Blizzard sends DMCA takedown to Stealthbot host's host

[Arta]

I very much doubt that that is true.

[Yegg]

Even if it truely was Battle.net that contacted Stealth, and the issue was with the icons, it would just be easier to download them instead of including them in the bot. Also, I doubt that Battle.net would try to do anything to stop the creation of bot's of any kind. No matter what they are capable of. They've never tried anything before, out of the hundreds of bots that are out there, why would they attack Stealthbot? They have no reason to. There are plenty of other bot's that have many of the same features as Stealthbot. If Battle.net really is going to do something about stopping people from creating Battle.net bot's, you would think that they would aim for the spamming bots (floodbots, massload bot's), these kinds of bot's obviously create more of a problem that a bot that simply logs onto battle.net, doesn't ruin anything on Battle.net's side, all you can do is chat on it, moderate channels, and use many of the same features that the game clients themselves have. Therefore, it is more likely that the notice from Battle.net to Stealth is fake. Although it is possible that it could be real, even though that would be weird that they attacked Stealth instead of others.

[Warrior]

I am highly doubting the credibility of this email, Stealth.

[Eric]

Battle.net isn't directly against Bot's as I have asked Blizzard Representatives and they say they really don't care. Hosting Binaries or something  they said they will take actions.

This has to do with the use of bots rather than the programming of them, but...

"... While Blizzard does not expressly forbid the use of bots, we strongly recommend against their use. Bots allow users levels of automation that make it very easy to commit, even inadvertently, acts like harassment that are violations of the Terms of Use agreement. Thus, a bot user is much more likely to face punitive measures than a normal user. If you choose to use bots, please exercise caution." - ChadJ (Blizzard Representative)

[vuther.de]

Battle.net cant possibly stop Stealthbot. Its a very popular bot, im sure hes got alot of people on his side.

That's a stupid stance.

He can't help it, that's all he can do.

[Warrior]

Well isn't the problem distributing the software not actually programming it? If you don't distribute your software then no one has it except you which I doubt they care much about (since you're not hosting them)

[TaGBaN]

Look, the reason Blizzard contacts websites regarding bot files, is because some lamebrain idiot reports the file to Blizzard hacks department as a hack. They never even checked my site when asking me to remove the bot files, it was just some asshole, that reported it.

They do not support 3rd party programs, but there is absolutely no way to control them. The only thing blizzard can do, is change all their login sequences, packets, etc. And even if they did that, bots would still emerge rather instantly. If not bots, people would write 'addon's' for Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo, to handle moderation, or even flooding, that just bypass all the security measures Blizzard had just put in place.

I'd recommend removing the files for a few days, and putting em back up, and see if they contact you again. lol

Blizzard has yet to re-contact me about the content I removed, and actually put back up. (They are sly however, and have circumvented my server's security, to get a list of the files locations (( IE: I moved the files into a different directory, but didn't link to them)).).

[Warrior]

Battle.net wouldn't change anything related to the Logon sequence, they arn't going to release updates to all thier old clients especially since most of the teams from thier old products are gone, so they would be lost in the source code

[Archangel]

Battle.net wouldn't change anything related to the Logon sequence, they arn't going to release updates to all thier old clients especially since most of the teams from thier old products are gone, so they would be lost in the source code

Well, they can actually develop a new logon sequence, trust me, to earn more money they would.

[MyndFyre]

Battle.net wouldn't change anything related to the Logon sequence, they arn't going to release updates to all thier old clients especially since most of the teams from thier old products are gone, so they would be lost in the source code

Well, they can actually develop a new logon sequence, trust me, to earn more money they would.

But guess what -- they are losing money on Battle.net.  You think that advertising that nobody clicks actually generates enough money to sustain the servers and bandwidth costs?

[Blaze]

Do you think people would play the games as much or want to play them if battle.net wasn't there? I personally wouldn't.

[Networks]

Battle.net wouldn't change anything related to the Logon sequence, they arn't going to release updates to all thier old clients especially since most of the teams from thier old products are gone, so they would be lost in the source code

Well, they can actually develop a new logon sequence, trust me, to earn more money they would.

But guess what -- they are losing money on Battle.net.  You think that advertising that nobody clicks actually generates enough money to sustain the servers and bandwidth costs?

Plus I doubt battle.net generates much money from the "Battle.net Bot Development Community" and those that use bots excessively. We just soak up more bandwidth without having to actually pay for the game thus costing them more money.

IMO, If I were battle.net I wouldn't me either on the server.

[TaGBaN]

Networks, as good as a point as that makes, the bots do require CD Keys, which must be gotten somehow. If you manage to steal ones, or generate ones, thats good for you, but as the legal jist of it stands, you cannot get into private channels, without having a CD Key, therefore, can very easily claim that you purchased the key legally and are using the one that came with your game.

If anything, at least logically, Blizzard should make more money because of Bot Developers. Thanks to us, people's CD Keys get stolen, and in an aggitated state, they go buy another one. Thus selling one more copy of Starcraft.

~Tagban

[Zakath]

Plus I doubt battle.net generates much money from the "Battle.net Bot Development Community" and those that use bots excessively. We just soak up more bandwidth without having to actually pay for the game thus costing them more money.

IMO, If I were battle.net I wouldn't me either on the server.

Let's see...in my lifetime, Blizzard products I've purchased (roughly in order of acquisition):
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
Starcraft
Diablo
Starcraft: Brood War
Diablo II
Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

I'd say they've definitely made a tidy profit off of ME.

None of that changes your undesirability as a denizen of their servers of course.

[iago]

Let's see...in my lifetime, Blizzard products I've purchased (roughly in order of acquisition):
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
Starcraft
Diablo
Starcraft: Brood War
Diablo II
Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

I'd say they've definitely made a tidy profit off of ME.

None of that changes your undesirability as a denizen of their servers of course.

I think I've bought the same games in I think the same order.  Except that I bought Starcraft twice (due to wanting to play with my brother) and my brother bought TFT.