Pirating

[Deleted]

What do you guys think about people pirating apps,music,movies and TV Shows, other things?

Do you not care? Do you do it?

One of the common responses I've seen is that often people are okay with it for young adults who cant afford what they need, but that once they have a good enough job, they should start buying that kind of thing. Some people are just against it altogether, thinking pirates who steal software are the same as any thief, and should be treated as such. Some people are just totally into it altogether, wanting to contribute to the cracking and pirating communities.

so, where do you guys stand?

[BLCalliente]

The best argument/explanation I've heard in favor of pirating goes like this:

Buy the things you'd normally buy, download the things that you wouldn't normally buy. That way nobody is losing any money since you wouldn't have bought it anyway had it not been available free.

Obviously this creates a grey area, but can keep the conscience somewhat satisfied.

[Blood Fox]

Let me put it this way, Once they lower the price of Photoshop from 400 to something reasonable, make movies that im only going to see not cost 9 dollars, and make songs 50c. I will stop pirating them; though typically I still pay for something I like.

[Providence]

I pirate movies, music, and software.

I pirate movies because I want to see them, but to be honest, I wouldn't have bought them anyway. I pirate music for the same reason
I pirate software because I need the software, however I can't afford to spend upwards of $1000 for something that I need to do for a school assignment.

[Corjha]

I don't pirate movies, only music and software.

There is a big difference between Stealing and "Copying"

[Deleted]

I pirate everything i can, simple as.

[Deleted]

I only pirate movies and TV shows.

[Youvegotfail]

I haven't had cable in over 3 years. I haven't gone to see a movie in theaters in at least a year (and even then, very rarely for the past 2 or 3 years) and i haven't bought an album (except for digitally) in over 6 years.

I don't really think about it, I just do it. I know that stealing is wrong, and i would never steal anything physically (from a store, or person) yet for some reason when it's just ones and zeros i have no qualms about it what-so-ever.

[Ihsatakar]

Do I like the company?
Is it a fair price?


If the answer to any of these is "no", it's a pirate

it's not stealing because I am simply making a copy of the data. They lose nothing because I wouldn't buy it otherwise. I also always buy indie games, never pirate.

[namelessone]

I do pirate, but I hate it. I hate having to pirate a textbook because the damn thing costs 200$ and they keep reshuffling pages and selling new edition every year to force students to buy them. Wanna fight piracy? Learn to conduct business FAIRLY.

[WarpV2]

I don't think the poll or thread is very specific. People Pirate for different reasons.

Generally people pirate music... Most artists don't give a hoot because they make enough from revenue and their concerts it's the corporation behind it that seems greedy.

I also agree with Rakatashi depending on if it's reasonable price for how long the product has been out.

One thing I am generally against is Pirating Video Games. In my humble opinion it is the worst.

[Zardi]

The only "immoral" thing about piracy, is not on the user's side. When companies attempt to squeeze a bit too much profit, they are the thieves. Good quality and fair price are key to making people buy their product.

Some rules of thumb:
-If something is good, and has a reasonable price, it'll be bought.
-If something is good but expensive, or generally, mediocre in relation to its price, it'll be pirated.
-If something is bad, it will neither be bought nor pirated.
And then, there's the odd effect where piracy actually promotes purchasing - like when you watch a movie on the internet, and you buy it to add it to your personal collection. If you hadn't watched that movie online, you wouldn't know how good it is, or if it even existed.

[Maharishi]

Just a reminder, any links or instruction on how to do illegal activites, in including pirating, is bad juju. Keep it to a discussion of the issues, don't promote or instruct.

[Deleted]

I have no problem with piracy at all.

The industry has always complained about things, first it was the ability for everyone to tape songs or movies and spreading it, now it's downloading and spreading it. The industry didn't collapse before, it will not do so now.

The problem is the industry is too slow. They are too far behind the new generations. Either they adapt and come up with new ways of selling their product, or they face losing money through piracy. Paid downloads online have proven to work, but it was implemented very late.

Anyway, I don't feel sorry for the entertainment industry. They make too much money anyway. Nobody deserves to make millions just to act in a movie for example. That's just ridiculous.

As a side note, yes I download lots of movies and games online. It's still legal in my country (who knows how long that will last with all the recent news). But if it were to become illegal, I wouldn't just simply buy my products instead of downloading them. I would simply find something else to do. I guess I would read more books, instead of downloading games and movies. I just think they are totally overpriced, especially considering most movies are absolute garbage.

Still, as long as it's legal... I'll download.

[Nest]

Im ok with pirating TV shows that dont show in Finland etc.

[Himinbjorg]

The main reason I started pirating was due to the fact when I bought movies or went to the movies they but that annoying piece of info to tell me I shouldnt prirate cause.
I bought the damn thing / payed to watch it I do not want to see that unskippable info. So I pirate now, and buy time to time movies. But I wont stop that until they remove that from dvd´s/bluerays/movies just my 2cent on the whole thing.

[Endus]

To be perfectly clear;

What we are talking about is "copyright infringement". And that's a law that is NOT widely agreed upon internationally. For instance, in Canada, the "personal use" exemption to copyright explicitly includes copying for personal use, whereas in the US, it explicitly does not. So, as a Canadian, I can download and watch whatever I want, whenever I want, and doing so is 100% legal as confirmed by our Supreme Court.

Things get a bit more squirrely with filesharing, since most filesharing systems inherently upload as well as download, meaning you're distributing, not just copying. And THAT is illegal in Canada. You could probably make a solid defense in court for things like Bittorrent, however, if you limited yourself to a low ratio, like a 5:1 UL/DL ratio per item; it's hard to argue "distribution" if it amounted to 5 copies you gave to acquaintances, which is again perfectly legal.


None of this is new, either, this was all settled 30 years ago, when the rise of personal tapes for music cassettes and VCR/Betamax created an issue. Me downloading a copy of an album off the Internet is no different than me getting a buddy to make me a copy of the new album he bought on tape. It's just easier, which is in no way a factor to legality. It's just that in the US, mix tapes have always been actionable infringement, and in Canada, they never were.

[lol]

I've really only pirated 1 game ever, and I might end up buying it anyways.

For movies and TV shows I can find stream sites just fine, I've bought all my games.

I don't really care if people pirate, it doesn't affect me at all, I just don't choose to do it; nothing moral involved.

For music - Again, sites that stream music are typically fine

(From the U.S).

[Deleted]

Is it a fair price?

I wouldn't consider the price of any game or movie fair. The norm is already overpriced imo.

[BicycleMafioso]

Speaking like a poster with personal opinions, and NOT as a moderator, and these views do not reflect the site or community of MMO-champion, only my own.

Pirating games or software et c is despicable, and I look down upon people who do it consistently or trying to justify it.