The Morality of Piracy

I pirate all the time and I'm not ashamed of it. Most, if not all of the people here on a moral high horse who say they don't and they never have are probably lying. I'm not made of money. I also don't like being duped into buying crap by bought and paid for reviews.

When you grow up and mommy and daddy stop paying for everything, and you realize things aren't free, you'll understand why people pirate. Two games costs as much as my electric bill or a trip to the grocery store. I have bigger priorities than some silly pieces of media. Most of your money is just lining the pockets of some fatcat corporate CEO anyway, so it's not like I lose any sleep over it.

I buy legitimate copies of things too, when I can afford it, and when I want to reward the people who made something. But I have bills to pay, and I'd still like to be able to get some enjoyment out of life.

This post will probably get modded, but at least I'm being honest, unlike some other people.

bigfootstew

Why doesnt it suprise me that you, the one that hates everything pirates games. You know you can better yourself through education or tradeand get a better paying job. And just because people can afford things for themselves doesnt make them high and mighty. I paid for my own schooling, bought my own car, and pay for my own videogames and I do not make a lot of money. You can rent games, you can sometimes get Demo's... your excuse isnt an excuse at all.

[QUOTE="albatrossdrums"]

I have no ambiguity about how I feel about pirating, despite the complexity of the issues it raises. I never pirate anything and I strongly dislike people who do. I'm continually amazed by the lame excuses people, especially adults, make to justify their pirating (guess what? you can't have everything - how'd you manage to not learn that as you learned those cold hard facts about how the world works and how things cost money?), but I'm not going to single anyone out here.

bigfootstew

I'm guessing mommy and daddy pay for your health insurance, groceries, electric, internet, rent/mortgage, school, clothes etc.

It's easy to be on a high horse when everything is handed to you, and probably the only things you do buy are games and movies.

Ah yes, the champions of piracy showing their maturity because I voiced my opinion that I strongly dislike people who pirate. Sorry boys, I'm not going to play your little game and insult you back. And I got a very good laugh out of someone who is so desperate to flail at me that they assume they have the slightest idea how old I am or what I do for a living, and another who assumes I must have problems because I don't like people who pirate. Absolutely pathetic.

Most people that have the opportunity to get something for free would rather that....than to pay. Particularly if there are no consequences. Yes....there are undoubtedly some that do buy some of the music. But there are many who do not. If people were only listening to a sample...which can be done without illegally downloading the music.....there would not be this problem with piracy. If you are listening to a bands music....they deserve payment whether you like the music or not. They have provided you the service.

Second point. You know SOME people that buy SOME of the bands music of illegally downloading. They are still not paying for the entire service the band provided.

Third point....the band gains a fan. If the fan is only ripping off their music....then that fan has zero importance in the grand scheme of the bands life. They have not paid for the product. They have not contributed toward the bands paying fan base from which ticket prices etc are calculated. If they have enough of these "fans"...the record label may drop them.

Fourth....I have the internet. I can legally explore any genre of music by a vast number of bands and decide which I wish to purchase...

For the answer to your final question....read my above answers. Your actions DO hurt the bands. Even established bands have to sell in order for their label to keep them signed.

Piracy is indeed wrong. And finding reasons to justify taking the work of another for free does not make it right.

LJS9502_basic

"Your actions DO hurt the bands" I don't agree with that. For many reasons but the main reason is because I am in a band and we greatly encourage pirating or any sort of exposure we can get.

We provide torrent links to own album and we try to spread the word as much as possible "hey try this music out...it's free...so no loss if you don't like it". The reason we do this, is because we realise that no-one is going to want to order a CD all the way from Australia from a unknown band unless they were a big fan...and to become a big fan they would need to have heard all our stuff. Inside the torrent folder for the album we put a note saying that if people want they can donate 5 dollars, 10 dollars or whatever based on wheather they like it or not. This is much easier for people overseas than buying a CD with shipping etc. And we do get a few donations...but the thing is this is money coming in that would not happen unless people could pirate. So under this exact senario I am in...The band cannot possibly be hurt by piracy and your point is void.

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I pirate all the time and I'm not ashamed of it. Most, if not all of the people here on a moral high horse who say they don't and they never have are probably lying. I'm not made of money. I also don't like being duped into buying crap by bought and paid for reviews.

When you grow up and mommy and daddy stop paying for everything, and you realize things aren't free, you'll understand why people pirate. Two games costs as much as my electric bill or a trip to the grocery store. I have bigger priorities than some silly pieces of media. Most of your money is just lining the pockets of some fatcat corporate CEO anyway, so it's not like I lose any sleep over it.

I buy legitimate copies of things too, when I can afford it, and when I want to reward the people who made something. But I have bills to pay, and I'd still like to be able to get some enjoyment out of life.

This post will probably get modded, but at least I'm being honest, unlike some other people.

Chrypt22

Why doesnt it suprise me that you, the one that hates everything pirates games. You know you can better yourself through education or tradeand get a better paying job. And just because people can afford things for themselves doesnt make them high and mighty. I paid for my own schooling, bought my own car, and pay for my own videogames and I do not make a lot of money. You can rent games, you can sometimes get Demo's... your excuse isnt an excuse at all.

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

Most people that have the opportunity to get something for free would rather that....than to pay. Particularly if there are no consequences. Yes....there are undoubtedly some that do buy some of the music. But there are many who do not. If people were only listening to a sample...which can be done without illegally downloading the music.....there would not be this problem with piracy. If you are listening to a bands music....they deserve payment whether you like the music or not. They have provided you the service.

Second point. You know SOME people that buy SOME of the bands music of illegally downloading. They are still not paying for the entire service the band provided.

Third point....the band gains a fan. If the fan is only ripping off their music....then that fan has zero importance in the grand scheme of the bands life. They have not paid for the product. They have not contributed toward the bands paying fan base from which ticket prices etc are calculated. If they have enough of these "fans"...the record label may drop them.

Fourth....I have the internet. I can legally explore any genre of music by a vast number of bands and decide which I wish to purchase...

For the answer to your final question....read my above answers. Your actions DO hurt the bands. Even established bands have to sell in order for their label to keep them signed.

Piracy is indeed wrong. And finding reasons to justify taking the work of another for free does not make it right.

PerilousWolf

"Your actions DO hurt the bands" I don't agree with that. For many reasons but the main reason is because I am in a band and we greatly encourage pirating or any sort of exposure we can get.

We provide torrent links to own album and we try to spread the word as much as possible "hey try this music out...it's free...so no loss if you don't like it". The reason we do this, is because we realise that no-one is going to want to order a CD all the way from Australia from a unknown band unless they were a big fan...and to become a big fan they would need to have heard all our stuff. Inside the torrent folder for the album we put a note saying that if people want they can donate 5 dollars, 10 dollars or whatever based on wheather they like it or not. This is much easier for people overseas than buying a CD with shipping etc. And we do get a few donations...but the thing is this is money coming in that would not happen unless people could pirate. So under this exact senario I am in...The band cannot possibly be hurt by piracy and your point is void.

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I pirate all the time and I'm not ashamed of it. Most, if not all of the people here on a moral high horse who say they don't and they never have are probably lying. I'm not made of money. I also don't like being duped into buying crap by bought and paid for reviews.

When you grow up and mommy and daddy stop paying for everything, and you realize things aren't free, you'll understand why people pirate. Two games costs as much as my electric bill or a trip to the grocery store. I have bigger priorities than some silly pieces of media. Most of your money is just lining the pockets of some fatcat corporate CEO anyway, so it's not like I lose any sleep over it.

I buy legitimate copies of things too, when I can afford it, and when I want to reward the people who made something. But I have bills to pay, and I'd still like to be able to get some enjoyment out of life.

This post will probably get modded, but at least I'm being honest, unlike some other people.

bigfootstew

Why doesnt it suprise me that you, the one that hates everything pirates games. You know you can better yourself through education or tradeand get a better paying job. And just because people can afford things for themselves doesnt make them high and mighty. I paid for my own schooling, bought my own car, and pay for my own videogames and I do not make a lot of money. You can rent games, you can sometimes get Demo's... your excuse isnt an excuse at all.

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

You made a choice to go to medical school, and its no ones fault that youre in debt.You should take your own advice,telling someone to better themself is far from assuming someones lifestyle and how they make a living. Youre excuses and assumptions are pathetic at best.

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I pirate all the time and I'm not ashamed of it. Most, if not all of the people here on a moral high horse who say they don't and they never have are probably lying. I'm not made of money. I also don't like being duped into buying crap by bought and paid for reviews.

When you grow up and mommy and daddy stop paying for everything, and you realize things aren't free, you'll understand why people pirate. Two games costs as much as my electric bill or a trip to the grocery store. I have bigger priorities than some silly pieces of media. Most of your money is just lining the pockets of some fatcat corporate CEO anyway, so it's not like I lose any sleep over it.

I buy legitimate copies of things too, when I can afford it, and when I want to reward the people who made something. But I have bills to pay, and I'd still like to be able to get some enjoyment out of life.

This post will probably get modded, but at least I'm being honest, unlike some other people.

bigfootstew

Why doesnt it suprise me that you, the one that hates everything pirates games. You know you can better yourself through education or tradeand get a better paying job. And just because people can afford things for themselves doesnt make them high and mighty. I paid for my own schooling, bought my own car, and pay for my own videogames and I do not make a lot of money. You can rent games, you can sometimes get Demo's... your excuse isnt an excuse at all.

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

bigfootstew

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

Why doesnt it suprise me that you, the one that hates everything pirates games. You know you can better yourself through education or tradeand get a better paying job. And just because people can afford things for themselves doesnt make them high and mighty. I paid for my own schooling, bought my own car, and pay for my own videogames and I do not make a lot of money. You can rent games, you can sometimes get Demo's... your excuse isnt an excuse at all.

albatrossdrums

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

LJS9502_basic

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

bigfootstew

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

Does your band have a high overhead? Are you hoping to attract a label to underwrite your touring? Just because you have a band that supports it does not mean it's right for other bands that depend on the revenue and good will of the recording industry. Again...you are justifying it. Your choice as a band does not mean the entire industry works that way.

LJS9502_basic

We have very low overhead costs, because we don't tour or gig (purely because ours is the type of music what wouldn't translate well at a normal gig...lots of ambient effects etc). All 4 of us in the band are just about being as creative as possible and we do it because we just love creating. There was never a money goal. If you go out with your main desire being to make money and not simply to make good music and for people to hear it....you don't deserve the money. I am aware that the whole industry is not like my band...but I don't think you'd could find a single example of a band failing as a direct result of piracy. For most small bands it's an advantge and for most bigger bands the moeny lost is negligible (and I would still argue those who become fans, will go to gigs...and gigs get the artist much more money than CD sales)

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]Then what you do is do without until you can buy your entertainment. The world does not owe you free entertainment.

LJS9502_basic

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

I'm in clincial rotations, so I'm actually paying to work. Society owes me big time.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

bigfootstew

I'm in clincial rotations, so I'm actually paying to work. Society owes me big time.

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

Honestly, I don't think it's that hard of a concept to understand. If people wanted you to have the fruits of their labor for free, they would give it to you that way. But they don't. Most game developers spend countless hours making their games. If you think they cost too much, then dont buy them. Simple as that. But if you illegaly download the game and do not pay them, then that is stealing. Try to justify all you want, but in the end, you're nothing but a thief. If that suits you, by all means, continue. But dont try and give me some bogus argument about how noble you are or how it's not stealing.

[QUOTE="albatrossdrums"][QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

bigfootstew

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I'm doing society a huge service with my choice of profession. So yeah, I think I'll take some free entertainment.

I'm in clincial rotations, so I'm actually paying to work. Society owes me big time.

We have very low overhead costs, because we don't tour or gig (purely because ours is the type of music what wouldn't translate well at a normal gig...lots of ambient effects etc). All 4 of us in the band are just about being as creative as possible and we do it because we just love creating. There was never a money goal. If you go out with your main desire being to make money and not simply to make good music and for people to hear it....you don't deserve the money. I am aware that the whole industry is not like my band...but I don't think you'd could find a single example of a band failing as a direct result of piracy. For most small bands it's an advantge and for most bigger bands the moeny lost is negligible (and I would still argue those who become fans, will go to gigs...and gigs get the artist much more money than CD sales)

PerilousWolf

[QUOTE="albatrossdrums"][QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

I mostly play PC games. You can't rent PC games and almost no companies put out demos.

Also I'm in medical school with debt up to my eyeballs. That's why I can't leave this crappy country even though I want to. So don't give me some dumb lecture about educating or bettering myself.

bigfootstew

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

[QUOTE="albatrossdrums"] So you are in medical school, you are an adult, and the best you can come up with when someone doesn't agree with your stance on pirating is to insult them by assuming they are a child whose parents buy everything for them? Forgive me bigfootstew, but you have no clue, no clue whatsoever, of what you are talking about. If it makes you feel better to make lazy, uncreative and desperate assumptions about people you know nothing about, you go, big boy. Knock yourself out.Chrypt22

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

bigfootstew

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

bigfootstew

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

Omni-Slash

Except im fat and cant bench crap.

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

Except you are a 14 year old kid, and your parents do pay for everything, so what's your point?

You're judging people in a situation you can't possibly comprehend due to your very limited life experience.

bigfootstew

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

No, I am sure some that pirate are actually intelligent and just pirate regardless if its wrong or right. I am more talking aboutthe way you speak and carry yourself and the assumptions you make on people, society, and life in general make you look flat out stupid. Maybe those are your score maybe they're not, but by the way you act and carry out conversationssays that youre more of an angry teenager that didnt get enough hugs than an adult in med school. You are no better than anyone else, no one owes you sh(*, and even if you are in clinical, the way you act I am sure people do not appreciate the care you give anyway.

[QUOTE="bigfootstew"]

[QUOTE="Chrypt22"]

And you judge people on what exactly? I have a hard time believing someone with your mental capacity was accepted into any school let alone a medical school that has any standards. Also, people are not owed anything special because they perform a certain job, get over yourself.

Chrypt22

Eagle scout, IB program, 1400/1600 SATs, 30 MCAT, 3.8 GPA in undergrad. Want to make any other assumptions about me?

Obviously people who pirate must all be moronic criminals right?

No, I am sure some that pirate are actually intelligent and just pirate regardless if its wrong or right. I am more talking aboutthe way you speak and carry yourself and the assumptions you make on people, society, and life in general make you look flat out stupid. Maybe those are your score maybe they're not, but by the way you act and carry out conversationssays that youre more of an angry teenager that didnt get enough hugs than an adult in med school. You are no better than anyone else, no one owes you sh(*, and even if you are in clinical, the way you act I am sure people do not appreciate the care you give anyway.

Maybe I didn't get enough hugs.

People who make it to med/law school usually had parents who told them they were garbage unless they brought home the best grades.

Anyway, this thread is about piracy. Enough derailing.

What about the morality of downloading something for a period of time, then deleting it, how is that any different than borrowing something (whether it's a CD, DVD, game, etc.) from someone you know, after all, both parties are consenting. Z0MBIES

I pirate all the time and I'm not ashamed of it. Most, if not all of the people here on a moral high horse who say they don't and they never have are probably lying. I'm not made of money. I also don't like being duped into buying crap by bought and paid for reviews.

When you grow up and mommy and daddy stop paying for everything, and you realize things aren't free, you'll understand why people pirate. Two games costs as much as my electric bill or a trip to the grocery store. I have bigger priorities than some silly pieces of media. Most of your money is just lining the pockets of some fatcat corporate CEO anyway, so it's not like I lose any sleep over it.

I buy legitimate copies of things too, when I can afford it, and when I want to reward the people who made something. But I have bills to pay, and I'd still like to be able to get some enjoyment out of life.

This post will probably get modded, but at least I'm being honest, unlike some other people.

bigfootstew

I've bought one video game in 2009, one album, and maybe as much as three movies.

Suck it up, dude. I can't afford to be buying all this **** either, so I go without it. For as much as you talk about how "things are different when you've got bills to pay", you're acting EXACTLY like a kid at christmas throwing a tantrum because his poor parents couldn't afford to get him a PS3.

You're not entitled to things you can't afford.

And you'd "like to be able to enjoy life"? REALLY? What, your life completely sucks if you don't have a bunch of new music to listen to? If that's the case, then I think you ought to expand your horizons, because there is so much more out there than videogames, movies, and music.

What about the morality of downloading something for a period of time, then deleting it, how is that any different than borrowing something (whether it's a CD, DVD, game, etc.) from someone you know, after all, both parties are consenting. Z0MBIES

Uh...no. If you pirated it illegally, you STILL went against the copyright holder's wishes, even if you later delete it. It's not illegal to let your friend borrow a CD. It IS illegal to make a backup copy of a CD, and to them let a friend borrow the CD while you keep the backup copy.

And realistically, if you are planning on deleting illegal downloads after a week or two, then you never should have bothered to illegally download it in the first place. You can't claim that it's okay because you deleted it after a short time. Because you still had access to it for that short time, illegally. Furthermore, you can't claim "well I wasn't planning on keeping it, I just knew it was gonna suck and wanted to try it out first." If you go down that road, then you're saying that you expected it to suck to such a degree that you never should have illegally downloaded it in the first place.

And the alternative to that is that you expected it to be AWESOME, and wanted to try it out first just to make sure. You can talk all you want about how if it was good, that you'd eventually go buy the album legally to support the band. But THAT'S implying that you WOULDN'T go support the band buy buying the album if you thought that the music sucks. In which case we're right back to square one...you DID end up cheating that crappy band by obtaining their work illegally, and then using that illegally obtained content to decide to NOT buy that band's music. Delete it after a month, delete it after a year, delete it after an hour. It's still wrong.

From the last page I posted in this topic, I haven't read all of the other 7 pages, but I read a little. And it was the repeated "Stealing is okay if you are stealing from someone rich" and I heard people constantly refer to the mainstream artists as "greedy", and I just want to clear this up.

If you invented something so big, so influential on modern day life, that everybody just had to buy it (assume they are $1,000 each). You would be making millions, billions! You would be pretty happy to be rich, right? Yeah, well enjoying the good life doesn't make you greedy (well, I suppose it does if you use your money the wrong way, like never donating, buying everything you see, etc.), but just because someone makes a lot of money, it doesn't make them greedy or evil.

Now, you all must think you are the modern Robin Hoods for pirating from the rich... well, unfortunately, you are not. You are "Stealing from the rich and giving to yourself" Why don't you tell me who is greedy now, eh? Sorry, poor example, let me defend my position better.

Assume there is a $10,000 piece of Software on the Internet, and it has just become the industry Video Editing standard. There are going to be a lot of people wanting that for large production movies and stuff, but there is no doubt it will be distributed among the BitTorrent network. Now, everybody who downloads that, takes away $10,000 off of that company's profit. Think of it- PhotoShop has thousands and thousands of users, 60% of people who own it have pirated it. Let's apply those statistics to this new piece of software- saying a low number like 10,000 people who own the software, and 60% of people pirating it. That's easy math- they make $40,000,000 and lose $60,000,000. Think. They make a lot of money, but there is $60,000,000 that could have been, which is lost due to pirating. So all of you guys saying pirating won't affect the producers or singers or whatever, it adds up.

I can't understand how priacy is justifiable, if its not wrong it does not require any justification... at all

Personally, I find the justification use to make piracy appear "right" is even more problematic than the act of priacy itself

So basically, nobody has gained any insight in piracy, and we have only grown hatred. Maybe it's best never to have this topic again on GS, at least not until we have more information.
I'm not married to my stance but the arguments here are very silly and miss the points.
It's like we are talking in foreign languages. What an abysmal thread You have created :P like a bottomless pit of missunderstandings.

I could care less

most pirated stuff or modded rather is better than what the legit devs can make. it would be nice if some of the hackers and pirates took their intelegence and creativity and made real legit games.

Would it be morally exceptable to download a game on PC if you already bought a legit copy on Xbox 360 or PS3? why should one fork out cash for basically exactly the same thing?

I am an avid digital sharer of information. I also just read this book. Much like the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Capitalism cannot be killed, it can just be transformed into other states, as sad as this fact may be.

Would it be morally exceptable to download a game on PC if you already bought a legit copy on Xbox 360 or PS3? why should one fork out cash for basically exactly the same thing?

mattisgod01

If it's "the same thing", then why are you illegally downloading the PC version when you already bought the 360 or PS3 version?

I mean, if you already have the 360 or PS3 version and are even making the effort to download the PC version, then it's sort of hard to claim that you're getting "the same thing". If YOU thought of it as getting the same thing, then why even illegally download it in the first place, since you already have the 360 or PS3 version?

[QUOTE="mattisgod01"]

Would it be morally exceptable to download a game on PC if you already bought a legit copy on Xbox 360 or PS3? why should one fork out cash for basically exactly the same thing?

MrGeezer

If it's "the same thing", then why are you illegally downloading the PC version when you already bought the 360 or PS3 version?

I mean, if you already have the 360 or PS3 version and are even making the effort to download the PC version, then it's sort of hard to claim that you're getting "the same thing". If YOU thought of it as getting the same thing, then why even illegally download it in the first place, since you already have the 360 or PS3 version?

I've had the problem lots of times where i have some friends who have a game on Xbox 360 so i buy the game so we can play online together, but some other friends only have a copy of the PC version, should i be expected to buy 2 copies of the game just to allow for the platform restrictions?

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="mattisgod01"]

Would it be morally exceptable to download a game on PC if you already bought a legit copy on Xbox 360 or PS3? why should one fork out cash for basically exactly the same thing?

mattisgod01

If it's "the same thing", then why are you illegally downloading the PC version when you already bought the 360 or PS3 version?

I mean, if you already have the 360 or PS3 version and are even making the effort to download the PC version, then it's sort of hard to claim that you're getting "the same thing". If YOU thought of it as getting the same thing, then why even illegally download it in the first place, since you already have the 360 or PS3 version?

I've had the problem lots of times where i have some friends who have a game on Xbox 360 so i buy the game so we can play online together, but some other friends only have a copy of the PC version, should i be expected to buy 2 copies of the game just to allow for the platform restrictions?

Yes.

Same way that when I buy a DVD of Big Momma's House, that I don't expect it to shown in glorious 1080p HD quality.

Yes. If I want the HD content, then I buy the Blu-Ray disc of Big Momma's House.

Or let's go in a different direction. I bought Metal Gear Solid 4, only to discover that it has content which is only available by hooking my PS3 up to the internet. But oh no! I just found out that I don't have internet service! Does that mean that it's okay to steal internet service just to unlock the online content on my PS3 (I don't know if it's even possible to steal the internet...but if it was, I guarantee that people would be doing it)? No...I simply open up my wallet and pay for internet service if I want online content.