Actually, he's mostly correct. Modifying the Ragnarok Online client file for private server usage IS illegal. It's not illegal to write an identical program from scratch, though, so if you know something about programming, you can write a modified RO client yourself from the ground up and you'd be okay in the eyes of the law. Unless you try to sell it, and then it's copyright infringement.
It's the same grey area as fanart and fanfic. You can draw fanart all you want and give it to your friends, even post it on your personal web page. But the moment you try to make any money off it (Which is the real core of this debate), you're infringing on the property owner's copyright and breaking the law. This is why companies don't generally go after fan artists. (There is a law to protect copyright owners from freely offered fanart, which states they can sue for "abuse" of their characters if they decide the material demeans their property. Most companies won't do this, though, since it would make them look bad and alienate their fanbase. See: Japanese fanbook artists. Abuse is not the correct term, but I'm tired and I can't remember the right one.)
I know what an emulator does, I've written a few for companies for testing purposes, which is how I know they're not illegal to have or offer for free without the consent of the original company provided they're fully rewritten. (See: First paragraph.) The source code, you're right. I asked a few friends and I was, in fact, incorrect, it would not fall under the free usage protections. Which actually makes RO emulators more legal, as they would have been required to figure out and write the code themselves, as opposed to copying an already existing and legally protected code from the source. It's a legal loophole, but it works out well for us, don't you think?
As for what Pandora said about covering expenses being a grey area... Legally, it isn't. The law clearly states (Note: Not a direct quote. My legal books are downstairs in the unheated library and it's about 10 degrees down there.) that you cannot gain any money you would not have had prior to the transaction. This means anything from drug money to server rental money to internet bills to buying new RAM to making a car payment. If you are helped out financially in any way from a server donation, you're breaking the law. There's no loophole in that one, no fuzzy wording. It's just flat out illegal. Granted, you actually have to get caught doing it, but why risk it?
To the original poster: Sorry for s*** up your thread like this. We turned a complaint about an item wipe and GM corruption into a legal debate. <.<;
