Ok, but what does it matter if you don't know and don't know how to find out who owns them to ask. What I'm getting at here is the logic presented here relied on the fact that you didn't ask the original creator. What if you CAN'T? That logic fails.

If you think that is not possible and you always can, then please provide information on how to track down who owns rights to games of previously defunct companies.

Regardless of whether or not people can -- they don't even concider it.  The reason/excuse behind their actions is immaterial.  In the end... whatever the reasons... their actions still boil down to them not wanting the work they stole to be stolen from them.  They're demanding that their work be treated with higher respect than what they've been showing.

Besides... I'm not even saying people should ask the original author.  As has already been mentioned -- getting permission to pirate and hack a company's game is going to be borderline impossible even if the company is still around.  Advocating asking for permission would be advocating a death sentence for the ROM hacking community -- nobody would ever get it.

All I'm saying is people should lighten up about their work.  I see no reason (other than greed) for people to resist sharing their work openly in this community.  There's no profit being made here, no resumes being built... people have absolutely nothing to gain from making their hack hackproof.  It just adds an extra pain in the ass for the other community members.