German Censorship

  • Well, I did go on about GEMA when Red51 told me about how you have to pay for taxes & etc on everything. All these silly 'electronic taxes', registration, and etc that I went on a venting spree because I hate seeing censorships in anything. It's horrible. The GEMA thing being the light to an already bubbling keg when Youtube kept adding all its stupid censorships that you can't watch videos because of region copyrights, and all that nonsense. One of my videos also being blocked for German viewing.........


    It's just silly. Painfully silly, and trivial. Petty. The day after I vented about GEMA they retracted their ban on Youtube, something we (me, Red51, & Zork) all found interesting. A funny coincidence......That, and and as the below video says German authorities also were forced to unban certain games due to their popularity.



    I find it interesting on many levels that Rising World is from Germany when it has to deal with many limitations caused by German government stupidity that it also (lightly or heavily) harms Rising World in various ways. How people are sensitive over nudity when it's a normal thing, how beer/ale/wine is a taboo, and etc. It indeed is a trivial game feature (both), yet they still add to the gameplay in various ways. Things like building pubs & etc.


    I find censorship frustrating that I snap at it all the time. I want to see Rising World being awesome, thus why I defend zombies, among other things. I just want to see the possibilities. If it's possible, make it happen......Same with seeing anime mods, and those +18 mods. Why stop it? If it's worthwhile let it happen.


    (Side-Note: I'm not a fan of rape mods & such when you see me mentioning +18 mods & etc)

  • There are no censorsship concerning nudity and alcohol in Germany, in contrast to othere countries where this is striclty handled.
    We have therefore other stupid and senseless restrictions as GEMA, GEZ, Youtube censorship and church tax for instance. There is
    also a juvenile protection law to protect kids againgst evil. But where is the beginnung and where is the end, this should depend on the
    spiritual age not from some people who mean to have an insight into the thoughts of the youth.
    I was not aware of the limitaions of Rising World in Germany. I could all be so easy.

  • Hmm...Yeah, being a Canadian I may be poking at this stupidly while having to be constantly corrected by you (Dei) & even Red51. I was told I had things wrong so I just decided to shut up until this video again. I regret posting it, yet I just 100% hate censorships.


    Well, glad to hear on that first part, Dei. I guess it's just light model tax, or whatever it was. For every model & music it's taxed and registered, or whoever that works again. I half care & I half don't that it's awkward. :/


    Yeah, exactly. Where does it & and where does it stop. The moment you try to over protect is like with the whole 'Blue blooded' nobles of old where trees were padded with mattresses where the royal offspring would bleed on the slightest of prickle.

  • Interesting. I was not aware of the existence of GEMA until I read this thread. As far as I know, similar societies exist in Austria, in Switzerland and in my own country, Italy, and possibly elsewhere too.


    In Italy it is called SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori = Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) and seems to be quite similar to GEMA (a few legal details set aside).


    The basic concept for SIAE is simple: they collect rights whenever a work of a member author or publisher is performed or used in some way publicly (meaning that it is being profited by an audience who didn't buy it) and periodically the collected amount is divided among the members. Then, many aspects of the practical implementation of this principle are questionable indeed and are repeatedly questioned, but this a second approximation point.


    Note that this has nothing to do with censorship: neither SIAE nor, I think, GEMA has any right to decide what can be performed and what cannot or when or where. SIAE is also not involved in age-related limitations (like movie rating or PEGI/ESRB or similar).


    In general, I think it is possible to say that in Italy censorship, which was a problem a few decades ago, is now a relatively minor problem. At least as far as State-imposed censorship is considered; there is a serious problem of self-imposed censorship (by journalists, news agencies and so on) about topics which can be addressed and topics which should be ignored, about the way to present specific topics and so on. But this a rather different matter, involving different parties and agendas.


    Also, SIAE -- and probably GEMA -- action is not directly related with taxes: that money is not a "tax" and does not go to the State, but to the authors and publishers as a group (at least in principle, then, as I said, the actual implementation is often a bit too murky).


    That said, the very existence of this kind of 'authorities' is questionable; their origin can be in part traced back to the privileges granted to trade guilds by Medieval states and for another part sits on a very outdated concept of trace and of "author's right" (a vvvvvery murky topic in itself!).


    So, I definitely agree with @ArcticuKitsu that this approach is to be opposed, but it is also important to aim at the right target, which is not 'political' (or only in a very general and generic sense), but rather (socio-)economic.

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