Why I'm a Pirate • Hacker News Board

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#11

Post by omouse » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:50 AM UTC

citricsquid wrote: post #8

This is such bullshit, I really wish I could downvote this sort of post. If you don't agree with the methods used by companies to sell their products DON'T then take it anyway, you're showing people WANT the product but aren't willing to pay, so what's the best solution? Make it harder to pirate / try to block pirating. This guy and everyone else who refuses to just not consume media they can't get on terms they and…

You have no right to the media they produce

They have no right to force everyone else to conform to absurd rules made to preserve their profits.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#12

Post by drewblaisdell » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:51 AM UTC

citricsquid wrote: post #8

This is such bullshit, I really wish I could downvote this sort of post. If you don't agree with the methods used by companies to sell their products DON'T then take it anyway, you're showing people WANT the product but aren't willing to pay, so what's the best solution? Make it harder to pirate / try to block pirating. This guy and everyone else who refuses to just not consume media they can't get on terms they and…

When I started making enough money to buy everything I was consuming, I put an end to my piracy habit for some time. I had Netflix, used Rhapsody (then Spotify), bought season passes on iTunes (I used iPlayer a couple times but being in the US I had to use Tor to get around the region filter to watch a Louis Theroux documentaries, I guess that's "piracy").

I stopped when I realized that while I could afford it, all of these services were inferior to the ones I was used to. I will gladly pay for a product that is better than its free counterpart. I will even pay for a product that I could pirate, but I will not pay more to watch ads and listen to music on only a limited number of DRM-supported devices.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#13

Post by citricsquid » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:52 AM UTC

omouse wrote: post #11

citricsquid wrote: post #8

This is such bullshit, I really wish I could downvote this sort of post. If you don't agree with the methods used by companies to sell their products DON'T then take it anyway, you're showing people WANT the product but aren't willing to pay, so what's the best solution? Make it harder to pirate / try to block pirating. This guy and everyone else who refuses to just not consume media they can't get on terms they and…

You have no right to the media they produce They have no right to force everyone else to conform to absurd rules made to preserve their profits.

That's an entirely different issue and not a counter point to what I'm saying.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#14

Post by Tycho » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:52 AM UTC

Piracy is dishonourable... That's all the reason anyone should need for not doing it.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#15

Post by omouse » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:52 AM UTC

Pirating is basically how a world without "intellectual property" and copyright would be like and it this world is fucking awesome.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#16

Post by gavinballard » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:52 AM UTC

This is a series of pretty poor arguments. The author seems to be looking for reasons to justify their own piracy and conflates anger at the approach of the "copyright industry" with infringement upon peoples' rights. One of the final lines of the article, in particular, is jarring:

"If I'm a pirate, it's not to have some cheap music. It is because the time has come for you to fuck off."

It's fine to be angry about the approach large copyright holders take to piracy - suing consumers, encouraging the extradition of 23 year old UK citizens for linking, throwing cash at politicians to try to push through obscene laws like SOPA/PIPA. I'm angry about it. It's a horribly reactive, staid approach to a changing world that just isn't going to net them any long-term profitability.

What's not fine is in your mind elevating your piracy to the level of a significant political protest. It might make you feel better about it, but it really doesn't change the fact that you're stealing something of value that someone worked hard to produce.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#17

Post by zalthor » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:54 AM UTC

When I was living in the United states I was able to use services like Netflix and spotify and get the content I wanted whenever I wanted where ever I wanted. Now, I that live in India, I cannot get that content legally. I cannot watch the TV shows I want to watch as they are aired (I have to wait 2-3 years for stuff to come on TV). The ONLY option I have is to download tv shows via torrents / find some online stream and discover new music via grooveshark. Its not that I can't pay for the content, or don't want to, its that I quite literally cant!

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#18

Post by tjogin » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:56 AM UTC

rmc wrote: post #3

drewblaisdell wrote: post #2

The ultimate response to those who try to legislate against piracy for years has been to point out that there is no paid service which is as convenient as other unpaid, illegal ones (bittorrent or usenet, for instance). This is just one of the few unfortunate times where it makes fiscal sense for corporations to try to change the laws rather than innovate. They might say "you could never get every movie/album/piece o…

They might say "you could never get every movie/album/piece of software in one place like that! It would be an organizational nightmare!" Given no other option, however, they will be forced to innovate. Heheh, and yet The Pirate Bay (and lots of others), have a single site with lots of things. It might be a nightmare, but not only can it exist, but it does exist. I am always amazed that the pirate/P2P swarm essential…

The problem of music piracy is mostly solved, largely because of iPod/iTunes and Spotify and others. And it was, indeed, solved by making the legal services as good or better as the illegal ones. Sure there are some music piracy left, but only a fraction of the piracy during the Napster heydays.

The problem that does persist (if it's a problem at all) is that the perceived value of recorded music has dropped, other forms of entertainment has taken the crown. The nineties are over, and it's not coming back, sadly the record industry thinks it's still possible.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#19

Post by VMG » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:57 AM UTC

omouse wrote: post #11

citricsquid wrote: post #8

This is such bullshit, I really wish I could downvote this sort of post. If you don't agree with the methods used by companies to sell their products DON'T then take it anyway, you're showing people WANT the product but aren't willing to pay, so what's the best solution? Make it harder to pirate / try to block pirating. This guy and everyone else who refuses to just not consume media they can't get on terms they and…

You have no right to the media they produce They have no right to force everyone else to conform to absurd rules made to preserve their profits.

Do they force you? Do you have to buy a Rihanna album?

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#20

Post by planb » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 10:58 AM UTC

A lot of his arguments are centered around the music industry, but guess what: You can get a high quality, DRM free song with just one click for about $1 today. This makes his whole blog post sound like an uninformed, whiny rant.