> > And none of those "millions of users" are actually contributing to MAME > development. > > It's the people who care about preservation who've kept the MAME train rolling for > > almost twenty years. > > Huh ? So What ? You don't like the idea of millions of people enjoying the software > you've made or contributed to: then don't make it public/freeware.
We don't mind if people enjoy the software, but that's not its primary goal, that's just a nice side-effect. The primary audience for MAME is MAME developers and contributors, and that's who we cater to. We don't have to feel like we owe anyone else.
> You will never change the fact that to the masses of users the 'museum' claim will > forever translate to "yeah we love that part, but, er, cool story bro now iama play > if you don't mind". > For anyone video games are naturally made to be played, not just being code sitting > on a hard drive. > Like it or not even if MAME is a huge preservation media it is for the vast majority > a huge gaming platform.
Yes, people can use MAME as a gaming platform if they want, in fact we're happy if they do. We only become unhappy when they start making unreasonable demands and acting like we owe them. We don't owe them anything, and we don't care if they stop using MAME as a gaming platform. It makes no difference to us.