Greek ban on gaming

read Ed's stories:

http://www.overclockers.com/tips00104/

http://www.overclockers.com/tips00103/

Ed:

The impression I'm getting is that while police aren't breaking into homes looking for gamers, they certainly are arresting people at least arcade/cafe owners/employees when games are being played.

So this isn't a matter of a screwy bill being passed that is just sitting on the books. At least the public part of it is being enforced.

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unimaginable. totally and completely unimaginable. Ed put some email addresses up and some excellent examples of what's appropriate to write. I sent one to [email protected], which Ed lists as the U.S. office of the Greek National Tourism Organization, but it was returned. So either the address is wrong or they just shut it down after being saturated.

Everyone send out some emails!

what is this world coming 2

Do the words paranoid, knee-jerk, overkill, reaction have any meaning for these people?

DreamingWolf they are talking about the Greek government, not the RIAA j/k

Wombat Woo said:

DreamingWolf they are talking about the Greek government, not the RIAA j/k

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In some ways there is no difference If YOU get My Drift

Maestro

hi,
the situation here is disgusting and we seem unable to do anything for it. i've written mails to the EU (Justice dpt) and to several authorities, but our government is just too narrowminded...
for god's sake, it's illegal to play my game??

why do governments think that banning games/movies will make a difference?

games/movies are Entertainment, nothing more. if a certain indivdual decides to go nuts then deal with that single person, don't punish the whole country for the wrong doings of one person.

blaming games for the violence is just a way for them to not admit that there really are people that messed up in this world. it's easier to just say it was a game.

Well, you can wipe Greece off of my list of places to visit for the time being. I thought only the US's government made blatantly stupid laws but this is about as blatant as you can get. Nothing against the Greek citizens but the law makers are about as intellegent as a lobotomised cabbage.

This article over here clarified a bit as to why this law was even enacted. It's kinda of like if in an effort to crack down on cocain sales the US arrested anyone who owned a razorblade.

It all comes down to money, the system is not gettin' its (dare we say "their") perceived "fair" share. When ever there is a new law, there is a "new" class of criminals created. These poor fellows are the ones who must poney up cash to feed the system. They do not care if you are innocent or guilty, they just want your money (this list includes both the prosecuting and the defending attourneys and of coarse the judicial appointees to over-see things). And after careful review, sometimes these laws are over-turned, but you do not get your money back that you spent to defend yourself from the charges or the fines that were imposed.

Dark's number 1 rule that applies to anything in life... "It always comes down to money"

I know that my opinion seems abit jaded and sort of "us verses them" in mentality, but you see it everyday...

Dark Disciple said:

Dark's number 1 rule that applies to anything in life... "It always comes down to money"

I know that my opinion seems abit jaded and sort of "us verses them" in mentality, but you see it everyday...

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Wouldn't that be 'Our money vs. their desire to have our money'? lol

Dark Disciple said:

I know that my opinion seems abit jaded and sort of "us verses them" in mentality, but you see it everyday...

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I don't know enough about Greece, but the American "Justice" system is based on how to make the system and it's "employees" more money at the expense of it's people. Hopefully this law gets overturned, I hate to see people suffer in the face of stupidity... which is what most laws have their roots in, be it America, Greece, Canada or any other country in the modern world.

lord_moose said:

I hate to see people suffer in the face of stupidity... which is what most laws have their roots in

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Honestly, I don't think it's stupidity, I think it's the desire of those who presently have power, to keep and increase their power

DreamingWolf said:

Honestly, I don't think it's stupidity, I think it's the desire of those who presently have power, to keep and increase their power

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I must digress. The laws aren't born out of stupidity, I think you hit the nail on the head with your statement pertaining to where they come from. It's just that most laws fall into that category, and their mere practice and implimentation into society is so absurd, so unnecessary, and so unjustified for the wellfair of the norm (which is who laws are meant to protect are they not?) that to rationalize upholding and abiding by such law(s) is absurd.... therefore my choice of words: "stupid".

If I want to cross the street outsite of an intersection thereby putting my own life at risk, isn't that my choice? Should i be fined $10,000 because I own a gameboy, or because I play "snake" on my cellphone? Has anyone who's been brought to our attention by the media ever gone on a killing/theft/vandalizing/hate-inspired/hurtful rampage... because of pot? Should a clerk be arrested for selling GTA3? Should I be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for having consentual oral sex with my girlfriend in Utah? Jebus, need I go on?

"A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate." --Thomas Jefferson: Rights of British America, 1774

The some how the PEOPLE in Greece Let this happen? Did they not see it coming and speak out for them self's? Now they need to make This a TOP Political Campaign issue at their next election to get it fixed if you ask me. Sounds like what happen in Australia, their government band Guns all guns, people had to turn them in. Could that be what happens next in Greece?

That is horrible news. I could hardly believe it when i saw it on the front page. Is banning games supposed to stop illegal gambline? The computers set up in bars with gamblin software can just as easily be called a public internet access terminal instead of a gaming machine. Before you know it, they'll ban computers entirely.

I'm so glad (and proud) to live in Canada due to the fact that the parliament has conducted a two year study, and has finally come to a no BS, true ruling and is opting for full legalization of pot. It's great to see that some places can do it right and make laws that make sense, and are not based off the BS some scientists spew when on the payroll of "the man". ie. Emily Murphy (or whatever that lady's name was who started the war on drugs, "Marijuana will cause any user to instantly go into a furious rampage in which the user is likely to kill everyone in his/her vicinity within 15 minutes!" (I'm not sure if that was word for word, as it was off the top of my head, but it was very close)

edit: WOOHOO, 4 stars

Man, they're so not going to hack it. They're all going to crack. Everyone will go crazy. There will be mutiny and games will be brought back!

You never know, the politicians may have a moment of common sense and set things to rights......

Wait a minute, what was I thinking, I used politicians and common sense in the same sentence

Okay maybe the citizens will just boot em all out of office and start over with a new bunch of power hungry crooks

the reason why they are banning video games, or any form of electronic based entertainment store, is because stores in greece manipulate the games, so they can have an unfair advantage. they are doing this with slot machines and electronic video poker and card playing machines.

the greek government is basically trying to protect the citizens from being ripped off. also, there is a high rate of gambling addiction in Greece. i know a few of them myself.

the reason why they are closing down all electronic cyber cafes is not because it is illegal to play games, but because they will have a next to impossible task, of controlling/monitoring what games are inside the hard drives of the computers and other related electronics inside the store.

i am not a supported of this swift change that is taking place trhoughout my country. i belive that it should be the responsibility of the creators of the video poker and other related machines, to encrypt and prevent access to the electronics inside the games. this way, the stores would not have the tools, and the programming experts to bother with such a task. i think this is a very good alternative, to what is happening now.

saw on screensavers last night that a judge threw out some case against someone busted for playing a game. i'll see if i can find a link. hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

--

gamePro.com

upi.com

GREEK COURT THROWS OUT GAMING BAN

In a first of its kind ruling in Greece, a court has thrown out the case against two Internet cafe owners accused of breaking a law banning computer games, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. The ruling sets the courts on a collision path with the state. In July, legislation was passed that banned people from playing video games in public places, including Internet cafes, as part of a government campaign to eliminate illegal gambling. The BBC reported that the two Internet cafe owners and an employee were charged after police found several customers playing online chess and the popular multiplayer game, Counter-Strike. If convicted, they faced three months in jail and fines of $4,950 each, as well as losing their business licenses. The ban on games was passed after an unlicensed slot-machine scandal, which damaged the governing socialists, the BBC said.

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I live in Greece for 14 years,but i was a student in Romania for the last 5 years so I lost a lot of episodes about the banning of gaming.First of all
i know that there was a scandal with some politicians that where gambling and they also owned some video game stores.Lately they pass outrageous laws only when some politicians get cought doing something illegal...any way.And second the arcade games that have illegal roms are sooooooooooooo easy to identify that even a blind man could see them.The machines have some unknown stupid games for cover up when a control comes(they use a remote to change it from poker to ordinary game),
they use the oldest machines in the room and are always in a separated place apart from the other legitimate games.Well so much for beeing hard to distinguish between ordinary games and gambling machines,It's all about the money and believe me,not the money of gamblers but the money that the state looses because nobody gives a damn if some gambler looses his money...get real...And the fact that some stupid politicians made a fool of them self on tv.I don't really care about banning games cause i'm 24 i have a pc with at least 60-70 games I got bored with counterstrike (i've been playing for 3 years till my eyes would pop out)BUT this is the stupidest law i've heard untill now in fact it's ridiculous it's like in China I think where they banned internet cafes.There are so many things to be dealt with and those idiots care about video games LOOOOOL I could go on and on about how stupid they are but I would go off topic.