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Leaving aside the legal issue for the moment.

Imagine if Mozart's music, or Picazo's art, or Nosferatu from 1922 had not been preserved?
How humanity would we not have lost part of our culture?
No matter how small and measly it may be, when we create something, we add that grain to the well of humanity's culture and it would not be fair for that grain to be lost.

Imagine that tomorrow Leafo said that Itch will only work for people in the USA, wouldn't that be unfair?
Why can a few have access to Itch? only by the arbitrary decision of one person?
You can argue that it's your legal right, but I'm sure we'd all think that's unfair, wouldn't we?


So. We have two principles:

- It is important to preserve our past because it is part of our culture and enriches us all.

- It is not fair for a person to restrict access to a good that has been shared to be enjoyed publicly. As much as he has the right to do so.


On the other hand, if you create something, it is valid that you have the right to distribute or profit from your creation. If not, no one will have an incentive to create

The best thing is to try to find a balance, which promotes creation, but also prevents our creations from being lost forever in time and being preserved.

Keeping the above in mind. My PERSONAL opinion:
If I create and publicly share a game created by me, it does not seem right to me that anyone upload and share copies of my work without first consulting with me.

If I can't share the game, and someone else, with the intention of preventing that game from being lost in time (we're talking about preservation, not simply piracy) uploads it and shares it, it seems fine to me.


If I have removed the game, it doesn't matter. As humans, our actions have consequences, if I go and punch an enemy in the face, there is no way to make that enemy forget the hit, no matter how much I want him to forget it. If I share a game, I am entering other people's lives and computers. I don't see it fair, that unilaterally and totally arbitrarily, I want to force those people to forget my game or their experience or try to limit it to those few.

This is just a theoretical talk, in practice, we have laws that define the rights of creators, the copyright laws.

If someone uploads a game created by you, within the legal period stipulated by law, you can resort to resources such as the DMCA or its equivalent to download that content.


PS: Clarify that I personally would never upload someone else's game without their authorization. If that person is dead it would be different, but as long as they are alive, I think it is more important to contact said person first.

Comparing games on itch to revolutionary creations in art and entertainment is very weird. You're not preserving much by reuploading someone else's small itch game. Also something most people don't know, in the terms and conditions of buying most games you're agreeing to not resell them. That includes game disks that most people sell at yard sales, so the idea of reuploading someone else's game has been viewed as negative for awhile. I mean, I saw someone reupload "FNAF: Into the pit" on here a few months ago. That's like a $20 game, and the user just uploads it for free. That's literally pirating.

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I'm not a native English speaker, so maybe I didn't express myself adequately.

I'm not comparing classical works of art to indie games. The mention of works by Picasso or Mozart is simply to emphasize the importance of preserving our past. Period.

When I say preservation, I don't mean piracy. I mention that, but maybe I wasn't clear.

I wouldn't mind preserving abandonware in such a way, but if the product is still for sale or has an active owner, it gets more complicated. If the creator is no longer making money on it and refuses to remake it, preserving the old is a gray area but I find it alright. If the uploader is CHARGING for it, I have a problem.