I still always find it amusing when makers of piracy-enabling devices complain about piracy of their devices though.
The problem for me is that people might eat my friendâs sauce and then blame me if it tasted terrible or if they got sick.
Directing the end user to another manufacturer for your product is just wrong.
Krikzz constantly deals with people âreturningâ products to him under his lifetime guarantee only to find out they have been sold a fake dud.
Even in an open source situation, they shouldnât pretend to be made by VGP or direct any responsibility to them.
Thatâs what serial numbers and tracking your own sales solves. If you know itâs your product, then you service it, simple as that.
Unfortunately the people who bought from unofficial sellers get the short end of the stick, but thatâs a buyer beware issue I guess.
If krikzz and the OSSC guys do their job right, returns of product that isnât theirs shouldnât be an issue, and I would bet that they both already have ways to combat that effectively.
All of these issues are the nature of open source development. The truth of the matter is, open source developers already know this, and they believe that the pros outweigh the cons.
Thatâs why we have things like linux, and free software to our heartâs content.
Donât want to pay for windows? Try lunix. Donât want to pay for Microsoft office? Try open office.
Itâs a system that works wonders for the world of technology, engineering, and software, and they are fully aware of that.
This âcopyâ has no benefits to anyone interested in this type of product, it isnât cheaper or better, by all accounts it appears to be inferior, itâs sold as someone elseâs product, regardless of its open source nature.
Nobody wins here, potentially VGPâs image could be tarnished, buyers who are fellow retro game enthusiasts could lose money and or end up with an inferior or broken product.
Iâm all for the open source ideals but this isnât helpful and I canât understand anyone wanting to defend this particular product.
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No doubt they have their measures, but it still doesnât make it right for someone else to pretend to be you and your product.
It just sounds like a headache all around. If you think in terms of providing online support, for example, youâd either waste time demanding verification of purchase (while annoying genuine customers), or waste time supporting customers who arenât really your customers.
All it would take to fix it would be to have their own branding and not pretend to be VGP. Thatâs really a separate issue to it being open source.
I think most people here are aware of how open source works. To use your analogy the problem here is someone has taken Open Office and theyâve changed it to look exactly like Microsoft Office and they are even calling it Microsoft Office and then selling it for the same price as Microsoft Office and if you have any issues with it you should call Microsoft.
Creating an OSSC based off the open source documentation is totally fine.
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The clones will come down in price. Seems theyâre just prototypes so far, testing the waters.
Like the consoleized MVSes on aliexpress, theyâre evolving rapidly.
The difference here is that OSSC is the name of the project, not their brand. Thatâs a very important distinction. Is like saying redhat stole linux because they use the linux name.
Notice how there is no copywrite or trademark on the OSSC name. Itâs meant to be used by anyone that builds the product. They expected it to be built by others.
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Youâre still missing the main gripe here.
Marqs has been clear in his stance re: clones. Other OSSC editions have been distinctive and respectful enough to not pretend to be VGP.
Thereâs also the issue/critique of it not really being open source, but that is a whole ânother kettle of fish.
Actually the first batch were cheaper. But regardless this is the nature of Open Source, this is how it goes. If VGP didnât want anyone else making the OSSC, at all, then it shouldnât have been an Open Source project.
I think we can all agree they shouldnât be using the VGP name, but the OSSC is open source anyone can make and sell them. You canât be all for open source products and get pissy when someone makes a copy of something open source.
@Peagles, absolutely they should not be using the VGP name, but a TON of people have jumped on the simple fact that OSSCs not from VGP were being made, and how it was theft, and they were ripping off VGP. Which just producing an OSSC is not that, yeah using their name is, making an OSSC isnât.
In this thread?
I meant online in general. Iâve been other places of the net where people have all their hackles up simply because a clone exists to an Open source project.
Sure okay. It just reads like people coming in here to fight against âoutrageâ when it hasnât really been vocalised here, so I was getting a bit confused.
Iâd like to think that weâre sensible and niche enough hereto understand open source and how it works as a concept. We also see the potential issues, and that shouldnât be painted as uninformed outrage.
FYI Bucko makes some comments in this threadâŚ
https://www.videogameperfection.com/forums/topic/chinese-ossc-dump-on-ebay/
Just built using the open source plans nothing really to do with us. They stole our user guide and logo without our permission. Obviously we donât support them.
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I put in a complaint with eBay regarding the logo but eBayâs en-farce-ment policies being what they are I donât hold out a lot of hope!
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Their eBay prices arenât even much better than ours, worse in some cases.
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Iâm sure we could âlawyer upâ and get them to remove the logo and instruction manual with enough effort, but is it worth it? OSSC is open source after all, so we canât really stop this kind of thing for the unit itself.
Sucks that they are using their logo without permission, but they donât seem to care otherwise.
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This is why we need our circles to warn others of this and stick to supporting the âofficialâ product on VGP.
Can anybody contact Bob of RetroRGB to get the message out? Iâve left a comment over a week ago and I still havenât seen him post anything on it.
My question is, if the OSSC creator doesnât seem that bothered about this (from what Iâve read) then why is the community of people who seem to have already bought one so outraged? I donât get it.
Possibly because they feel like it potentially devalues their purchase
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I also noticed SNES Bluetooth adapters have started to appear on eBay, they have the name 8bitdo on them but they are copies, so clearly a problem across the industry.