Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#1

Post by jesuscript » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:29 PM UTC

Given all the streaming services, cable and sling alternatives being roughly the same price, and just general prices of games/dlcs, Spotify/YouTube premium (the full page ads and frequency of them on YouTube is at a new level without premium).

I just feel like if we’re at peak monetization, I might as well go back to my old teenage ways.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#2

Post by formerly_proven » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:41 PM UTC

I just reduce consumption, because 1.) that's better for you anyway 2.) most media is drivel and always has been 3.) can't be arsed to do illegal shit for such a petty reward

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#3

Post by fergie » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:41 PM UTC

I propose that where possible we avoid the term "piracy" and instead use the term "commons".

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#4

Post by badcppdev » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:42 PM UTC

Nope not open to piracy. I'm not going to pirate a movie just because I can't afford the streaming service.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#5

Post by iillexial » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:42 PM UTC

It depends. Games and music - no, I'm glad to pay for Spotify subscription, and I'm happy to buy a game every once in a while. Movies and TV shows - yes, if I cannot find them in Netflix. Sometimes I want to watch something, and it's not available in Netflix in my region, or not on Netflix at all. What choices do I have?

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#6

Post by chewmieser » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:42 PM UTC

I pirated a lot when I was younger and couldn't afford it. It's a headache I don't need anymore - worrying about VPNs or seedboxes, torrent sites moving to different domains or being shut down, maintaining ratios, letters from your ISP...

Nowadays entertainment is quite accessible through subscriptions and I just wait for decent sales on the games I want to play.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#7

Post by bil7 » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:43 PM UTC

yup, qbittorrent search tab never fails me

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#8

Post by cvalka » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:43 PM UTC

I've never abandoned it. Why pay for that crap if you can pay put.io?

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#9

Post by cactusplant7374 » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:43 PM UTC

I use Soulseek. It’s actually a better discovery layer if you find someone with the same tastes. I find Netflix flashy and diluted. So much content but most isn’t quality.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you are open to Piracy again?

#10

Post by terabytest » Thu, Jan 05, 2023, 1:43 PM UTC

I'm not going to speak about my personal practices, but I find the current landscape of streaming services unusable and unsustainable from a customer perspective. I share a Netflix and Prime account with my parents, and support for that is soon going to end. I don't feel like either of those services provide enough value to me to consider paying for them entirely by myself. The content is mediocre at best, finding anything good to watch is like going through a haystack, and once you find something remotely interesting you feel so exhausted that you'd rather turn off the tv and go to bed.

Don't even get me started on "there's this movie I heard about and I want to watch, but I need a subscription to this obscure random service and then also pay a rental fee on top to even get to watch it". It's just absurd.