This
Contra Espionage Patch 2007 is the summum of proof of what the Fifa "community" has become. From the knowledge sharing and helping each other out world with honor and community sense it has turned into a bunch of kids with overgrown egos that consider working on kits, flags, adboards, patches or whatever for a game is as important as saving the world from it's plagues.
Wake up from your dreamworld kids, and start making your stuff not for your own agenda, for your own glorification, and hey, who knows you might even like it and get real recognition for it, instead of the peeps sucking you up, "hey good kit man, now can you make team XYZ?" type of comments and then stabbing you down if you don't consider their requests or even if you don't manage to make them fast enough. Because yes, not only the editors have become egoists, the users too
A community is made by everyone, in mutual respect, anyway that's the way it should be.
Older people who tend to criticize this kind of mindstates and behaviour (Jomi, myself,...) get censored and banned or get warnings from moderators who could be their kids in age and also think they are performing one of the most important jobs in the known universe. Sometimes I think renaming these forums would be more appropriate, I have some fitting names, but I won't mention them as they might be considered as offensive. Others simply stick to older games or post very rarely because the new community spirit disgusts them too much. (Yeah, we old farts tend to keep in touch)
Yes, friends, the wonderful fifa community, much like the real world around us, has grown into a world where the "I" or "US" is more important than the community as a whole. Encrypting a free of charge patch for a video game is a sign of paranoia and egoism never seen before.
Because preventing the stealing of the patch contents is only an excuse in my opinion really, it's more someting of : "You're going to play our patch our way, and every modification/correction/addition/enhancement you want to make to it you will be forced to send it to us, and we will take credit for it, or you simply won't make it, got that kids? Because WE made the CEP, and you sure as hell going to listen to US because WE decide the terms.
Also, if someone uses parts of your patch as part of their own, with proper credits given I don't understand what the problem would be (stealing stuff and claiming it their own is of course a different matter and I condemn such behaviour very strongly myself), this would only prove your patch is a great job and other people are admiring the work you put in it, and by publishing their patch referring to yours, give you free publicity and touch a larger public, a larger part of the community. Also keep in mind that most people prefer the original over a copy, I don't see what worries you so much about the copyright, or is it?
But the above paragraph doesn't count for the CEP creators, their stressful dialogue of "Sweetpatch doesn't want their work to be published elsewhere" is a) either a lame excuse or b) you get paid for your work.
Also on a side note, dear moderators, one of my friends, banned from the Fifa forums till 11/10/2006 wished you were as quick to unban someone as you are to ban them, he still hasn't regained his access, but hey, that's not on purpose, right?
Anyway, I'm glad I got that off my chest. If this post made regain some community spirit to just one user or editor then it's purpose is fulfilled. To the CEP creators I can only say : "shame on you for your egocentrism."