Discussing a game, however it's obtained, and discussing the acquisition of said game are 2 very different things.
I don't see a huge difference between discussing a game that was pirated in advance, and someone discussing the game after it comes out. Clearly any directions, discussion, or mention of how or where to get pirated games should never be allowed (and never has) but is it reasonable to really go so far as to say 'Your opinion is no longer valid because you pirated the game'?
I guess it becomes more of a question of what "allowed" means. Does this mean people will be banned if they post early impressions of a game, and it's moderately evident they pirated it?
The Spore fiasco is a good example of how this issue can get complicated. Some people in the Spore thread are talking about how they're either considering and already have downloaded a cracked copy to circumvent the 3-install limit for future use, despite having already bought it or stating their intentions to do so.
On a related note, it seems less controversial when someone says, "I downloaded it early, and it's so awesome, I'm definitely keeping my preorder."
[quote name='manthing']This is really a non-issue.
I mean look at the deals forum. EVERY week a copy of the Gamestop Deal of the week is posted there. These coupons are supposed to be rewards for people who have signed up for the Gamestop mailing list.
Would having those coupons in those threads could be considered a form of piracy?[/quote]
The GS coupons are typically emailed, so they expect printed reproductions. I don't think that's a big deal. Some of the other coupons, though, like for CC, are for specific customers and situations, and people go out of their way to use them anyway by finding a hapless cashier or a lazy manager who won't read the fine print. These employees could potentially get in a lot of trouble for not doing their job correctly, and it's technically dishonest. I won't argue that point any harder, though, because I kind of feel like if the store puts out the coupon and the code still registers, then it's the store's responsibility (which seems to be the consensus here, since no one's crying out at the immorality at the $40 off $200 CC thread), and the original company still gets paid.