"Sorry for what?" How many times do I have to say it? For anyone with sense, who was offended by a company who actively tries to stop piracy, to suddenly phrase what should have been a simple sale as an amnesty. (It means forgiveness of a criminal act.) Here it is in plain talk: CL is effectively offering a cheap payoff for anyone who has a stolen copy, in the hopes that they won't do it anymore. This offensive to those who have supported them against piracy. If I didn't care about the company, and the people here, I wouldn't keep trying to clarify this ad nauseum. I'm going to ignore your saying to quiet down- rude I can live with. It just shows you in a bad light.

"CL does not think this is whining. CL is hearing you. It appears the main issue in debate is the word "amnesty". CL is reading the posts and is listening." CL needs to be answering, as well. Your customer base is waiting. (How hard is it to say sorry? To say, gosh, you're right, we didn't mean to imply that we're giving thieves a break, and offend people. Honestly. Show a little backbone.)

I really could care less about the money, even though from the standpoint of this promotion, I did the worst possible thing- I bought Poser 4 as my first copy of Poser- full price, period. So if my main concern were the money, that would do it, but it isn't. My main concern is the hypocricy implicit in a statement of "amnesty", which, as everyone knows, is something you extend toward criminals as a means of pardon. This represents conciliation, and a loss of integrity on the part of CL, the subject of which they have danced around but still not addressed. THAT is my complaint. (Not to mention the avoidance of the question by CL- this does not encourage trust.) Someone stated above that CL does not need us- no, they don't. They may like being unemployed, who knows.

"Lorraine, that's what I was about to say. I think the idea here is to give those using illegal copies the opportunity to buy a legal copy, resulting in fewer illegal users." They do- it's called pay-the-full-damn-price-like-everyone-else. You BUY an older version, you get an upgrade price. You copy or warez or steal an older version, you don't Any questions? (They should have called it the "poor baby" sale.)

In case you're wondering, Cas and Ironbear didn't start this, I did. ;] I would have probably been fine with the explanations provided if their man hadn't copped such an attitude with me, and told me that it was my responsibility to help pay for the losses incurred by piracy, AFTER offering any fool with an unregistered copy "amnesty". I didn't buy it, I don't buy it, I sure as hell won't buy it anymore! I think CL needs to go back to "customer Relations 101".

Well said, and I approve. However- I will moderate my current stance as wanting nothing more to do with CL when they acknowledge that their promotion was worded in a way that seemed to be giving a favorable deal to warez people, and excluding legitimate customers; and that it was a mistake to imply that it was the responsibility of us as customers to help them cover the costs of thievery, while on the other hand offering such a program. Until then, no. I need at this point to see that a company that I am dealing with is capable of ethics. They should have just started out by saying lower prices for everyone.

"A Little perspective......... I recently bought a new computer: 1Ghz PIII 128 meg Ram 20 gig HD 32 meg. video card It cost me a little over $300.00. A machine like this went for $2000.00 about a year ago. You want it NOW..... It's gonna cost ya. That goes for anything in commerce." I've heard this argument many times. Yes, I am completely familiar with the concept of depreciation. That isn't what my complaint is about. The problem I am having is that an owner of a stolen or illegaly obtained copy of poser is basically being offered a buyout- they pay the upgrade price for something they never paid for in the first place. No-one has ever been offered the upgrade price to those who do not have a previous version- I didn't get the upgrade price for poser 4, because I did not own poser 3. Now the thief whpo did not pay for poser 3 or any other gets that upgrade price. THAT is why I am upset.

"C'mon people, time to let this go and let the company make some money to create new products for you." I have nothing against you, and do not mean to imply that you are uncaring or elitist. I am simply adamantly against criminal behavior being rewarded, and saddened to see a reputable company take such a stance.

It's called consumer dissatisfaction. ;]

Fine. If it is a sale, why didn't they just call it a sale in the first place? The term amnesty is used to describe forgiveness of a criminal act. Bad choice of words, CL- all this could have been avoided if you'd thought before posting. (Unless your original intent was actually to flush out warezers, but you're changing the story because of all the heat. Well, fine. I've contacted a reputable newsservice who may be interested in this little faux pas. We'll see.)

Will the users of illegitemate copies of Poser please stand up? Don't even expect me to take the two of you seriously.

The bottom line is, if you've stolen a copy of Poser, you can get a legit copy for $70 less than a chump like me paid, who bought Poser 4 full version. All the rationalisation in the world won't change that. You owe everyone who bought Poser 4 as their first Poser purchase $70.

Got in through the backdoor? Casual note? Get real. MY bottom line is that I paid full price, and now anyone who stole the damn thing gets off with a bargain, while I get told that I'm contributing to the greater good. Horseshit. Any company that uses unethical approaches like this because their bottom line is in trouble can fail, for all of me. What great benefit is this that is supposed to come about for legitimate users? Justification doesn't cut it on this one, not for me and not for alot of others- many who may not post here, but won't buy Poser 5. "They increase their registered customer base..." At what cost?

One thing they don't get is that most people who do warez don't give a damn about being in the fold, or having tech support, or being legitimate. So the little kitties go on their merry way, and the legitimate poser community is given the message that the reason they have to pay so muc is so they can offer crackers a discount. (Thank you for your support.) Well, I remembered the little banner at the top of this page (look up... yeah, that one.... the one saying help us fight crime bla bla) and wrote a letter to CL legal airing my views.

Well, we'll see. Like Russell said, they are looking into the matter as we speak.....