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After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

cbc.ca

191–200 of 229 posts

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the reply would be... why do you feel entitled to consume content that you didn't create, in the first place? You had the choice to stop watching... and thats the only legal choice. To pretend that doing something illegal because you feel entitled to it is right, thats a little bit... childish?

Illegal is not immoral; copyright is a legal construct designed to reward content creators for their works for a limited period of time before it enters the public domain. Our history, culture, and heritage is a fabric of works created by individuals that enter the public consciousness. If you co-opt culture and won't offer it to people through legitimate means, don't be surprised if they go to the frictionless and b…

...Because they feel entitled to the content...

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the reply would be... why do you feel entitled to consume content that you didn't create, in the first place? You had the choice to stop watching... and thats the only legal choice. To pretend that doing something illegal because you feel entitled to it is right, thats a little bit... childish?

Because people at other countries can pay and see the content freely, but we foreigners can't do it, no matter if we want to pay for it. Netflix just says to us: "sorry, we don't want your _kind_ here. Keep your money and go somewhere else". (I am also in Switzerland). Technically, if you own a restaurant, you can refuse to serve anyone, they are not entitled to your food and service. But try to selectively refuse se…

Because for netflix to provide a service to you in your country, there is often legal hurdles in doing so... If you think netflix's motivation is "lets keep these people out because we want to" ... you're not very smart. Netflix will gladly take money from anyone willing to give it, assuming they can legally do so without higher costs to them that outweigh the gain. No business turns down customers if they dont have to.

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people at other countries can pay and see the content freely, but we foreigners can't do it, no matter if we want to pay for it. Netflix just says to us: "sorry, we don't want your _kind_ here. Keep your money and go somewhere else". (I am also in Switzerland). Technically, if you own a restaurant, you can refuse to serve anyone, they are not entitled to your food and service. But try to selectively refuse se…

Because for netflix to provide a service to you in your country, there is often legal hurdles in doing so... If you think netflix's motivation is "lets keep these people out because we want to" ... you're not very smart. Netflix will gladly take money from anyone willing to give it, assuming they can legally do so without higher costs to them that outweigh the gain. No business turns down customers if they dont have…

I am not blaming Netflix. I even don't blame corporations holding the copyright, as they'd also want to sell as much as possible. I blame international copyright law, which at this point amounts to outright discrimination, not unlike racial discrimination laws some decades ago.

If history is any teacher, it is impossible to fight immoral discriminatory laws legally. Peaceful protest works much better. So, go pirate, history and truth are on our side.

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Illegal is not immoral; copyright is a legal construct designed to reward content creators for their works for a limited period of time before it enters the public domain. Our history, culture, and heritage is a fabric of works created by individuals that enter the public consciousness. If you co-opt culture and won't offer it to people through legitimate means, don't be surprised if they go to the frictionless and b…

...Because they feel entitled to the content...

You keep confusing "being entitled to content" and "being entitled to equal and non-discriminatory treatment". Do you understand the difference?

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...Because they feel entitled to the content...

You keep confusing "being entitled to content" and "being entitled to equal and non-discriminatory treatment". Do you understand the difference?

No, thats not at all what it is. There are regulatory and legal reasons why netflix content (even specific content) isnt available everywhere. Its not discriminatory.

Its simple entitlement. Don't try to confuse the issue by making it about some kind of discriminatory issue. A business has to have licences to operate in a country, there are many stipulations and there is a cost involved with those stipulations, netflix has no oblication to jump through legal hurdles and pay more money so everyone can enjoy their content.

I work for a global company - one who works in the digital realm and makes AAA games... trust me, I deal with these things. You'd be surprised the effort for a US company to sell their product/service in china...

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're screwing you because, while everyone pays the same price for the same service, the library that you have access to depends entirely on what side of the border you're on. This makes absolutely no sense in a globally connected world.

Putting a wire or a signal across a border doesn't change content licensing between businesses operating in different countries. We wish it did but it doesn't.

The internet is a global connection where the concept of "countries" don't even make sense. They only exist on the internet, because we put them there. Packets don't magically change when they cross borders, why should the content?

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#197

I am an English person living in Switzerland. Netflix Switzerland is useless to me (no House of Cards, not enough focus on UK and USA content, etc.). Therefore I had a Netflix USA account, which I accessed via unblock-us. The clampdown by Netflix has been "successful" and I now can't access Netflix USA using unblock-us. This happened halfway through watching House of Cards. So my choice was either stop watching or do…

You may be able to use a cheap VPS, and use that as a proxy server to your account. Though, keep an eye on how much data is allowed, and if the VPS/Cloud host actually tracks data usage.

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of whatever moral card you want to play here, the fact of the matter boils down to Gabe Newell's famous insight on the matter: Piracy is almost always a service problem[0]. People value their time. Make the experience easy for them, and people will pay. Make the experience shitty for them, and people will find the path of least resistance. People pay taxes because they have to. When it comes to entertainme…

I really don't think Gabe is right. People pirate games that are on steam by the millions. Fall out 4 was pirated millions of times, but it's super easy to install on Steam. In fact it's a pain in the butt to install a pirated copy. Yet it's highly pirated. Paying for convenience is an upper middle class / rich thing. For a lot of people, saving 60 bucks is all the motivation one needs to pirate.

Your missing the point though: How much money did FO4 make, from people who could have pirated it? They chose not to, and a large part of that reasoning is that Steam is just easier to use.

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The people in other regions don't have "every right to copy it", they have "every right to not consume it". Don't like the rules? Don't play. It's their content, so they set the rules. >But nothing gives you the "right" to force your way into someone else's party just because you weren't invited, or didn't like the ticket price. Completely wrong on both counts. If I'm not invited to someone else's party, but I want…

> I have every right to invent a device which allows me to create an artificial wormhole which then allows me to remotely observe this party (see the Arthur C. Clarke book "Light of Other Days"). The partygoers will have no idea I'm observing them and since they wouldn't sell me a ticket anyway, they won't see a difference in their revenues. Voyeurism may or may not be a crime in your jurisdiction.

That really depends on the exact laws and how they're worded, and what kind of party this is. A party which involves ticket sales (as was stipulated before) is not a private house party, this is the kind of party that happens at a club and is something that's "open to the general public" (just like a concert or movie), so I don't think voyeurism laws would apply here. There's no expectation of privacy in a setting like this; anyone is allowed to enter, as long as they pay the ticket price and don't exceed the venue's capacity. So if you come up with a way of looking inside the place, getting the viewing experience everyone else has there, without trespassing in any way or interfering with other people there, I don't see how it could be a crime unless they invent a new law to address it.

Here's another thought experiment, but using modern tech: suppose there's a party like this (open to the public, tickets required to enter), and there's no rules at the club forbidding cameras or communication devices. If you pay the ticket price, you're allowed to enter and take photos all you want as long as you don't disturb people and make a nuisance of yourself. (I'm pretty sure any normal bar or club these days is just like this; people take photos of themselves at bars all the time.)

You don't want to pay the ticket price to get in, but you want to see what's going on there. Your friend however wants to go in, so he buys a ticket and enters. While inside, he whips out his phone, and activates an app which contacts your phone, and then streams live video from his phone's camera to your phone. You're now able to see and hear what's going on in the party without buying a ticket, apparently legally. Fast-forward a few years and instead of watching your buddy's video stream on your 5" phone screen, you're watching it on a VR headset, so it's almost like being there. My wormhole idea isn't much different from this; it just doesn't require a confederate.

Re: After Netflix crackdown on border-hopping, Canadians ready to return to piracy

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You keep confusing "being entitled to content" and "being entitled to equal and non-discriminatory treatment". Do you understand the difference?

No, thats not at all what it is. There are regulatory and legal reasons why netflix content (even specific content) isnt available everywhere. Its not discriminatory. Its simple entitlement. Don't try to confuse the issue by making it about some kind of discriminatory issue. A business has to have licences to operate in a country, there are many stipulations and there is a cost involved with those stipulations, netfl…

I am not surprised at all, and I am not asking anything from Netflix, like I explained earlier. I was on sell side too, and I know that resolving international legal hurdles is not the most exciting thing in life (I lived and worked in 6 countries).

But this only means that international law is a mess, and have to be repealed/updated. It won't happen soon, unless there will be more and more people willingfully breaking the law, as they are damn right to feel "entitled" to equal service, which can be delivered by config option. Technically, it is not a big deal. If it is a huge legal deal, the laws be damned.

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