA, either.

Or am I just dreaming?   :?

I think you are right.

So many people can't even use BV, that it kind of takes the wind out of one's sails. Why get excited about an expansion if you can never use it? The EPs are what kept people excited...the anticipation and the promise of something new. Well, if you can never use the EPs, what is there to talk about? I enjoy playing my game as it is, but I find myself less entranced with the "community" every day.

However, there will always be more ignorant sheep to exploit. EA will find them, and so will TSR.

EA are the masters of Double Talk (http://www.bartelby.com/68/8/2008.html).

We are against people charging money for cc but let's adverti ... err interview a paysite owner.  :roll:

Yes, well all EA seems to have done is drive up pirating.  I looked at pirate bay the other day - 23 or so downloads at that time for Celebrations SP, and 345 or so downloads of Teen SP.  That's a huge jump - and if even I've known about Pirate Bay for all that time (given that I don't torrent stuff) it's not a sudden jump of popularity of the site itself that caused it.

Foolish EA - they've really screwed their customer base over then.  Not to mention that even if you *don't* know that SecuRom is giving your PC problems, people with borked PCs don't buy brand new games for them.

I can agree with that. I'm not made of money, I won't be wasting what I have on expansions that screw up the game more than it helps. TPB for the win!

I don't really think this correlates to anything. Celebrations was not really a very demanded stuffpack to begin with, while "Teen Stuff" is, apparently, popular with a demographic that, obviously, has no money to spend! Both are equally SecuROM infested, although neither one runs a "new" executable, so those running a Seasons-based install would be unaffected. I think this more illustrates the flaw of marketing to people who don't actually have their own money. Adults buy their own shit, some dumb 12 year old kid has to convince mommy and daddy to buy it for them. It is fundamentally a failure in my book to try to sell things to people who have no money.

Nope. I've been noticing that, too, even in my glances at TSR's forums. And considering that this is the holidays but most likely pre-travel for people, I really don't think it's US Thanksgiving that's doing it. I noticed a significant quiet-down at MATY last week, and Boolprop is the same.

I can't even find H&M on Pirate Bay - which was popular with the same demographic.



I know there's no executable, but once people get screwed over by the company, at least some part is "spite downloads".  If even someone like me considers piracy (can't actually do it though) then the company is so in trouble it's not funny.  Not to mention that including SecuRom on the cd gets them trouble anyway - people are still worried about H&M, even though it has no executable.  When I showed my screenshot of installed SecuRom to the BBS, proving that it was installed on my PC with Bon Voyage on 6th of September, there were endless questions about whether I had H&M (which I do).



Not if said non-adults have a computer which they can install things on, and play to their hearts content.  My kids would take the mouse out of my hand for 1 hour tops - let alone play the Sims as much as I do.  Those sorts of kids pester the hell out of Mum and Dad, or just ask and they shall receive.

I agree with you. I do a tour of the main sites each day just to see what's going on in the community and the last week or so it's been dead. MTS2 is really slow with uploads. Usually there's at least 3-4 pages of new stuff a day. The last few days though there's been barely a page and a half.

People are losing interest. Sad thing is, EA doesn't give a flying rat turd.

Sad, but true. I must agree with the duck on this one.

Eh, in the US it's a holiday week and holiday season in general, which can cause people to be away from their computers so I think it might pick back up.

However, EA has screwed over this user all it's going to. I officially quit giving them money when I found out H & M had Securom (even though it doesn't cause the problems that BV does). I didn't even bother to yohoho BV.

But the thing is, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe, so it should not affect for example MTS2 that much. And I think this trend has been going on for some time now.

And EA not caring about the community is probably true, but they're shooting themselves in the foot by doing that. If people are not interested in the community, they probably are not interested in the game either, and hence will not buy future expansion packs, or the Sims 3.

I must say, I am not interested in the Sims 3 at the moment either, because of Suckurom and EA's attitude towards their paying customers. During the Sims 1 days I was always excited about the expansion packs and could not wait to get my hands on the Sims 2. Now, I'm not excited. EA is driving away their core customers and they do not even realise what they're doing  :roll:

I didn't mean that Americans are the only creators at MTS2 (or any other Sims 2 site), just that it's a holiday week here and that could explain a drop in uploads by Americans because people here in the US are preparing to travel to Grandma's house to gorge themselves on food.

Got it in one.

We need to stop relying on EA for a "big move" of sorts on this, its not going to happen. Focus on supporting and encouraging free sites, creators, etc, rather then waiting for a multi national company who does not give a fuck and will never give a clear view. As Le Duck said, EA is a flying rat turd  :roll:

And ModTheSims2 has too many rules...uploading there is hellish at times. Its easier not to even try to upload there. It puts creators off, majorly. Bleh

Yeah, there is that.

I was going to upload some stuff I made there, but I heard they're really picky with the submissions.

I agree. When I read the threads introducing their new set of rules I had a feeling that quite a few of those that uploaded there at the time would find alternatives. Quite a few have and the dwindling downloads show this.



I find that an absolute hoot. They may say they are picky but have you looked through their stuff lately? 80% of the lots are cookie cutter, no effort offerings. The objects, for the most part, are uninspired and... well, boring. And don't even get me going on the quality of the textures... It's gotten so blah there that I've started hunting down the small, out of the way forums and sites where a good bit of the creativity, talent, and effort ran off to.

FFS...EA's driven me back to watching TV.

I must admit that I am actually looking forward to see the "slump", in EA sales. but wonder if it will make the news anywhere.
I still don't have any of the problems associated with BV and Suckurom, but I am most definitely NOT going to buy any more stuff packs, or expansions. I don't want to take that risk.
I am looking forward to a colossal failure of Sims3.

If EA wants to pimp for a paysite, I'm just not sure I care anymore.  For me the bigger issue is EA's decision to treat all their loyal customers like potential software pirates by attempting to control components on computers they have no business controlling.

I'd like to believe that after the securom fiasco they'd clean up their act and try to win back all that squandered loyalty by treating their customers like people and not potential criminals, but I doubt it. More than likely they're in a huddle trying to figure out more ways to screw us. Piss off,  EA.

Going to have to agree with 99% of what is written here. I used to be excited for the Sims 3; now, unless EA cleans up its act, I won't be buying it. I still find the pre-BV Sims 2 EPs entertaining (but I can only run the base game and NL -- and even those don't work at the moment but I believe that's my computer's own fault). Once I get a new computer I'll surely play the Sims 2 expansions up to Seasons, with no stuff packs.

EA is going to have to do a lot of convincing and effective user support until I buy the Sims 3.

i will have to chime in with my own agreement as well. the dialog i am having at EA has gone full blown ballistic with them putting words in my mouth & claiming utter falsehoods.  they are clumsy at best & very transparent. while that was happening there, offline, i had discovered that my Deluxe DVD did indeed come packed with Securom.

i knew i had to find a no-DVD patch so i could play my game, else the nightmare would return upon factory DVD insertion. oops, there are no no-DVD patches for the Deluxe product.

so natch, i proceeded over to mininova to look for some EP's, this way i could install them & patch those. say Pets, Seasons or OFB for example.
i fired up the newest version of µTorrent, and lo & behold if my pc did not suddenly start to freeze up. i figured perhaps it was Securom doing this, so i used the free version of Trashreg to finger the null reg keys, then used Regdevnull to get rid of them, then Sami Tolvanen's Eraser to get rid of the Securom folder in the docs & sets app folder. this particular Deluxe DVD comes with a version of Securom higher than 7 which does not have the ua7service.exe service, but instead two other services called RX and THUC. they live in the temp folder, not the system32 folder, and are reinstalled everytime they are removed when the DVD is inserted with a handful of DLL's. those are easily removed tho, just clear the c:\temp folder, but disable the nonsense in the services snap-in first so that if and when they come back, they enter your house neutered.

then i went back to mininova to fetch the torrent again. you know, the big one that's about 9 gigs, that way i could what i want and ignore what i already have/ don't want.

it froze again. the freezing was not unlike a hostile take over by a hacker or rogue code where there are no memory buffer overruns, yet plenty of of unfounded cpu clock cycles amping up. when it does this, everything is bitch. simple file browsing is impossible or slow. launching the task manager or any other app killer to terminate the process may never happen, or it may take up to an hour to terminate a process. using a web browser is pointless. right clicking may take half an hour to produce a context menu, that sort of thing. it behaved this way whenever i launched regedit, the command line or a rootkit revealer also, without µTorrent running while Securom was still present.

damn self protecting virii scum.

so i just thought that mayhaps that it be a crappy version of µTorrent, and subsequently downgraded to my previous archived version. nope, that wasn't it. so i went back to the newest µTorrent.

i went back and checked the documentation, and with my older non-crappy version of Zone Alarm, Peer Guardian 2 & Kaspersky AV, the µTorrent product is supposed to play ball nicely. still, i ran µTorrent without these security products in place, and even killed the explorer shell to lighten the load and get rid of other possible hooks.

no. No. NO. no worky. no biscuit for me.

so what started out as Deluxe DVD that failed to load, then would load after the application of some advice, but still was quite alpha-styled buggy, led to more advice that suggested that i apply a more stable EP to the mix to correct the buggy NL code found in Deluxe. and it took me to looking for said EP's via torrent, then a 3 day battle with Securom protecting itself until i removed it (at least i am pretty sure i did. maybe i need to get rid of the game executable too). and i have wound up not being able to do things that i take for granted like launching regedit and a simple command line. since µTorrent was not working, i opened up Opera and tried it's built in torrent client. not as nice, but it works. not this time.

today i spent several hours messing with Bit Tornado and had more luck. i got about 4% of my selected EP cure, but by muckety-muck if it just didn't frig the box before i had to reboot.

i am utterly INCENSED with EA in every regard, and i will be damned if they ever see one of my hard earned pieces of eight AGAIN.

more precisely, I FART IN THEIR GENERAL DIRECTION.

at this point, i do not know if it is Securom or not since i do believe i did successfully remove it, or if the ISP is not jamming things downstream, which is utterly possible, but A) none of these problems existed in any form previous to the Deluxe DVD purchase and B) the ISP jamming i have seen is never this severe.

echo echo echo echo every sentiment. arg, keel-hauling them is mild in comparison to what i have in mind.

I stopped purchasing EA products after OFB. Not that i dont have them all :twisted: i just refuse to purchase anything else EA has to offer untill they straighten up their act.

it'll never happen.

Wait, does Celebrations have SecuRom? I didn't think that it did. I'm getting ready to reinstall my game minus the cursed SecuRom so I want to make sure.

For various reasons I won't bore you with, I recently ordered a new pre-built computer from a reputable company (rather than buy parts and assemble myself). I've been a dedicated fan of the sims, obtaining (mostly legally i.e. buying from the store) every EP and SP since TS1... But now I don't even think I'm going to put it on my new computer. I don't want Securom fucking up a fresh computer. I yohoho'ed the newest SP and i haven't even bothered to install it. I haven't even THOUGHT about playing the sims in weeks. My current computer is in its death throes (i won't blame securom explicitly but i'm sure it didn't help anything)

Way to chase away a dedicated fan, EA. And as stated, i'm not the only one...  It's sad to see the game we all used to love so much dying like this, as one by one the community members get so frustrated with the company and just say Fuck it and drift off to new hobbies that aren't going to hijack their computers.  :(

I just play Seasons and everything before that and hope they clean their act up for the third game. I'm crazy about the Sims, and can't imagine my life without it, but EA is slowly killing it for me.
I'm going to sit back and watch when Hobbies comes out. There will be so many problems with it that the shit will really start to hit the fan.

freoninferno - I've heard from others with Kaspersky AV that SecuRom messes with it big time.  One of the best places for help and information on how to remove SecuRom is MATY - Pescado's other forum.  They have instructions on how to clean it out completely, and may be able to point you in the right direction for non-7 SecuRom information.



No - I'm pretty sure that it first came in with H&M (hence EAxis saying "Well what's your problem you've had it for ages silly customer").  Even if it does, there's no executable - that comes with BV.  I have all eps and stuff packs, all legitimate, all in order, and SecuRom infested me on the day I installed BV.  See here (Australian date format is dd/mm):

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2295/securom1vg8.jpg

It came with Celebrations also, but as most people were running Pets/Seasons, and thus used the Pets/Seasons executables, it had no effect.

My computer has been dead since August.. so no sims since August.  We got a new computer for the family about a month ago.  I have been going back and forth on whether I should install it and it's been "no" every time so..

EA, you have fucked yourself in the ass.  They called Safedisc their "former copyright protection" in the official FAQ and I know that putting Securom on all their games was a millions of dollars deal..  It will be on the next L&P ep.

Why the fuck should EA make a stand against pay sites?  They might offend someone who'll spend money on their shit.  Better to sit on the fence and rake it in from both sides.  I've loved the Sims since the first incarnation, but this shit is getting ridiculous.  *smacks EA on head with rolled up newspaper*  Bad EA!  Borking computers is bad!

I'm not sure if this has been posted in this thread (I've been in bed with a migrane for most of the last day) but according to Maxoid Sam, a Securerom uninstall tool is coming..

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=ca9cea8b8f6ed84fdc97f42d919e009d&directoryID=211&startRow=26&openItemID=item.211,root.1,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127,item.23

He stresses this is only for the people who want to remove BV/Securerom from their computers.. It sounds to me like they've just gone c'e la vie when it comes to the customers they will lose. They're probably counting on the fact that the majority of simmers don't visit the site so won't know about the controversy.

For myself, I found out that other games I have on the pc actually use this copy protection, and it isn't causing problems for my particular pc so I'm just resigned to having it...

that's what they are counting on. nazi germany counted on that too (apathy factor thingie...)




thanks calalily. i already ruled out KAV, it's no more correlated than paint or notepad since we tested it with it running and without, installed and uninstalled. but if it were, it would be because KAV is doing the job it is designed to do by protecting the operating system from illegal rogue malware that is stealthed in and operating under deception. i got my other info from MATY, been there about 2 years (woOt). this is a shop pc, so we have no personal investment as far as experimenting with it. it makes a good test bed. the problem is Securom, yepper. we measured the box against others with torrent clients & there are no ISP probs on them.
cheers!

Freninferno.. this is not a case of safety or personal liberty or rights of your body. This is about hobby and it's just a computer in the end. That allegory is way over the top.

And I can understand your guys reaction, but I have two games I'm not prepared to give up that use it, by two different manufacturers.. and they're the two major games I play and enjoy. So there's no point in getting stressed, I either play my games or don't. I chose to play my games and enjoy them..

And Securerom is actually not causing any problems with my pc.. not sure why, but it isn't. So I have no reason to remove it or BV, or I'd consider myself a bit of a mungbean if I'm only doing something because everyone else is..

actually, it's not over the top, but grossly understated. this is no different than minimalizing anything else where personal property is concerned. this is no different than if i bought someone's gas and after the purchase was transacted they subsumed the right to alter my car in some way beneficial to them with out my consent. it is literally the hijacking of my personal property and my use of my personal property. the metaphors, analogies and allegories can go on & on and never quite state strongly enough the beligerant crime involved. it has nothing to do with a hobby, it has everything to do with what is yours and theirs, where lines are drawn and where they are blurred and on spinning public perception & therefor ultimately, policy. ergo, your personal sovereignty extends beyond your body to anything you own & your sovereign use of that, and where a powerful tool such a computer is concerned, it affects safety in grave ways. games are only a litmus & a diversion.




that said, i like your angle, and that you presented this percpetion, but no matter how much fun it is to verbally wrestle, this little girl is tired so i will have to catch the tet a tet laters. yay bed!

Oh whatever.. you're coming across as very young with that statement hun. Either that or at Uni or haven't had your life bash you about.

I on the other hand have had to fight and struggle just about my whole life and my sense of perspective remains focused on the stuff that is important.. which is my family and making sure I get to have fun with my game. While what EA is doing is wrong, it is nowhere near as important as home, family, personal liberty.. It's just a PC company doing the wrong thing. If you're seeing it on that level, you need to get out more.

oh dear me, just because i  am not eighty, i am of 'insufficient life experience' and because i disagree with you, you take it personally, intolerantly and make assumptions about my education and social depth. hmm. well lessee, i think your rhetoric belies your immaturity, regardless of your age, you come across as short tempered & cross with those who do not agree. also, i am not a senior citizen, but have a child in college. as for my college, i have 8 years, grad 3 degrees & quite a few professional certifications. i get out plenty because i own my own business & also go on the road occasionally with a band to perform.

i also respect your right to say what you will & act as immature as you want. i also defend your right to the same, but don't make it personal grandpa. this is just community discourse. goodnight and don't forget to smile sometime between here & there.

No mate, I just think you're using a reference that doesn't fit with the situation, and is way over the top... I'm very rarely short tempered and cross but seeing someone compare the mass murder of six million people to a software company doing the wrong thing with a game is too much.

And that doesn't mean EA isn't doing the wrong thing, they are.. but this isn't life threatening. And for you to go on about people being intollerant of other's views when you started by calling me apathetic when I don't consider it as high on my priorities as you do, is to say the least hypocrytical.

And again.. I can understand how people feel.. I can understand why people are upset because EA at the very least needed to tell people they were changing copy protection BEFORE they did this so they could make an educated decision.

But now it's here we can all individually decide to either keep the software or get rid of it, and either choice is valid depending on what suits the individual.

ps, and if you're going to call me an age-based insult, stick with Grandma, I'm a girl..

Look, I have to agree with Angha Tyl here - SecuRom has not been hauled in front of the Nuremberg trials, and there are no reports I can find on the internets about SecuRom gassing six million Jews.

It's bad - but not that level of bad.   :D

Wow, I can't believe you are seriously comparing EA to Nazi Germany.

Age doesn't even have anything to do with it. I'm 18 and I seriously cannot fathom comparing a SOFTWARE COMPANY to what the Nazis did to the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, elderly, anyone who wasn't seen as a part of the "superior race" ...

*calms down*

I agree with Angha Tyl and Calalily.

I don't care who ya try to compare EA to, I just know they fucked with my personal computer and they had no right to do that.

They can kiss my ass. I'm getting all future Sims ep's the "pirate" way.  :lol: And I never would have considered that before now.  :evil:

Requip, I agree they had no right to do it, it was dishonest not to let people know they were using that copy protection, especially considering the Sony lawsuit and it's implications..

Electricstatic, I'd like to apologise to you hun.. I was not meaning to insult anyone under 30. I should have been accusing freoninferno of a lack of commonsense and maturity instead.

That's part of what pisses me off..........for a couple weeks after I installed and played BV, no problems - I didn't notice anything. Then I try to go add some of my downloads I have on CD to the game and  :shock: the CD's are showing empty, can't read 'em. Then I discover I can't read any of my outside storage devices.  :evil: Then my anti-virus program won't update.  :shock:

Only a few days later did I discover this was a SecuROM side-effect, had no clue what SecuROM was.  :?

In other words, if I hadn't found out and taken steps to remove it? I would have just taken the PC in for a checkup and paid whatever to fix it. WITHOUT knowing! That pisses me off.

My DVD player won't burn DVDs.  Only CDs.   I have everything up until Seasons.  Can't be SecuROM, can it?

SecuROM was shipped with Celebrations (remember the not recognizing the CD complaints on the official BBs?) and with Teen Stuff and H&M stuff. If you have them, you have SecuROM.

On another tack, this is what we were promised with the Sims 2. Nothing like what we got.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEyh5rQYCgM#

Hah. Yet another reason for me to YARR everything they make.

Thanks for killing off my bad conscience, EA! <3

I can haz link to yarr!-ed sims stuff?

With EA messing about with Securom it makes me wonder wich big moderators we have lost? i mean who stopped working with the games because of it? who will never return with the sims3? Quaxi? Numenor? so much we could lose .. sigh.
we lost many good content makers with the update from the sims1 to the sims2 for whatever reasons (family life, jobs ect)
but with all the changes over time with the sims2' "Maxis going to EA" screwing the game as is and our biggest maxoid players dissapering to securom issues,
With players saying they will never return to buying the products who out of the silent people will not bother with the newer game coming?

Sad to think about especialy when EA seems to not care about the fans but more about the fast cash.

New post from Maxoid Sam on the Securerom issue.. I'd post it in the Maxoid Sam thread, but I think that'd qualify as a Necromantic thread by now.

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=578780c39336bd8f93c41a9b607b290a&directoryID=211&startRow=1&openItemID=item.211,root.1,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127,item.23

The one issue I DO get is the CD not recognising it has a legitimate game disk in there.. I'm almost tempted to put a report in so they know there's more than 141 people having issues with it.. It just hasn't been anything that's bothered me enough to be motivated to say anything about it.

After reading Maxiod Sam's post I must say, much of what he said makes sense. The majority of posts people are making regarding the SecuRom problems (at least those that I have read) contain nothing more than rants and nonsense. What he is saying is - they need real hardcore "facts." Tell the company exactly what is wrong with your computer and how SecuRom caused those problems.

He (and other EA rep posters) have been saying this same thing in recent posts. They have given the numbers of people complaining vs the number of games sold and frankly, from a business point of view, they don't add up. As he pointed out, "Now even ONE complaint is a bad thing. 141 is definitely too many, regardless of why they're calling." More people should be following the proper channels and filing REAL complaints and not just ranting and raving on the forums.

Now I am NOT saying that what EA did was right or how they have handled this fiasco in the past was right. Rather, people who have had their computers borked by SecuRom should contact the company directly and tell them "this is exactly what is wrong with my computer and this is how SecuRom directly affected it." If they are looking for numbers, then let them have their numbers rather than ranting and raving on forums. Take a few minutes to go through the proper channels (whatever they may be) and file your complaint.

My Mom used to tell me - If you are unhappy with something you have two choices - either reject it or accept it. If you choose to reject it, then take what steps you must to correct/fix it. If you choose to accept it, then stop bitching about it.




meh ... just my 2 cents  :wink:

I think apart from anything else, if there's any chance to change this mess, this would be round about it. If they decide it's all smoke and nonsense and don't decide to change the copy protection then we're stuck with it forever more if we want to keep playing Sims..

Having said that, I'm not 100 percent sure it will make a difference but if someone has had bad issues like you guys with your virus scan problems, it's worth a try..

Hmmm, maybe everyone should get over EA's attempt to monitor and control programming that has nothing to do with Sims2 and that someone "MIGHT" use to pirate a copy of their game. Because, after all,  EA has been soooo upfront with everyone in the past (their stand on paysites, for instance) that we would all be remiss if we put our personal rights ahead of their shareholder profits. And hey, while we're at it, maybe we should allow them random in home searches as well.  Just to make sure that nobody got past securom and "MIGHT" be holding... (the horror)...a bootleg copy of the Sims2.

As I see it, whether you choose to deal with it or not, the issues surrounding securom run far deeper than just a stupid game. And I believe (but could be wrong) that that was the point that freoinferno was trying to make, that we're on slippery ground and given an inch,  EA and other out of control, selfish, corporations, WILL take much more from us.

I know, all those people who started posting about "SIGNN MI PETION!!!!" did more harm than good. I sometimes think I am the only one who contacted EA via letters and email, contacted the FTC & the BBB to file a complaint.  :roll: For all the good it did me. The response has been "Sony DADC can't recreate your problem" so basically I'm lying.  :evil: And unless I'm willing to re-install SecuROM to send them an analysis file that I can't even read, I'm on my own.  :?

  And here's where he goes off:
  Your fucking icon is the black flag of Anarchism,and you're going on with the "sucks to be you" thing. " You can't fucking see that SuckyourRom is nothing more than another way for "the man" to control your personal thoughts and motives? You, my dear, are the reason why Anarchy will never work. Turn your freaking blind eye to oppression, 'cause it's easier to shout slogans than to fight.
 [/rant]



edit: because punctuation is for children.

O.kay.  Whatever  :?

I was in there as soon as I found out about SecuRom, and posted pretty consistently about it - with actual information.  I was the one, that when MaxoidViolet said that SecuRom wasn't on your harddrive, posted a screenshot of it...on my harddrive, including the install date (6th of September - the Australian BV release date).

For one thing, it's misleading to say "oh just phone customer support" - as I pointed out numerous times, it would be cheaper for me to get tech support guy to my house, and pay him to fix it, and make me a coffee.  Costs $2.48 to call EA support here in Australia - and considering the amount of help that others have gotten, I'd rather the coffee.  I haven't got any help from the bvresearch@ea.com either - I sent the email describing my problem, and they've sent me one email saying "Someone will get back to you soon" (the equivalent of being on hold) and "What was your problem".  Dimwits - it was in the first fucking email.

I'm lucky in that the only thing that it's fucked with is a $20 SC4 disk (which means that EA loses money not me - cause Sims 2 is all I'll play now, and will never buy Sim City Societies, even though I was planning on it), and I'm not sending encoded information to Sony - they are not allowed to have a free inspection of my computer.  I know that EAxis say that they're nothing - but if I can't see it, I don't trust it - after all - they didn't even know that SecuRom gets onto the hard disk until I fucking told them.

An alternative reason why MTS2 and InSim are seeming quiet lately is that there isn't a BV *public* release of SimPE.  I don't think many people know how to get the QA version (Quaxi isn't signing people up currently, and they don't know where it's being shared) or they think it's dodgy getting the under-the-counter version or something.  And they think using the old one with BV might blow up their boot sectors.

MaxoidSam is bullshitting because that's his job. Companies know that for every one person who contact them with a problem, there are many more who also have the same problem. I don't think EA and Sony are as stupid and out of touch as they're pretending to be. It's just easier, and probably legally safer, to tell customers they have to jump through hoops to be heard.

I don't think we're going to get anywhere through EA/Sony channels. I think this is going to take legislation.

EA isn't looking so good. They just closed one of their locations in Chicago, which is a huge blow.

You = blind. Apparently you need to learn how to read before you comment on what others say. Better yet, you should have TWO hemispheres for your brain as well. I know why Securom is present. It is a copy protection device. It has nothing to do with my thoughts, your thought, or anyone elses thoughts or motives. The Securom controversy lie in how it is introduced and what else it does besides copy protection, which in and of itself is not exactly a legal premise. I am why anarchy will never work? Pshaw. I am why it will work because I would most certainly have any brain dead ignoramus like yourself deported. You are the problem, not the solution because you do not educate yourself or disengage your mouth before you hide behind your pc keyboard and sprout imaginary balls full of self-righteous drivel & falsely inflated ego self stroking. You my dear boy, are a coward that needs to learn how to conjugate a verb before you get all holier than thou. It amazes me that you can wipe your own ass. I think what this boils down to is that anarchy offends you because you're some erectionless right wing nut job.

(http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p279/mymg/02a/dinnerisu.jpg)

 

It's kind of deppressing that EA would do such a thing.
I always thought that asking for money in exchange of CC was illegal (and incredibly lame) , and now the same people in charge of the game are advertising one of those creators.... that killed me.
Also, TS2 communities have slowed down alot. Even the official site, before I used to go to the forums and they were packed now there is barely any action going around.
Then there is this whole talk about Securom, which I have no idea what the heck it is. Since I havent played since the release of Seasons, and came back to play just a few weeks ago, I am unsure of how the problem started; but I hope it doesnt come with Uni, NL, Pets, or Seasons since those are the EPs I own... :(

we agree to disagree then. here. have a macro and a smile.

(http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p279/mymg/02a/wetwillycat.jpg)





am not drawing lines between that and genocide. am drawing lines between abuse of power. the german state was very efficient in overriding legislative constraints to accomplish many things, not just genocide. but i can see why you would focus on just that one thing since that is what history bears out that we remember most.

Please learn to quote correctly, and get over yourself. Redirect the anger, sweetie.

That's not what you said in your original post - there is no talk of overriding legislation, or legal constraints in any way. It wasn't in the post above you, nor in the thread on that page, nor in the Maxoid Sam post.   What you said was:



I see no mention of legislation either in your post.



As too is the current American government - there are wiretaps, secret trials, torture, and unlawful imprisonment and far more other things.  

SecuRom sucks, sure, but that doesn't mean that EA execs regularly eat babies, and claiming things such as this is what makes those on the BBS look absolutely batshit.

Seriously, dude.  Stop posting.  You make NO sense.

Nazis didn't actually eat babies either... which I'm sure you know, but I'd hate to have this freon person run away with that idea. He reminds me of a few freshman history majors who see parallels between situations that have only tiny details in common.

What EA is doing is bad enough. I think some calls and letters to some state representatives about copy protection are in order. It could take a long time, but it can be changed.

Yes, I did - and thanks for clarifying - I'm sure you're right about runaway ideas.   :D But that's another thing often thrown around.  I was meaning to say that SecuRom is bad, but hardly the most loathsome act in human history.

This is typical of someone who doesn't have a legitimate argument - they resort to slinging insults and making personal attacks rather than offering a coherent rebuttle.

 I liked how it said to learn to follow the rules of chaos. And how it'd have the authorities deal with its opponents..

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy
 http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/malatesta/anarchy.html

Free your mind


edit for piss-poor proofreading

For Pete's sake, Godwin's Law (http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwins_law)

Thank you, Samantha. I was just about to call "Godwin" myself.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/Dasha/hitlercat.jpg)

dasha, that macro is awesome.

That appears to be the only way this might change. And I've done this along with alot of others. (thanks Cala!) I've been trying to get people to do this for a long time. I wonder how many people have actually taken any action such as letter writing or calling in complaints?  :?

FTC complaint phone number: 1-877-382-4357
FTC complaint website: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

Absolutely no worries. I understand where you were coming from. :)

Godwin's Law, you say? (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1020)

Electricstatic, before I click...that's not Goatse or anything is it?

No - I click with gay abandon - promise it isn't.  Goatse hasn't been sprung unsuspected on me yet - I went looking it - god help me. I....went.....looking......for.....it.  :shock:

You went looking for Goatse? OMG. *falls over laughing*
Well, we already knew you had a twisted mind. That just proves it.

I did the same thing. I belonged to a board that always threatened goatse but never linked to it so, rather than look stupid, I googled it.

And then I went blind.

This just proves any claim I might make to being a knowledge sim - how often do those stupid buggers want to be struck by lightning - well I rolled an aspiration to see goatse, and did it.  :D

Curiosity *could* literally kill this cat!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v426/evilredduckie/lolcats/boxkitten.jpg)

:lol: Popcorn anyone? Watching freoninferno's over the top statements and everyone's reactions is now becoming highly entertaining...

freoninferno your arguments remind me of the old analogy from Yes Prime Minister

All Dogs have four legs
My cat has four legs
Therefor, my cat is a dog

Just because EA has done something stupid and wrong and put software on your computer that they shouldn't have, doesn't mean they're indulging in Police State tactics. It just means they're getting big enough that they think they can get away with anything, silly buggers..  But keep going with your statements because I'm now finding you highly entertaining.. It's like watching Mikey or Jan at their best (not that you're in their camp)

No company is immune to changing times.. IBM and Microsoft have gone through patches of being the predominant IT company but have misjudged changing times and the mood of the public very badly.. Very famously the President of IBM early on said that there was perhaps a world market for five computers. EA is not immune if they start misjudging what people will or will not accept, and in the end, that's the thing they forgot when they did somethin insulting like put potentially dangerous software on people's PC's without warning them.

This thread is now invaded with people trying not to loose face and keeping at it... how do I fit Nazi's in there... hmmm....
I think I can fit teletubbies in here...

Again!
Again!

Angha Tyl, Securom does many things that you've not mentioned, which tend to make many believe that EA is indeed trying to police what we can and cannot have on our computers.
It shuts down firewalls.
It shuts down antivirus programs.
It shuts down cd/dvd burners.
It also has been making the game unplayable for many people.
So, while dragging in references to that period in history may be questionable, this continued slugfest and bashing is getting us nowhere. We're here for a cause, which is to drag down paysites, not each other for a remark that was made which may or may not have been in the best of taste. Leave off and save your ire for the bastards that deserve it: paysite owners, EA Games, Sony and random idiots and assholes who come in and try to turn this place into a troll breeding ground. Thank you and good day.

Oh no you didn't! You did not just come up in here tellin' the truth.

I'm sorry. I have seen the Telletubbies. You can punish me now. :cry:

Paden, I'm very sorry. I'm not normally this flippant or mean to anyone, the Nazi crack just pushed my buttons because if anything it trivialised the suffering of the millions of people who died during World War 2.

And again, if people are having it do all of those things, they should be battering down EAs door with reports.. And for the guys who've had EA say that Sony cannot replicate their problem, if Sam is saying he wants to hear from people, they need to be bringing this up again directly below that thread. I know many of you don't trust EA, but honestly it's your only chance to action change if there is any... While this is good for mutual support, they are not going to take account of things which are happening on other boards in terms of making any change.

There's alot of people doing that, without good result... ask Caliliy... wait it's in this thread :)
Anyway, why not do both? Complain online and complain by phone :P

Are these the teletubbies of which you speak? :lol:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/Witchboy/Signatures/teletubbies.jpg)

Muwahahahah cool :D

Those aren't Teletubbies, they're Thomass and the people from tsr. :lol:

Tipsy=ThomASS
TaaTaa=Neptune Floozy
Drinky Winky=Chaz
Ho=Atwat

Did i get it right? :lol:

I edited to changed Suzy to Floozy & Atwa to Atwat LOL :twisted:

You did :lol:

Well this weeks fan interview is with Vita Sims. I guess EA is on a Pay Site interview roll.

http://thesims2.ea.com/community/interview_vitasims.php

Ack...not another one. Fucking pondscum.
You know maybe EA is doing this to see if they can get attention from us. If they get tons of complaints maybe they will stop.
On the other hand, EA tends to prefer treating everyone like three year olds, so this will probably persist regardless.
Teen Style Stuff didn't even make it to number one, probably because of their recent antics, and I don't even think it phased them. The only reason it made it number two even was apparently due to a 20 percent discount by Amazon.
I wonder if Will Wright ever reads about all this and cries.

I wonder when they will be interviewing Pescado. He does after all run the most brilliant hack site and the largest download site *caugh*thebooty*caugh* in the community.

They should. If it wasn't for Pes the game wouldn't be playable.
And after glorifying all those paysites they need to do an interview about the booty.
I sure as hell wouldn't have signed up for a paysite before hearing about the booty and it would be great for people who aren't aware to find out about it too so they know there's a place to get that stuff for free.
They post to the paysites, I don't see why they won't post a link to the booty too.

They might not, just in case it alienates the paysite owners. "Oh noes, EA is siding with the theives and giving them free publicities! I will lose all my monies! I must throw a hissy fit reminiscent of a three year old, take all my toys home and nevah buy an EA product again!1!!1!eleventyone."

EA doesn't need paysite owners to convince the sheeples to stop as well, they've done enough to alienate players on their own with this Securom crap.

But maybe that's just me being cynical.

Which might be embarassing as hell for them but they seem to not give a shit. They aren't deleting posts about Pes or no-cd fixes anymore on the BBS though.  :P

Vita Sims - Why didn't they bother to mention the huge poly counts and non working animations in some of their stuff?  Hmmm?  Funny that they seem to ignore sites like the Wicked Nouk Family, MTS2 and Insim which all have a larger following than Vita Sims.  Guess they are so used to ripping off their customers, might as well let others rip them off as well.

Speaking of the BBS anyone else getting this message when clicking on the BBS from the main page?



Also on the front page it says under the Community update

BBS
Most popular Threads:
None

WB, I'm getting the same thing, too.  

Odd.

I'd say it's just some weird glitch - or the bbs went down and isn't right yet.  I get that same message, but when I use my direct favourited link to the SecuRom forum, it's all there.  I can even post if I like too.