I think there comes a time when you just have to evaluate whether the uniqueness of something like Ryzom and the past efforts of those behind it are worth giving up things that you would never have had anyway were it not for them. Whether it really matters whether there was foul play involved here.
It's somewhat similar to the Myst movie situation: yes Cyan Worlds is selling out to Hollywood, compromising their own franchise in order to improve their retirement funds, but...maybe they deserve whatever money they might make off that because they brought Myst into the world in the first place and built upon it faithfully for many years.
What would you sacrifice in order to support the creativity behind the likes of Ryzom and Myst? What emotional turmoil would you be willing to endure if doing so somehow translated directly into increased longevity for the thing in question, or a reward for those who poured even more time and effort and stress into it than you did?
Some will decide that punishing a betrayal of trust is more important than anything else. That's their prerogative, and it's a very, very understandable position. Personally I don't think it's worth it in this particular case.
It's somewhat similar to the Myst movie situation: yes Cyan Worlds is selling out to Hollywood, compromising their own franchise in order to improve their retirement funds, but...maybe they deserve whatever money they might make off that because they brought Myst into the world in the first place and built upon it faithfully for many years.
What would you sacrifice in order to support the creativity behind the likes of Ryzom and Myst? What emotional turmoil would you be willing to endure if doing so somehow translated directly into increased longevity for the thing in question, or a reward for those who poured even more time and effort and stress into it than you did?
Some will decide that punishing a betrayal of trust is more important than anything else. That's their prerogative, and it's a very, very understandable position. Personally I don't think it's worth it in this particular case.