Wait, why exactly are...

[Bumpman]

I'm not exactly sure if this is the right place, so please move it if it isn't.
Now, why exactly are IOSes(Or for that matter, cIOSes) illegal to share here? I mean, if you can download them off of NUS downloader, I don't see how that's any more illegal.

 

[zeromac]

its because gbatemp dosent want people sharing isos and anything copyrighted here because they could shut us down

 

[tj_cool]

NUS Downloader is the ONLY legal way to obtain IOS (not cIOS!)

 

[razorback78]

gbatemp doesn't support piracy that's it. NUS Downloader is a tool so you could download the ios privately. unlike posting links or sharing actual copyrighted materials here in the site.

 

[Destructobot]

gbatemp doesn't support piracy that's it.

Bullshit. GBAtemp doesn't directly facilitate piracy, but the whole point of the site is to support it. Why does the release list only have ROMs that have been dumped and posted on the interweb, and not every game that's been released? Even the ROM hacking sections function on the idea that you will get roms.

Back to the point, anything that can get the site in trouble is forbidden, simple as that. As for why a tool that lets you download copyrighted software is allowed but rom sites that allow you to download copyrighted software are not, I don't know. If there were a program who's purpose was to automatically download commercial games, it would not be allowed on the site.

 

[Hadrian]

As for why a tool that lets you download copyrighted software is allowed but rom sites that allow you to download copyrighted software are not, I don't know. If there were a program who's purpose was to automatically download commercial games, it would not be allowed on the site.

Yeah the "we don't support piracy" thing is a joke but its just there as a clause, to cover the owners of the site. In essence, if something has copyrighted code or has malicious stuff inside it then its not allowed, if not then its allowed.

 

[granville]

gbatemp doesn't support piracy that's it. NUS Downloader is a tool so you could download the ios privately. unlike posting links or sharing actual copyrighted materials here in the site.

GBAtemp openly supports piracy, we're just more stable than a site that directly links to pirated content. Nintendo and other companies would be less likely to target a site like this than one that has downloads for roms or whatnot. It's better that way, GBAtemp simply reports things and offers support for said piracy.

 

[Rayder]

There's a difference between supporting piracy and hosting pirated material. The former is a gray area that won't get us shut down, the latter WILL get us shut down.

 

[dice]

Yes we support piracy but within lawful means (which as of now would involve us NOT providing links to IOS', roms etc.).

Sure that may sound illogical or hypocritical to some but we're not Nintendo or any other company. If they did have issues with the way we run things we certainly wouldn't be in existence (in this current format anyway).

Whether staff, or the members support piracy to a "greater" level is a personal matter and is irrelevant to the site itself provided that everyone follows our rules.

 

[ZeWarrior]

Which not everyone does ^ (follow the rules)

 

[jceggbert5]

In that case, isn't the cIOS Installer (the network installer) a big grey area then? Or is it just NUS Downloader that modifies what it downloads?

 

[tj_cool]

In that case, isn't the cIOS Installer (the network installer) a big grey area then? Or is it just NUS Downloader that modifies what it downloads?

We can share cIOS Installers too

 

[Maikel Steneker]

In that case, isn't the cIOS Installer (the network installer) a big grey area then? Or is it just NUS Downloader that modifies what it downloads?

Not really. The thing is, the IOS's contain code from Nintendo. We can't host it, because Nintendo can decide what happens with it and doesn't allow it to be shared. Because Wii's need to download updates, the files are also available online, on Nintendo's servers. NUS Downloader or any cIOS Installer simply downloads these files from the servers. I don't know for certain if it's illegal to use these installers, but it's certainly not illegal to host them.

 

[Advi]

gbatemp doesn't support piracy that's it. NUS Downloader is a tool so you could download the ios privately. unlike posting links or sharing actual copyrighted materials here in the site.

GBAtemp openly supports piracy, we're just more stable than a site that directly links to pirated content. Nintendo and other companies would be less likely to target a site like this than one that has downloads for roms or whatnot. It's better that way, GBAtemp simply reports things and offers support for said piracy.

Also, there's a reason this site has been active for like 8 years. Sites directly linking warez are usually taken down in a few years, sites linking torrents barely doing any better.

 

[Bumpman]

In that case, isn't the cIOS Installer (the network installer) a big grey area then? Or is it just NUS Downloader that modifies what it downloads?

Not really. The thing is, the IOS's contain code from Nintendo. We can't host it, because Nintendo can decide what happens with it and doesn't allow it to be shared. Because Wii's need to download updates, the files are also available online, on Nintendo's servers. NUS Downloader or any cIOS Installer simply downloads these files from the servers. I don't know for certain if it's illegal to use these installers, but it's certainly not illegal to host them.

I'm pretty sure that it's illegal if it contains copyrighted code. OR is a beta version not released to the public(And yeah, like nintendo is going to release a beta to the public of an IOS). I'm pretty sure IOS's are not considered copyrighted in any way from what I can tell.