[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Mister Ed

I disagree. That sounds like an entitlement mentality to me, and is EXACTLY the sort of argument used by those who DO employ piracy.

I don't see any compelling argument that I am ENTITLED to have access to all creative works ever made, no matter what. That sort of thinking is EXACTLY what leads people to think, "They are charging more than I want to pay for that. It should be freely accessible, therefore I am justified in illegally downloading it, since they won't make it available at a price I can afford." If you didn't make it, or somehow legally acquire it, I don't see where you could say you have ANY "rights" to access it, even if it would be NICE if you could.

It's more about preservation of culture than entitlement, though I don't see anything wrong with entitlement in itself when the thing is commercially inaccessible. You can characterise it however you wish, but if you want an argument why public access is important here's one from the Abandonware Ring (I didn't write it nor is it my own point of view):

Why abandonware should not be considered piracy by Walt Crawford

When the U.S. was young a copyright lasted 14 years, renewable only once if the author was still living. Between the nation's founding and 1909, only one term extension took place. In 1909 the term was doubled to 28 years. However corporations still felt it was too short. So in 1976 Congress changed the copyright to a remarkably long and unpredictable term: Life of the author plus 50 years - and, for works made for hire (corporation) a generous 75 years.

Under corporate copyright, the earliest Mickey Mouse cartoon would have entered the public domain 75 years after the first cartoon's release, in 2004. Thus, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) in 1998, which extended both forms of copyright 20 years (70 years for an author, 95 years for a corporation). Is there anyone who believes that the Disney Corporation won't push for another 20 year extension in 2018 - or that Congress won't pass it?

A good example of the problems this is already causing is going on right now in the movie industry. Dacaying nitrate-based film from the early days of motion pictures may not be restored because Moviecraft and other companies that restore and reissue these movies can't do so because they can't identify the copyright holders and the movies seem to never pass into the public domain. Preservation activities in general, and particularly digital preservation activities, are made more difficult when material never enters the public domain.

This is why we have abandonware. If these games are not shared and preserved now do you think anyone will have a copy of IBM's Alley Cat in 2079 when it's copyright expires?

Who knows how many games have disappeared into the abyss due to copying restrictions in law? Just as bad is the situation when nobody plays an old game anymore because it can't be found. In that light, the efforts of abandonware sites seem almost heroic, at least in bringing to our awareness these games and letting the forgotten be experienced.

Originally Posted by thejobloshow

I wouldn't want this website to compromise itself by promoting copyright infringement.

I would. A campaign against condemning old games to obscurity is much needed to counter the absurd laws which compromise the preservation of historic culture for the public good. That goal seems more important than a website, and it's not like it would be illegal anyway.