I guess they sold our emails to the devs due to their bankruptcy?
Comment has been collapsed.
I know a few devs have attempted to get the customer data (including emails) through legal proceedings in order to give replacement copies through other services. It is likely the case that one of these devs is responsible, rather than the company that literally has no choice in the matter or even has access to the data (the former employees are locked out and court has taken over. They couldn't even access the data if they wanted to).
Comment has been collapsed.
Whilst it is nice for devs to give copies via other platforms they shouldn't break the law in doing so.
Comment has been collapsed.
It wouldn't even break the law if they did what they claimed they were doing, as it would be the court that handed them the information for that purpose. As a result, they get permission to use the data for the purpose they requested it for, but without any legal restrictions on other uses other than selling/sharing the data. Any form of internal use, even to send emails about their other products, is legally fine aside from potentially breaking spam related laws, which in the case of US law it doesn't. It seems that the info of people who didn't buy the bundle that contained the game in question also received the mails, but that is an error by the court. Legally speaking, they can regard everyone who they received the info on as former customers and thus it's legal for them to send the mails.
It's kind of an odd loophole in an outdated set of laws...
Comment has been collapsed.
I'm not sure they're legally allowed to do that. They totally did, by the way. http://puu.sh/iSpBL/439568cdb7.png for proof. I don't think I even got Chime from them, since it's in neither my Steam nor my Desura library.
You can check their privacy policy at http://www.badjuju.com/privacy-policy-desura/, which I was linked to from IR.
Comment has been collapsed.
Totally illegal just about everywhere. Total dick move, even if legal.
Comment has been collapsed.
Even in their privacy policy; "Bad Juju will not send you e-mail that you have not agreed to receive."
I guess not...
Comment has been collapsed.
Due to the bankruptcy, it's actually possible for the devs to get all customer data through certain legal procedures if they can show they meet certain requirements. A few have tried to do so, and as such the court has given some of them the information they requested.
Badjuju and all of its staff is locked out of the system and can't even access the data anymore as part of the proceedings around their bankruptcy, to prevent them from changing any important information.
The most likely thing is that the dev from Chime received the customer data through this and then proceeded to send spam instead of contacting their customers about replacement copies (most of the devs that tried to get the info did that for this reason).
Comment has been collapsed.
It seems like there could be difficulties with that; for one, I never purchased a directly related product, which would make the release of my information improper. Also, I doubt that it's that easy for the devs to get information, as the court would probably require them to indicate that they have the right to access the information (which, if it includes many who are not the developer's customers, is dubious at best). Something was probably done improperly at some point in the proceedings.
Comment has been collapsed.
The only mistake could be on the courts end, but in the event that it cannot be made clear which parts of the customer data is actually relevant to a group that makes a claim, it is often decided to supply it as a whole. Don't forget that in essence, they have 3 different databases with what a customer owns: one each for IndieRoyale, DailyRoyale and Desura. While it may be obvious to someone who knows the system to see who owns what, the court has no experience with the system and in most cases they only have 48 hours to supply the information if the request is approved.
The reason that the devs can obtain the information relatively easily is customer protection. It is not just the devs reputation at stake, but also the property of the customer and the value thereof. It is surprisingly easy for a supplier to get customer information in the event of a bankruptcy for a variety of reasons related to the customer. These reasons can include the warranty of a product (they would then need the information to know who has valid warranty on something) or even the general maintenance outside of warranty... So sending a replacement for a product that would cease to be functional? That's gonna go through in most cases... The only reason it doesn't happen more often is that the suppliers usually don't care and have no responsibility to do so.
Comment has been collapsed.
Hmm, interesting. I just received this email likee literally 2 mins ago. It seemed fishy because I had no idea how they received my email for the sequel of a game I do not even own. Blechh
Comment has been collapsed.
Can one of you guys switch with me? I'd have rather spam about video games than spam about cheap Viagra.
Comment has been collapsed.
No emails for me (yet), but I don't spend much on either Desura (one game bought 18 times for 4 cents a copy) or Royale (maybe a dozen bundles).
Comment has been collapsed.
Are they really going bankrupt? Should we copy down all our steam keys in case the site disappears?
Comment has been collapsed.
They already are broke. They didn't even pay the purchase amount for Desura, it seems.
Comment has been collapsed.
They aren't going bankrupt. They are bankrupt.
Staff has been laid off and has been locked out of the systems and court has taken over since a while ago.
Also yes, copy the keys/backup the games/etc.
Comment has been collapsed.
Good to know that I wasn't the only one being spammed about Chime 2 or whatever they call it.
Comment has been collapsed.
odd, had no email from them...though i've only bought like one bundle from them...
just a passing thought, but, i searched for Chime in my email and got something about a Mixer 6 Bundle from july last year that contained that game, could maybe people who bought THAT specific bundle have gotten the Chime emails?
Comment has been collapsed.
I didn't get any spam from IR. But yeah, mark emails as spam. It will fuck up the reputation, and if they use SES, MailChimp or other paid mail service the account will be suspended.
Ty op for giveaway :)
Comment has been collapsed.
This explains a lot. :/
Just as I was trying to sort my e-mails as well. x-x
Such a shame, Indie Royale & Desura use to be really nice for the little indies.
Comment has been collapsed.
Like a lot of people, I've all of sudden started getting unsolicited emails about games I never signed up for. I know there was some speculation that the developers doing giveaways here were the ones responsible, but while I was unsunscribing from one of the lists, I noticed that the dev had very helpfully titled it IR Buyers.
Mystery solved. IR has apparently been sharing our email addresses with devs. Make sure when you unsubscribe you mark it for the spam it is. Everyone not affected, I'd recommend staying the hell away from Indie Royale.
http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/SFVaK/torchlight-ii
Edit: Kickstarter projects can be reported for spamming. Hit the 'report this project' button, select breaching community guidelines and let them know that the project obtained your email address without permission and spammed you.
Comment has been collapsed.