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Why I'm a Pirate

ploum.net

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Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#21

Post by rplnt »

TamDenholm wrote: post #7

I used to be this guy, i would pirate software, music, tv shows, films, games etc. I did it mainly because it was easy. Innovation has changed my ways, not completely, but mostly. I no longer pirate music, ive paid for spotify for over 2 years now, i get music wherever i want on any device and its great, i wish they had metallica and acdc but theres youtube for that. I no longer pirate software, linux got good at "ju…

I no longer pirate software because I can live with free software or if I really need/want something I guess I could just pay for it. I no longer pirate games because I don't play that much and if I do I mostly play games that are "free to play". Several times a year I buy a "serious" game on steam because it is so easy.

However I still do pirate movies because they are extremely expensive and I know of no way how to watch them online for smaller prices. I still pirate TV shows because there is no way I could watch them otherwise (that I know of at least). Music, well.. much less than I used to.

Luckily it is not illegal to download a movie or a song, but it is still not right. I guess.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#22

Post by ZeroGravitas »

gavinballard wrote: post #16

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 t…

I wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of the arguments either. On the other hand I don't see much hope of change unless 'piracy' becomes even more commonplace than it already is.

So while I personally would rather do without (similar to using Linux/Gimp vs pirating Windows/Photoshop etc.) and think that piracy in many ways strengthens the hand of the copyright owners by suffocating legitimate alternatives (again see Linux/Gimp vs pirated XP/Photoshop) I think that encouraging and legitimizing widespread piracy could well be the only "significant political protest" with any chance to succeed.

Riots and revolutions tend to happen in the summer, maybe copyright will only change if some people get to watch Transformers for free. I can live with that.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#23

Post by patd »

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…

I believe ploum still lives in France and in France when you buy a usb sticks, blank CDs and hard drives, you have to pay a "private copy tax" that can be in the tens of euros.

So even if he ignores it, he is still paying them money because media companies can't adjust or accept that they're doing it wrong.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#24

Post by cientifico »

I wan't to buy "How I Meet your Mother" on English with spanish subtitles. I am from Spain and live on Germany.

The only option to get the content I am looking for is through megavideo/piratebay.

With the films, happen the same. If I use my iTunes spanish account, the content is delayed 6 months, no tv shows and all of them in spanish. If I use a German account, I only get German content.

I pay spotify premium since two years ago. But for tv shows and films. The only content i can get is from sites like megavideo/piratebay, etc.

This industry is the only one that doesn't offer to the client what the client wants. Easy.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#25

Post by csomar »

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…

This is such bullshit, I really wish I could downvote this sort of post.

No. Upvote and explain why the author is wrong. We need to educate more people about piracy and intellectual property.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#26

Post by Tichy »

gavinballard wrote: post #16

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 t…

"with infringement upon peoples' rights"

People's rights are man made, so they are debatable.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#27

Post by VonLipwig »

The only thing I agree with in this article is that film / music industry products often do not provide a good service. They are riddled with copy protection and unskippable ad's which punish people who actually buy the damn things.

Take this ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6xj4jS8cho

This the truth...

You spent an hour to go to the shop's and buy it / waited a day for delivery He spent 15 minutes downloading it.

You have to sit though ad's you cannot skip. You have to watch a 39 second anti-piracy ad on a legitimate DVD. You have to wait 30 seconds for the title menu to load because some moron decided to show clips of the film you want to fecking play before it appears!

He is already 5 minutes into the film.

------------------

Its horrible.

As for the rest of the arguments I disagree.

1) Because you don't use my money well

It doesn't matter how they spend there money. They are provided a product that you want. If they didn't exist the product wouldn't exist.

"Everything else was probably diluted in stuffs I don't need: packaging, distribution, transport, marketing,"

If they didn't market you wouldn't have heard about it. If they didn't pay for distribution you wouldn't be able to get it. If they didn't pay for packaging you would receive a scratched, perhaps broken CD...

2) Because you are messing with my life

"Worst, you will use my money to sue me in court because I would have downloaded something that I didn't want to buy anyway!"

Yeah.. your like stealing their stuff? Why shouldn't they come after you? If you don't want it don't download. If you download it.. don't pretend you didn't want it.

"With the change left, you will pay lobbyists to ensure the governments make stupid and dangerous laws."

The politicians pass the law's. I see nothing wrong with the music / film industry lobbying to protect their interest's. Where it gets scary is when politicians act on the side of lobbyists without considering the wider picture.

3) Because you are destroying the whole society

I agree there are problems but I completely disagree that these problems are all caused by the film and music industry. I didn't know EMI signed teachers for their lectures?

Finally...

"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. In your arrogance, you are hurting the fundamental value of freedom only to save your little petty interests."

I guess big hollywood movies and the majority of career musicians can fuck off as well aye?

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#28

Post by MengYuanLong »

zalthor wrote: post #17

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…

China is equally fun. Piracy is simply a fact. Universities use pirated windows XP. Street vendors sell every sort of game in plastic sleeves for a few kuai (approx 0.50 USD). Computer shops and tech markets do the same. I suppose I could set out to buy the "real thing" but I honestly wouldn't know where to start. I could go by price but even then...

Even alcohol seems questionable often times. I am fairly confident I have yet to buy a bottle of gin/vodka/whiskey that hasn't been somehow meddled with. After all, if I put it in the freezer it always freezes.

After writing this I guess I realize it is somewhat OT but it does signify that you have a major problem when the fake is nearly indistinguishable from the real.

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#29

Post by true_religion »

I've always wondered what odd confusion of emotions could make someone say they are a thief and proud of it.

I can understand those who claim that what they are doing isn't thievery.

I can understand those that don't accept the idea of intellectual property in general.

But for you to both buy into the philosophy that what you are taking is valuable, and ought to be protected---then still steal it proudly..... that is one thing I can't understand.

Aren't people supposed to want to be good?

Re: Why I'm a Pirate

#30

Post by vlasta2 »

One more point worth considering. We were conditioned to associate the music with the medium, because it was more profitable. Now it is not anymore and there lies the problem.

In the past I bought a MC and then I bought a CD. I paid twice for the same work. Did the shop offer me a discount? No.

Do I get a discount when I watch the same movie twice in a cinema or if I buy a DVD after I have seen the movie in the cinema? No.

Do I get easy access to mp3 if I buy a CD? No.

The movie/music industry simply sends the wrong signals...

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