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Comment by matheusmoreira

2 days ago

> What is the point of freedom if you have a joyless existence?

> no one is making you install anti-cheat software

You don't see the irony here? You don't see the trillion dollar corporations dangling "joy" in front of us and conditioning access to it on acceptance of their bullshit non-negotiable take it or leave it contracts where "we own your computer now" is a clause?

The powerful choice is to reject the silly binary choice they offer you and take a third option. Refuse their deal and refuse your so called "joyless" existence.

Enjoy your games while also keeping control of your computer. If they try to usurp control of your computer, stop them from doing so. Only malware would try that, treat them accordingly. If you must associate with cheaters and pirates in order to acquire the necessary technology and know-how, then so be it.

It's the same thing with DRM, it's the same thing with ads, it's the same thing with pretty much everything. They give you some bullshit choices, but you can take a third option because you own the machine. That's the power they would take away from you.

> If they try to usurp control of your computer, stop them from doing so.

But anti-cheat software is not doing this? You are free to do whatever you want on your computer as long as it doesn't interfere with the game process. Most, if not all, anti-cheats will also not do anything when the game isn't open.

Some games (including Rust) give you the choice to play with no anti-cheat, too. You'll only be able to play on servers that allow players to join with no anti-cheat but you are not blocked from the game.

I would be more worried about computing becoming more phone-centric where Apple and Google are in control of what you can and cannot do.

  • > You are free to do whatever you want on your computer as long as

    You are not free. "Your" computer is not actually yours. It doesn't do what you want.

    > Most, if not all, anti-cheats will also not do anything when the game isn't open.

    Stop believing this. For god's sake I just posted an example of a corporation that thought it was perfectly justified in hacking their customers and stealing their browser passwords. There is no line they wouldn't cross.

    They could be doing literally anything and you know it. There's no way for you to know unless you reverse engineer the software, and if you try they are only too happy to label you a cheater and permaban your account or whatever it is that they do.

    > I would be more worried about computing becoming more phone-centric where Apple and Google are in control of what you can and cannot do.

    This is the exact same issue.

    Apple, Google, Disney, Netflix, Hollywood, the games industry, the copyright industry, all the governments the world over are all battling for control over our machines.

    This anticheating nonsense is just the tutorial boss.

    • > They could be doing literally anything and you know it. There's no way for you to know unless you reverse engineer the software

      Literally anything you run on your computer (running Windows) can take screenshots of your desktop, pull passwords saved in your browser, etc. without running in kernel mode. Even applications that aren't running as Administrator.

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