To you and anyone else put out by the DRM, Selly has been selling
seashells his gross loli shit on gumroad, which doesn't allow porn.
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Their report link is broken but you can "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page:
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The link is in the game - it'd be a real shame if it broke for the entire month until the next update
You're only hurting non-subscriber avenues for obtaining them this way, this won't do much to Sel if anything.
I do think the idea of a porn game phoning home without explicit permission is a bit worrisome. Especially one with content as questionable as this one. I'm curious how much data could be collected if they were inclined to do so. Especially since Sel has threatened legal action in the past. Even if ren'py is fairly sandboxed and can't just go collecting data from the entire host, the logs do still reveal some information about the host. Not to mention he'll have an association with real IP addresses. Even if the content of the game is legal (which is probably not true in all countries), many of us would risk our jobs if it came out we play this game.
Additionally, the more I think about it, the DRM as it is may well violate the EU's GDPR law. Specifically the data processing regulations.
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It isn't, it is illegal in places with archaic laws that ban even written word depictions, but that doesn't really matter developer side since he is admittedly in a country that does not hold such archaic views of fiction. As far as GDPR, this is again user side as he isn't trying to go for the EU specifically as an audience, there are just EU players possible. All he would have to do is block EU distribution through official channels and he could then blame it on pirates for any case of the game in the EU. A lot of the EU fits into the first part about legality of certain content anyway, so players in the EU may already be risking criminal possession of illegal content.
Also, not a porn game, an adult VN with porn as side content. He could strip out the porn and it would stand on its own. It has been that way since 0.8.0 if not earlier.
It's seriously unethical for a program to call out over the internet without the knowledge or consent of the people using it. This is especially true when the program has never done so before and does not present itself as such. The incident we've all been experiencing points out Renpy's insecurity and the ease of foisting abusive behavior on trusting players. Selebus's choice to deceive LiL's entire player base without warning is disturbing. What might he do next? Renpy has the potential to collect extensive information about your computer and send it off for their perusal.
Everyone who plays Lessons in Love should consider their options for running the game with no internet access, or better yet, in a sandbox where it can access only certain files. This goes for all similar games as well, but now we've seen that Selebus is actually willing to start down the path of distributing thinly disguised malware.
This is a frustrating situation for me because Lessons in Love is my favorite work of fiction. The story is a joy to experience and I want to see it completed under good conditions. Selebus is an excellent author, and I don't want him to lose his social or financial motivation to keep working on the game. Unfortunately, I will never financially support his work as long as he shows contempt for the people who use the program he distributes.
Some here have suggested that things would be better for everyone if Selebus behaved as if this site did not exist; I agree. His obsession with "piracy" hurts all with a stake in LiL's success. Selebus: focus on your work, let the grudge go, and you will continue to enjoy the prosperity you've created for yourself with this amazing story. Everyone else: be careful out there.
He's not showing contempt for people who use his program generally speaking, he's showing understandable contempt for the ones not following the methods he tried to lay out for non-subscribers to give them a fair avenue to obtain the game with no monetary cost or content restrictions.
It was a matter of two weeks between subscriber and public release, a small price to pay for a game this good, and over the years the game has been uploaded on unofficial channels at points before those weeks ranging from days, to hours, and on at least one occasion even minutes from subscriber release, when the wait timer started for public release.
Then he tried to give subscribers back some of the benefit they lost to this decreasing time frame between releases and those got leaked as well.
As far as how it should be handled, I do agree, but that's easier said than done when things like what I said above are happening.
