How can you put something out to open source and then cry with what is being done? (
MAME's license, while technically open source shouldn't be confused with other open source licences like the GPL, BSD or Mozilla. I obviously can't speak for the MAME dev team, but I think what they were trying to do with the MAME license up until now was to promote open development based around a community of those with like interests. In that short list of interests one of them is
not to play and share games.
I think that's about as simple as the explanation gets.
I haven't completely formed an opinion yet, but I have to at least respect Haze and the other MAME dev's decision here. I mean, if it weren't for them I wouldn't have an arcade cabinet. I, and I think everyone else who uses MAME, has to be at least grateful for that and respect the MAME devs, if not for what they
stand code for, but at least for what they've given you.
In their defense, they are treading a thin line and I can image have been contacted by more than one corporation with a threat of being sued. That has to be the biggest threat to the MAME project, and as such, the devs (and all you other people who care about MAME) need to protect
against that.
If the MAME team feels they need to restrict the license in order to continue their project, then I support them 100%. I am of the (naive?) opinion that that's what they're doing.
-sab