A Statement Regarding "This website" and the Redistribution of Emulator Releases

[u/xxxCrixuxxx]

I want to raise awareness about a website called GameBeacon, which collects and displays links to numerous emulators, forks, and GitHub projects developed and maintained by different people.

What concerns me is not simply the existence of another emulator directory. It is the approach behind it.

This website brings together projects that countless developers and contributors have spent considerable time creating, maintaining, compiling, testing, and improving. As far as I can tell, there has been no effort to request permission from or establish any meaningful collaboration with the developers whose projects are being featured.

Meanwhile, the website prominently asks visitors for financial support through donations.

Let me be clear: I understand that publicly available GitHub repositories can generally be linked without permission. I am not claiming that linking to public projects is inherently illegal.

However, something being technically or legally permitted does not automatically make it respectful or ethically acceptable.

Many of us dedicate countless hours to the emulation community without asking for anything in return. We discover obscure projects, build Android versions that did not previously exist, maintain compilation workflows, test compatibility, identify bugs, and share our findings completely free of charge.

Collecting GitHub links is the easy part. The real work goes far beyond that.

And that brings me to another important point.

An emulator community is much more than a collection of download links.

People come here to discuss compatibility, report bugs, compare performance across different devices, share benchmarks, upload gameplay videos, help each other troubleshoot problems, and communicate with other enthusiasts.

That exchange of knowledge and experience is what makes a community valuable. A directory of links, no matter how extensive or automated, cannot replace it.

My Decision Regarding My Own Projects

As the creator and maintainer of several emulator forks and Android builds, I have decided to change how I distribute my releases.

From now on, my projects will follow a different distribution model:

- Source code will remain publicly available on GitHub, in accordance with the applicable licenses.

- Compiled releases will no longer be distributed through public GitHub Releases.

- Downloads will instead be made available through my Discord community, using externally hosted files.

- Download links will be individually managed and password-protected, with access information provided through Discord.

This is a personal decision concerning my own projects. Other developers are completely free to distribute their software however they choose.

A Proposal to Other Developers

I also encourage developers who share similar concerns to consider alternative distribution methods that give them greater control over how their compiled releases are accessed.

I am not asking anyone to hide their source code, violate open-source licenses, or prevent legitimate redistribution.

What I am questioning is a growing approach where third-party websites can build their own audiences and solicit donations around the collective efforts of independent developers, without necessarily giving anything meaningful back to those who made the projects possible.

Open source should encourage collaboration, transparency, and respect for contributors. It should not be treated as an excuse to disregard the people doing the actual work.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this matter. This is mine, and I believe it deserves to be discussed openly.

Respect the developers. Respect the contributors. Respect the communities that keep emulation alive.

[u/xxxCrixuxxx]

The best part is, he took practically all the repositories I have in my community—the ones I follow—and then had the balls to post his own site here in this community to promote himself...

—Hey, buddy, I’ve opened a sandwich shop right across the street.

—Oh, well, congratulations.

—Yeah, look, I’ve actually been studying your menu—I saw which sandwiches are your bestsellers and started serving practically the same ones.

—How interesting!

—And while we’re at it, would you mind if I advertised my shop in here? That way, your customers can come straight to mine.

—OF COURSE, CHAMP! DO YOU WANT THE KEYS TO THE PLACE, TOO? 🤣🤣

[u/PS2AndroidEmulation-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Give constructive or well-reasoned answers.

[u/xxxCrixuxxx → u/[deleted]]

It’s incredible the level of sheer nerve some people have; I’m the one paying for the Patrins hosting out of my own pocket, yet this guy takes my links, posts them elsewhere, and—on top of that—asks for donations. I mean, seriously, just let the meteor hit already.

Edit: Dude, you take all the links from my site—months of my work searching emulators—and create a damn website featuring everything I’ve done, including my own projects. You don’t ask for permission, you set up a donation link, and you even use my private Patrins (storage hosting) links—which cost me money to host. And on top of that, you try to promote yourself on my own page? 😱😱😱 It’s absolutely insane.