Blizzard cracks down on Private servers

[Infinite]

Well, yesterday I was minding my business (playing some cod5 and a WoW private server that i go on) and all of a sudden, i went on the forums on my WoW private server and noticed a post about Blizzard. When i looked in it, it basically stated that Blizzard was sending out DMCA notices to all the major WoW private servers and the one i was playing on was one of them. The owner then replied that he had not recieved said notice and everything was fine for a few hours. A few ours later, the website was shut down, along with the server, and i suspected that maybe this claim was true. So far, most of the servers on xtremetop100.com for WoW are shut down due to Blizzard supposedly sending DMCA notices to them (http://www.xtremetop100.com/world-of-warcraft If you click on them, some of the websites are saying that they are down due to the DMCA notice and They won't be back up until it is resolved). For the websites that are still up, some of them have had their servers attacked it seems (either that or they just shut them down). The one i was playing on now (http://www.ani-wow.com/) now has the website shut down and you can read what it says on the front cover. It might be a fraud, but i'm still uncertain as to how this happened.

A DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notice is basically a notice which says that you broke some copyright rules. MOST private servers haven't done so because they write their own code on the server and don't copy anything from Blizzard. The client (Which is Wrath of the Lich King atm) is FREE and if its used on a private server it doesn't break Blizzard's terms, unless you copy their code therefore will cause copyright issues, but since the code on most private servers is custom and not copied, its not necessarily illegal to run a private server.

I found this fairly interesting and i want to see what happens and if this is really Blizzard doing this or not. Here's another website basically stating the same thing that i just said, but it calls private servers "Pirated Servers" xD, http://www.notinthere.com/2008/12/05/bl ... e-servers/ /

[JDogg]

Hmm, I've been wanting to go retail for a very long time now. I say the small monthly fee is worth the amount of support Blizzard gives it's players, not to mention the fact that you can play any class you want, and not have to worry about bugged spells etc. I haven't played WoW in a long time, and I don't think I will play it again even if I go retail. I spent 4 months getting my Hunter to 70, and armoured up, I'd hate to see that all go to waste. I'm so sick of bugged quests, and bugged raid's, I either need to find a better private server, or go retail.

[Infinite]

The owner of ani-wow posted on the forums on vioku.com and said this

We've verified with the law firm "Sonnenschein", and the DMCA warning letter is authentic.
In addition to this, we'll keep all the realms (WoW content related) down until further announcement. Aniwow future will be discussed soon..

So, it looks to be that Blizzard is really doing this, considering that the Law firm that sent out these DMCA notices was the same that Blizzard has used in the past. Looks like WoW private servers are gonna take a huge downfall from here on out.... I guess i'll move on to RS or something else again . I have no reason to waste $15 (or w.e the price is) per month on a game which will lead to addiction, obsession, and various other problems. I might waste my time on the computers nowadays and have "no-life" already, but i'm honestly not addicted to any game (except maybe GH xD). And from what i've seen, If i got caught up in WoW on retail, i'd be addicted for probably 3-5 months and then realize that i wasted $45-$75 on a game which would lead to me getting lower grades in school, social issues, etc. Whereas on private servers, you get everything a lot easier and aren't as addicted because it is much more fast-paced. I have nothing to do atm, so i wrote this xD.

[Drofder2004]

Private server use a bullshit loophole that was never going to last.

Just because you can download Blizzard content, does not give you right to use that content without paying for it.

If you want a fast paced action game where you get what you want everytime, then what you need is a film. Whats the point of playing a game and having everything from the start? Thats like buying a game to watch the credits.

[Soviet]

No, it's like buying a game and really enjoying it without having to pay $15 a month. Really, the $15 a month kind of makes it a novelty.

[Infinite]

Private server use a bullshit loophole that was never going to last.

Just because you can download Blizzard content, does not give you right to use that content without paying for it.

If you want a fast paced action game where you get what you want everytime, then what you need is a film. Whats the point of playing a game and having everything from the start? Thats like buying a game to watch the credits.

Having everything from the start sux in most cases, but of course not all private servers are like that . The ones that i play on, usually have different realms, normally a "blizz-like" server with 1x-5x rates, a faster one with 20x-50x rates and an instant 70 one which gives u all the gear at the begining. Most people will start with the instant 70 server and when they get bored, move on to the lower rate servers where they actually have to get levels and gear by questing and raiding. Not all private servers give you everything from the beginning.

P.S. The actual document: http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9875/a ... rcwlx3.jpg

[[SoE]_Zaitsev]

I never understood the point of private servers. It's for lame fucks. It's just pointless.

[JDogg]

I never understood the point of private servers. It's for lame fucks. It's just pointless.

How is it pointless?. It's free.

[[SoE]_Zaitsev]

I never understood the point of private servers. It's for lame fucks. It's just pointless.

How is it pointless?. It's free.

Sure, but you can cheat your way around it. Just meh.

[Infinite]

I never understood the point of private servers. It's for lame fucks. It's just pointless.

How is it pointless?. It's free.

Sure, but you can cheat your way around it. Just meh.

As i just said, not all private servers are like that x.x.