Monkey Island on the cover of Retro Gamer

[PecanBlue]

I don't know, I'm the creepy person that goes to the local comic store and sits there to read about twenty comics a week and only ends up buying one out of those twenty on average. I read nearly every new issue of everything released a month and might be costing people business, here!

Though really, there's also comics up for a free loan at the library so I should look into that more often.

I have no idea if it would work the same with magazines.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Irishmile

So its never ok to read only and article in a magazine under any instance unless you have paid for the entire thing? You guys are blowing this thing way out of proportion.... I find if hard to believe you guys have never borrowed a magazine, or a book, or a movie, or a game, gotten use out of it without paying for it......

I'm not saying it isn't okay to borrow a magazine or book or whatever. It's just natural that people will share things they like with their friends. I also see no harm in reading through a magazine or book in a store - if you do it to determine whether it's a magazine you'd buy. If I see in a store that a mag has an interesting feature, I'll flip through it to see if it's what I expected it to be from the cover. If it is, great, I'll buy it. If not, I'll put it back. It's like shopping for fruits and vegetables, sometimes you need to feel if they are good to eat, that doesn't mean you can eat that stuff in a store.

But scanning a magazine and putting it online for everyone to read for free is totally different. It's not at all like a demo or movie trailer, because the magazine article is the finished product. There's nothing beyond that. If people were to post one tiny snippet of the article online as a teaser, an incentive to go out and buy the mag, I'd have no problem with that. But this way, it just enables freeloading, and if people keep doing that, don't be surprised if one day there aren't any quality magazines left.

[Irishmile]

Or the ones that are left will be forced to be quality if they want our money

I have no problem buying magazines for one article... I have the Nintendo power within reach of me right now because of the MI article... but that magazine is not sold where I live and I am not going to pay a ridiculous amount of money for one article especially when I have no way of knowing the kind of magazine it is in.... I do realize the potential dangers of file sharing my entire point was some of you are acting like providing one little article to people in an entirely different country who will otherwise never read the article is the same as stealing your grandmothers purse to buy booze for under aged children... obviously I exaggerate.

I wouldn't want anyone to go against their personal moral codes but come on, no need to act like you are being nailed to a cross.

BTW I am half joking, half making a point, before anyone gets hurt feelings

[Kaladron]

Irishmile, the mag is sold in Barnes & Noble in the states, albeit a month or so after the UK newsstand date. If you want to get a taste of the mag or, indeed, read the article for free. Then that may be a good option for you.

Online scans, however, are a crime. Whether you think they're serious or not, they will be discouraged.

[Irishmile]

Originally Posted by Kaladron

Irishmile, the mag is sold in Barnes & Noble in the states, albeit a month or so after the UK newsstand date. If you want to get a taste of the mag or, indeed, read the article for free. Then that may be a good option for you.

Online scans, however, are a crime. Whether you think they're serious or not, they will be discouraged.

Cool thanks for the tip... We do not have a Barnes & Noble here but I guess they are going to build one soon..... but if B&N has it Borders might and we have one of those here.... I will keep an eye out for it.

[Giant Tope]

Originally Posted by Kaladron

Irishmile, the mag is sold in Barnes & Noble in the states, albeit a month or so after the UK newsstand date. If you want to get a taste of the mag or, indeed, read the article for free. Then that may be a good option for you.

Online scans, however, are a crime. Whether you think they're serious or not, they will be discouraged.

So all those times that people posted the NP article... It was a crime?

[Irishmile]

FBI is gonna get you.

[Kaladron]

Originally Posted by Giant Tope

So all those times that people posted the NP article... It was a crime?

If it was a scan, then yes. I know it's not a big crime, but anyone who makes a living from writing would never defend it.

[Giant Tope]

Originally Posted by Kaladron

If it was a scan, then yes. I know it's not a big crime, but anyone who makes a living from writing would never defend it.

My point is that making mountains out of molehills and demonizing people for a perfectly innocent desire ain't alright. I'm living sorta out in a podunk and I find it ridiculous to spend that much money on a single article. I'm not asking for a scan, but rather I'm looking for highlights or excerpts.

Is this okay for you?

[Kaladron]

Originally Posted by Giant Tope

My point is that making mountains out of molehills and demonizing people for a perfectly innocent desire ain't alright. I'm living sorta out in a podunk and I find it ridiculous to spend that much money on a single article. I'm not asking for a scan, but rather I'm looking for highlights or excerpts.

Is this okay for you?

Who's demonizing? I merely appealed to the better nature of the people on this board and asked them not to share scans. What anyone chooses to do is up to them.

What's a podunk, by the way?

[Ignatius]

It shouldnt be put it in here if its such a big problem (although there were no complains with Nintendo Power) just hang it somewhere and we will follow the yellow brick road.

[DoctorCello]

Originally Posted by Kaladron

What's a podunk, by the way?

Let me help you with that.

But anyway, like a few others were saying... I really don't think anyone's going to get into trouble with posting a few pages of a magazine available on an island that most forumites don't live on, when posting an article of a easy-to-find American magazine didn't get any trouble. :|

[Kaladron]

Well I've made my polite request, so I won't bang on about it any longer. Would rather this thread be used to discuss the magazine and article itself.

[Haggis]

Okay, one final message on the issue of scanning and copyright, then I'll stop.

1) The magazine is available for purchase outside the UK, as has been noted multiple times in this topic. If you can't afford it, that's your problem.

2) People act as if they're somehow entitled to read this article, but that's not the way it works. Writing and publishing a magazine is a service, for which a customer pays. Try stealing a coconut at the grocery store and saying 'it's okay, because it's for my friend who lives in a country where they don't have coconuts'. I don't think you'd get away with that. Now, I'd love to live in a society where all services are traded without involving money, but that's not the way our economic system works. Things cost money. A writer or magazine publisher does not get their food and house for free. To compensate, they are offering you a service, which, if you appreciate it, you should pay a fair price for, unless they are offering said service for free, which isn't the case here.

[alfdaur]

bought the issue yesterday, and apart from the exceedingly good article on monkey island, they also have 2 other very very good things in there this month: an article on a old game called 'bobby is going home' (page 26), which made people look at at me as if I was a mad-man because couldn't stop laughing in public at the trainstation while reading it (i don't have a habit of laughing out loud in public), it is worth getting the magazine for this short article alone

they also have a 5 page feature on ben daglish; if you know who this is (c64 scene) then you will love this interview, if you don't then it's probably a hit and miss

there's other really good stuff in there as well (for an old retro head like myself), but those were the two best ones for me

and the monkey island article is really really good

[Irishmile]

Originally Posted by Haggis

Try stealing a coconut at the grocery store and saying 'it's okay, because it's for my friend who lives in a country where they don't have coconuts'. I don't think you'd get away with that.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Do not steal the magazine to send to anyone please.... But if someone could buy a coconut from the store and scan a picture of it I would really appreciate it, because we can not grow coconuts in Wisconsin.

Kidding aside I never once asked anyone to actually scan something in any of my posts... I did however say that if someone did and I read it retro gamer would not be out any money on my account because I was not going to be buying it to begin with... I also never said that scanning articles is 100% above board... I was just sounding off against those that act like its some sort of major crime.... Like someone else said.... where were you all when someone scanned that Nintendo Power article?

I still love you all... Especially you Haggis...

[tbm1986]

Group hug, everybody!

[Farlander]

Group hug, everybody!

One thread wasn't enough for you, was it?

[tbm1986]

Originally Posted by Farlander

One thread wasn't enough for you, was it?

I was wondering when you'd show up.

[Farlander]

I was wondering when you'd show up.

Heh, yeah. I sensed a disturbance in the Force, wanted to check it out, now I wish I didn't.