The Abandonware Ring has played a huge part in the events that unfolded in the scene - partly because of the intelligence on the part of its webmasters when the Abandonware scene was still in its infancy.
Early Years
The Abandonware ring was founded by Peter Ringering in 1997, but he later handed it to Swizzle, prompted by fears the ESA (then known as IDSA) who were actively and mercilessly taking legal action against abandonware websites, would charge Peter with copyright infringment.
Swizzle, and the Abandonware Ring staff then co-ordinated the Abandonware Ring, and indeed much of the scene, by creating mergers and helping unify the scene to help create a stronger resistance to the mounting pressure the IDSA were creating.
The ESA(IDSA) activites peaked around 2000 and have been in decline ever since, partly because they are more concerned with the piracy of modern titles and almost certainly as this movement by Swizzle and the Abandonware Ring helped to prevent webmasters simply closing up out of fear and be willing to negotiate and compromise with ESA demands.
System Exploitation
There were some strange tactics employed between this ring and it's rival 'TUOL' around the turn of the millenium.
Mr Creosote, a TUOL webmaster, spent several weeks exploiting the site's PHP backend that allowed visitors to update their own details without verification.
Mr Creosote set his game count to unbelievable levels (tens of thousands), before he confessed. He posted his findings on his own personal abandonware site The Good Old Days.
