Why can I just download all the ROMs and samples in one file? And why are siteops so hostile when I ask?
This really should be a ‘no-brainer’, but I answer this question every single day (as do my fellow siteops) so I figured I better address it here. First, do you really OWN all 1300+ games that MAME emulates? Do you have the LEGAL RIGHT to all of those ROM images? Gray area or not, you are taking a big chance by having 1300 counts of possible copyright violations on your hard drive (Up to 5 years in prison and up to $50,000 fine for each count). Granted, no one is being prosecuted at this time – but consider the facts. Even the samples for the games are being considered ‘legally gray’. Second, do you REALLY think that the siteops of sites are going to want their visitors downloading a 250MB file (+930MB for Neo Geo) from them? That is about 22 hours of download time at 28.8k (providing your ISP doesn’t boot you off after a certain time, no one picks the extension phone in your house and kick you off, or you accidently close the download window.
