Supa
10-24-2005, 09:39 AM
I am starting this thread to move a conversation out from the kalt remake thread that it hijacked. I believe the topic warrants further discussion.
So a quick summary....
Originally posted by Sp3c-BuLLeT
Price sent me an email and asked me to host his map on www.dodsourcemaps.com
I figured I would do him another favor and let everyone on here know about his map. Feel free to check it on my site above.
Originally posted by Supa
Why do you have all the maps as .exe? Haven't we all learned by now that it is very dumb to run exe's from untrusted websites?
Please remove the exe's of my dod_giza beta maps from your site. Only the b4 version was officialy released (as a zip) and even that is outdated now.
Originally posted by josh_u[RR]
I can't speak for dodsourcemaps.com, but I convert all maps we host to .exe files. a lot of people don't know where to unzip the files and there is no standard for zips anyway. some include the dod folder, some don't, ect. some don't even maintain the correct directory structure. if people don't trust my .exe files, they are more than welcome to go look for the map elswhere.
that being said, its your map and you have every right to ask that it not be distributed.
Originally posted by Supa
The standard zip structure would be to assume you are in the mod root folder and have the bsp zipped into maps/ even if that was only that file. This is friendly to local user installs and upload and decompress commands via a webmin interfaces that most dedicated game servers use.
Originally posted by [CS] Jedi
That may be how YOU define the standard, but 50% of the other map makers don't zip their files like that. There's nothing wrong with using *.exe files. The key word you mentioned was "untrusted" websites...Most of us don't fall into that category...otherwise I wouldn't have 100s of downloads for each map on my website (all in *.exe format).
If you're paranoid (or you don't have anti-virus software), you can find another place to download them (like josh mentioned). And if you don't want your own maps in a *.exe file, then you should either include a readme file that spells out your instructions or limit the distribution of your map.
I have to admit...this is the first time I've ever heard of a map author telling people to stop distributing their map b/c it was in an *.exe file. :confused:
But it's your gift to the community...you set the rules.
1) Anti-Virus software is not a magic bullet. It will not stop all viruses, trojans, rootkits from being installed via an exe. When you launch an .exe the computer is trusting you that you trust the source. The people who are packaging the maps as .exe's are very likely not the authors of the installer making software they are using. They probably wont even disclose or link to whos software they are using so that the downloader can make an informed desicion.
2) Some of the maps on the site were never released in this or any other forum. They were downloaded from test severs and packaged up without the authors consent or input. FuzzBad highlighted this issue with servers running pre releases of his dod_anvil map. Though in his case it was just other servers playing the map, not someone zipping/exe'ing his map and putting it on thier site for download via the web.
If people playing his pre releases made him mad, someone taking it upon themselves to package and release his map on thier site would have really pissed him off. My dod_giza b1 and b2 would fall into this category. Only the b4 version was released in this forum.
As a mapper I am not upset my maps are on the site, but as a computer technician and programmer that deals with network security and system integrity issues, I am deeply troubled by the format they are being presented in and concerned for the safety of the dod community if this becomes the norm.
So a quick summary....
Originally posted by Sp3c-BuLLeT
Price sent me an email and asked me to host his map on www.dodsourcemaps.com
I figured I would do him another favor and let everyone on here know about his map. Feel free to check it on my site above.
Originally posted by Supa
Why do you have all the maps as .exe? Haven't we all learned by now that it is very dumb to run exe's from untrusted websites?
Please remove the exe's of my dod_giza beta maps from your site. Only the b4 version was officialy released (as a zip) and even that is outdated now.
Originally posted by josh_u[RR]
I can't speak for dodsourcemaps.com, but I convert all maps we host to .exe files. a lot of people don't know where to unzip the files and there is no standard for zips anyway. some include the dod folder, some don't, ect. some don't even maintain the correct directory structure. if people don't trust my .exe files, they are more than welcome to go look for the map elswhere.
that being said, its your map and you have every right to ask that it not be distributed.
Originally posted by Supa
The standard zip structure would be to assume you are in the mod root folder and have the bsp zipped into maps/ even if that was only that file. This is friendly to local user installs and upload and decompress commands via a webmin interfaces that most dedicated game servers use.
Originally posted by [CS] Jedi
That may be how YOU define the standard, but 50% of the other map makers don't zip their files like that. There's nothing wrong with using *.exe files. The key word you mentioned was "untrusted" websites...Most of us don't fall into that category...otherwise I wouldn't have 100s of downloads for each map on my website (all in *.exe format).
If you're paranoid (or you don't have anti-virus software), you can find another place to download them (like josh mentioned). And if you don't want your own maps in a *.exe file, then you should either include a readme file that spells out your instructions or limit the distribution of your map.
I have to admit...this is the first time I've ever heard of a map author telling people to stop distributing their map b/c it was in an *.exe file. :confused:
But it's your gift to the community...you set the rules.
1) Anti-Virus software is not a magic bullet. It will not stop all viruses, trojans, rootkits from being installed via an exe. When you launch an .exe the computer is trusting you that you trust the source. The people who are packaging the maps as .exe's are very likely not the authors of the installer making software they are using. They probably wont even disclose or link to whos software they are using so that the downloader can make an informed desicion.
2) Some of the maps on the site were never released in this or any other forum. They were downloaded from test severs and packaged up without the authors consent or input. FuzzBad highlighted this issue with servers running pre releases of his dod_anvil map. Though in his case it was just other servers playing the map, not someone zipping/exe'ing his map and putting it on thier site for download via the web.
If people playing his pre releases made him mad, someone taking it upon themselves to package and release his map on thier site would have really pissed him off. My dod_giza b1 and b2 would fall into this category. Only the b4 version was released in this forum.
As a mapper I am not upset my maps are on the site, but as a computer technician and programmer that deals with network security and system integrity issues, I am deeply troubled by the format they are being presented in and concerned for the safety of the dod community if this becomes the norm.