[Freeciv] retractions

["Brandon Van Every" <vanevery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> b) that was not the point i was addressing. i was addressing the
>    defamator "freeciv developers are doing this because they are
>    cheap" issue. this is clearly false, and i demand a
>    retraction. (especially as many of us actually have bought civ)

You'll get none from me, unless you show me proof of purchase from *all*
of the people who play (not just develop) Freeciv, for *all* the titles
that Freeciv clones.

> c) i find it hard to believe that microprose are unaware of freeciv.

Microprose and Hasbro are big lumbering stupid corporations.  Wouldn't
shock me in the least if they were unaware.  Should I test your theory?

>   (a) how to quantify how different two games are
>
>   (b) if, as you mistakenly insist, game rules were in themself
>       copyrightable, why a game with only 50% of the rules would be
>       ok, when a game with 100% is false? this is a nonsense.

It's not nonsense, it's the difference between being an exact duplicate
and a different game.  If I put airplanes into Chess, plus some dice,
it's not Chess anymore.  But it might still be played on a 8x8 grid with
all the other pieces.  If someone looks at Freeciv and can see clearly
that it clones Civ II rule by rule by rule, you don't have a leg to
stand on as far as it being a ripoff.

As for fine-grained tests of 95% of the rules and whatnot, that's an
area that lawyers get paid to decide.  They get paid *A LOT* to decide.
More money than you have.  In fact, I won't try to answer your question
any further because I'm not getting paid to decide, and the only people
who ever actually do get paid to decide are lawyers.  They are the only
ones whose ruminations matter in the slightest on this stuff.  What a
great profession!  I may have missed my calling, but hey my Dad did it
so I think I should show some diversity.  Fought a nasty traffic ticket
recently though, boy was that painful.


Cheers,             Infernal Troublemaker                    Troll
Mallor              "By simple mistake, mortals themselves amuse."