Generation Free: Piracy, distribution, and entertainment

[treetops]

"Obviously no one liked what Blizzard pulled, but do you actually blame them for that? Do you think they would have gone through the headache and cost of having those servers up (usually, heh) along with the bad PR and the backlash from their biggest fans if they didn?t see piracy as a major problem with their products?!"


I have no clue why *****s keep trying to argue drm in any way stops piracy. Drm games are cracked just as soon as none drm games. It simply prevents you from going to your friends house and installing the single player game.

 

[tipstir]

The fall of CATV and the new dawn of DTV will prevail! Cut the cord on Cable TV and you'll feel better!

 

[treetops]

Whats next will some bands only allow their music to be played on satellite radio? payperview songs? no cable companies arent greedy just because they broke from the standard free tv with commercial platform(sarcasm), yes stealing entertainment is wrong if the artist doesnt want you too, steal bread to feed your family that is another story(edited), if I had a star trek replicator would snickers sue me for making myself a candy bar?

can I make a computer produce every possible combination of sounds\text\pixels one day and copy right it? probably, its already been done with domain names, want to buy property on the moon someone already "owns it". how about a star? someone sells those too, want to buy a star?


Yes you can literally buy a star.

Mapping out the stars and putting them up for sale cost money, don't you know if you falsely claim a star to be yours it raises the cost of stars?

Oh only people that would not have bought a star anyways claim to own stars they don't own!

No no the star seller loses sales because of false star ownership claims, if those false claims did not exist the false claimers would buy stars. That lost revenue is passed down to hard working star buyers!

Wait wait people claiming to own stars they don't own spreads the idea of buying stars boosting sales!

The owner of the star most falsely claimed said he doesn't care(game of thrones most torrented and they dont care)

You know nowadays the star selling industry lobbies washington to pass laws to make false star claims criminal and laws to enforce penalties on these false star claimers. Who pays for all this enforcement? The tax payer! They even pass laws for government funded agencies to function around the clock to weed out these false star claiming s.o.b.s. Who pays for it? Again the working man. Does majority of the people want to pay for these agencies and enforcement? Who knows no one asked them and the star selling industry and politicians dont give a flying f what they think. No they aren't greedy just because they charge a nation of people to enforce laws they probably never wanted to pay for(sarcasm).

Yeah I think I'm crazy too.

p.s. I hear they are working on a reverse flashlight to block out the sky to anyone that doesn't pay a monthly fee.

p.s.s. Don't worry you can see some of the sky in between commercials.

p.s.s.s I actually had a dream before the sky was covered with commercials and I was in the future.

p.s.s.s.s You read all this?

p.s.s.s.s.s. I pirate some content I get on netflix because I like using vlc player, I can easily browse the web and watch. I get consistent HD torrenting. I pirate stuff I don't have on netflix. I don't pirate potential great movies I watch them in the theater. I feel sorry for single payer games that get pirated. Sometimes if I start watching a pirated movie and it looks like a winner I turn it off and go to the theater to watch it.


@Guest I liked yeah those people still exist. Money also motivates though. Do we have more or less innovators because of money motivation, idk. The money scheme drives people so I will say more.


p.z. btw I can't remember if you can buy a star or name one after yourself for a price either way. blah

 

[avioza]

A poorly constructed, rambling article. Please save the expletives for crass commenters and maintain Techspots dignified image.

 

[TomSEA]

It is amazing the "everything is free" culture of the Millenials and even more amazing the excuses they come up with to justify "everything is free." All a part of their entitlement fixation too. Thank their helicopter parents for empowering them with that little dysfunction.

My younger brother has 5 kids. They are a devoutly religious family with a big painting of the Ten Commandments on their living room wall. Including the "Thou Shalt Not Steal" one.

One day I was visiting and they mentioned they were having computer problems. I'm an IT professional so volunteered to take a look. When I started glancing through their files I found an insane amount of torrented material. Games, movies, music and software. Close to a terabyte's worth. I pointed this out to my brother and said, "you know all of these downloads are illegal." And he acted mildly surprised. His response was, "the kids told me they got it off the internet and you know the internet - everything is free." I told him, "when you guys go to WalMart on your weekly shopping spree and you see these items on the shelves, are they free?" He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away - obviously, it wasn't important to him.

So there you go - you have this generation who believe that torrenting is a perfectly legitimate practice combined with parents who have no idea it's going on, nor do they care if they do know.

I'll be curious to see when these Millenials have their own kids, how they're going to handle the topic of theft in raising their own kids.

 

[wcbert]

"We live in a democracy, a prerequisite of which is freedom of information. Knowledge is power. When information becomes the province of the rich and is unaffordable to the poor there can only be sham democracy. Information must be free to all, no ifs, no buts."

Since when is entertainment consider the same as information, like news? It is entertainment pure and simple, candy for the brain. Following your logic the public should have free access to the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones to be better informed. Informed of what which character just go killed off.

 

[Guest]

The music/movie/television industry is completely at fault here. If they want me to buy something don't offer me **** and tell me it's candy. Metallica album for 30 bucks, but it has 1 good song, Blu-ray movies for 30-60 bucks for a single movie and a ton of behind the scenes garbage.

Why do people download? Because they know damn well they are stealing from the real pirates already and you can't steal from thieves!

 

[TomSEA]

You're full of it Guest - and typical of the "why it's OK for me to steal."

I routinely buy blu-ray movies for $5. In fact, bought "Airplane!" just the other day for five bucks. $30 for a Metallica album? What - did you want it gold plated? You can buy Metallica mp3 download albums for $9. And if you wait for sales on Amazon and iTunes can get it for $2-3 less.

Quit making up lame excuses because you've chosen to steal.

 

[Guest]

Since when is entertainment consider the same as information, like news? It is entertainment pure and simple, candy for the brain. Following your logic the public should have free access to the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones to be better informed. Informed of what which character just go killed off.

I didn't mention entertainment in my post because I wasn't talking about it. I was simply making an argument against monopolies on information, of which copyright is an example.

 

[treetops]

It is amazing the "everything is free" culture of the Millenials and even more amazing the excuses they come up with to justify "everything is free." All a part of their entitlement fixation too. Thank their helicopter parents for empowering them with that little dysfunction.

My younger brother has 5 kids. They are a devoutly religious family with a big painting of the Ten Commandments on their living room wall. Including the "Thou Shalt Not Steal" one.

One day I was visiting and they mentioned they were having computer problems. I'm an IT professional so volunteered to take a look. When I started glancing through their files I found an insane amount of torrented material. Games, movies, music and software. Close to a terabyte's worth. I pointed this out to my brother and said, "you know all of these downloads are illegal." And he acted mildly surprised. His response was, "the kids told me they got it off the internet and you know the internet - everything is free." I told him, "when you guys go to WalMart on your weekly shopping spree and you see these items on the shelves, are they free?" He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away - obviously, it wasn't important to him.

So there you go - you have this generation who believe that torrenting is a perfectly legitimate practice combined with parents who have no idea it's going on, nor do they care if they do know.

I'll be curious to see when these Millenials have their own kids, how they're going to handle the topic of theft in raising their own kids.

thou shall not replicate, it seems to come down to philosphy of which your brothers would imply it is wrong, I agree with you, there is no reason to steal entertainment

"We live in a democracy, a prerequisite of which is freedom of information. Knowledge is power. When information becomes the province of the rich and is unaffordable to the poor there can only be sham democracy. Information must be free to all, no ifs, no buts."

Since when is entertainment consider the same as information, like news? It is entertainment pure and simple, candy for the brain. Following your logic the public should have free access to the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones to be better informed. Informed of what which character just go killed off.

yup yup, you could argue some entertainment enlightens the mind, but that is just an extremist point of view, I seem to be the minority who admits its wrong and still does it, it is odd how uncommon within the pirate community, I mean people don't like eat fast food then try to convince others its good for them, it reminds me of a heavy drug users mentality, denial. I could philosophy it up and argue for piracy but you can do that with any topic and the more unknowns you use to justify your point the more likely it is that you are wrong.

people feed their families making entertainment, you don't NEED entertainment, they need to feed their families, not everyone in the entertainment industry is rich, what about the factory worker who makes DVD's or stand in actor in the back ground waiting tables?

what I said earlier was to provoke a different perspective to a broken record set of responses we see every time any piralosphy article is written

lobbying is also wrong but that does not make stealing right and as stated not everyone making entertainment has anything to do with the wrongs of the big wigs, cliche time 2 wrongs dont make a right

p.s. this shouldn't have to be said but no one is forcing you to buy entertainment, the high priced argument is not wise. its not a necessity, it is practically the opposite

 

[Guest]

It is amazing the "everything is free" culture of the Millenials

It is amazing that anyone would maintain that anyone believes that 'everything is free'. I doubt there is a single person in the world who believes 'everything is free' or that it should be.

There are however billions of people who believe that knowledge should be free.

 

[Guest]

Quit making up lame excuses because you've chosen to steal.

I challenge you to produce a law from any country that states in no uncertain terms that copyright infringement is theft. When you realise you can't do it maybe you will be a little less careless with your words.

 

[TomSEA]

Not careless with my words at all.

Simple example. Your Metallica CD is on sale at WalMart for $9. You pass on that and instead illegally download it so you can have it for free.

That's theft.

 

[Tygerstrike]

Im sorry I have to agree with the author. His argument is just. Despite that lack luster moral fiber of the pirates. The author is correct. 1. We built the machine that allows jr. snotnose s.o.b. to pirate. 2. We created the industry that is being stolen from. 3. We are ultimatly responsable for our actions.
All I see when someone attempts to justify their theft is ppl who could use a good *** whoopin. What?? Are they just that stupid? Did I.Q. points fall off the charts?? The only reason they are doing it is because they just dont want to pay. Period. Thats all it boils down too. Well thats too damn bad. There is a cost for everything. They get away with this because they are at home and they think they are safe in their personal fortress of stupidity. Im betting they wouldnt steal a physical item for the same reason. Try and go and steal a handful of CDs from walmart. Im 100% sure you would be caught and prosecuted. Then spend 3-5 years of their life in prison because they were just being stupid. Its just not worth it.
When you steal digital material you rob inevitably everyone who actually paid for the product. You steal from so many ppl who really need that money to feed their families. You steal from future projects from the ppl who created the material being stolen. No one will put good money into a project that they are not going to make money on.
Think on this. You sit there and pirate a movie because you feel you shouldnt have to pay for it. Now lets switch this around. Someone else, with a better skill set then you, decides they dont feel like paying their rent. They decide to steal your identity. They empty your bank accounts, ruin your credit rating for the next 7 years. Right there lies the difference. To you its ok because its some nameless faceless giant corporation so screw them. To the person who has stolen your identity, its the same thing. Same computer, same results. Only difference is that those companies can eat that lose. You cant. So next time you want to pirate, ask yourself. Is it really worth it.

 

[Prosercunus]

The piracy thing is a moot point because it is human nature to try and get things for free. Also I think a lot of people are not exactly at a ethical crossroads when clicking on that torrent or download link simply because the companies have taken the consumer on a greed ride for ages. Right or wrong, you decide. I personally will download things I have no intention of buying anyway, some people will pick apart that logic, which is fine as I could give two shits.

 

[McNasty]

If users had a way to get a refund from gaming companies when they get robbed after buying titles like the latest Alien game or Sim City then maybe we can start of conversation about privacy. As long as the gaming industry offers no way for paying customers to get their money back after been robbed, I don't want to hear any studios crying about privacy.
Most companies stand behind their products by offering refunds for unsatisfied customers. The gaming industry has paid off our politicians so we can't be refunded. I say F you until customers can get a refund, I don't have a problem with some stealing your game in the same why your stealing customers money with releases like Aliens & Sim City.

 

[treetops]

Im sorry I have to agree with the author. His argument is just. Despite that lack luster moral fiber of the pirates. The author is correct. 1. We built the machine that allows jr. snotnose s.o.b. to pirate. 2. We created the industry that is being stolen from. 3. We are ultimatly responsable for our actions.
All I see when someone attempts to justify their theft is ppl who could use a good *** whoopin. What?? Are they just that stupid? Did I.Q. points fall off the charts?? The only reason they are doing it is because they just dont want to pay. Period. Thats all it boils down too. Well thats too damn bad. There is a cost for everything. They get away with this because they are at home and they think they are safe in their personal fortress of stupidity. Im betting they wouldnt steal a physical item for the same reason. Try and go and steal a handful of CDs from walmart. Im 100% sure you would be caught and prosecuted. Then spend 3-5 years of their life in prison because they were just being stupid. Its just not worth it.
When you steal digital material you rob inevitably everyone who actually paid for the product. You steal from so many ppl who really need that money to feed their families. You steal from future projects from the ppl who created the material being stolen. No one will put good money into a project that they are not going to make money on.
Think on this. You sit there and pirate a movie because you feel you shouldnt have to pay for it. Now lets switch this around. Someone else, with a better skill set then you, decides they dont feel like paying their rent. They decide to steal your identity. They empty your bank accounts, ruin your credit rating for the next 7 years. Right there lies the difference. To you its ok because its some nameless faceless giant corporation so screw them. To the person who has stolen your identity, its the same thing. Same computer, same results. Only difference is that those companies can eat that lose. You cant. So next time you want to pirate, ask yourself. Is it really worth it.

Not everyone in the industry can eat the loss, people get laid off, lowly factory workers get pay cuts. You are right it is just really easy to get away with. I know it is no excuse and I am completely wrong for pirating, understanding that, I will not pirate when I get a higher income. No I am not justifying anything.

@guest you don't have to neglect whats right because of is not expressly written in the law, I don't legally have to open the door for a stranger using crutches, but you know what I do

McNasty you know the gamble it is your choice to participate just like a casino, be glad you can resell it on ebay well if its not tied to origin\steam\battlenet. Either case you know the gamble no one forces you to buy anything. The lemon law is specific to cars for a reason.

p.s. you can always make a new account for each game, lame I know but that way you can resell it on ebay

 

[Guest]

No. I won't pay an outrageous pile of money to sign up for cable so that I can watch 1 show.

Call Comcast. I want to watch Game of Thrones!

Ok you will need this package. Quotes price. $$$$

Is that in hd? No you will need to add this much $$$

Does this service come with a dvr or any kind of time shifting??? No you will need to add this much more $$$

All to watch 1 show.

Until I can download individual episodes the same day they air or buy a season pass to a specific show.

I will continue to torrent the **** out of content.

Piracy is currently the only alternative I have.

Do I purchase and support the shows I love when they come out on Blu-ray?

Hell yes I do.

Tv show executives please come up with a business model that suits me the paying customer.

 

[treetops]

McNasty

Edison money hungry sob and made the light bulb and direct current!

Tesla not money hungry, pretty much sought knowledge for knowledge sake, but definitely appreciated monies uses, refined edison's direct current, created alternate current making electricity available across the world.

Both great men, 2 different motivations. Without both you would likely be still using candles.

Who cares if money was the motivation, sure one was more noble... just because others are motivated by money does not mean people like tesla cease to exist.

 

[Guest]

Not careless with my words at all.
Simple example. Your Metallica CD is on sale at WalMart for $9. You pass on that and instead illegally download it so you can have it for free.
That's theft.

Nope, never was theft, never will be. It is infringement of an artificial, government-granted monopoly.

 

[treetops]

Nope, never was theft, never will be. It is infringement of an artificial, government-granted monopoly.

How is it a monopoly? Monopolies are illegal. You mean the lobbily funded organized effort to pass bills to make priating illegal? Oil companies lobby should you steal from them? Should you keep stealing from a local oil refinery until they shut down because the people who run the company lobby? Do you care about people who lose their jobs?

The only morally viable argument for piracy could be that they get more sales through word of mouth but I bet that is highly unlikely and not our choice as a implementation to boost sales that is up to the company. You don't care that when you pirate a book people get lower pay that work for book printing companies or laid off or completely shut down? Its not rocket science more people would buy books if they were not available for free.

 

[Tygerstrike]

treetops
No matter how hard you try you will never change their mind. Only reality will do that. They need to be stolen from before they themselves will realize that they are thieves. No ifs ands or maybes. They dont see it beacuse of two reasons. 1. Its doesnt impact them directly so they feel its ok. 2. They choose to believe that they are not thieves but some form of freedom fighter. Sitting safely in their computer room whanking it whilst they press that torrent link. Guess what "freedom fighter", the only thing your freeing is the govt to eventually come arrest you. And before the ney sayers hop in and say it will never happen. Guess what it is already happening. Eventually, despite your thefts, the MPAA/RIAA will make it illegal and every bit that you have downloaded will be used against you. You are not smarter then them. If you were, you would be working for them. You may think you have the perfect defence against this but you would be incorrect. No matter how smart you think you are there is someone smarter then you working against you. In this case it will be the money thats smarter then you. They will Lobby and they will win. Maybe not this year maybe not in the next 5 years. But it will happen. So enjoy your petty theft while you can because eventually you will end up in some nice mid max prison sharing a cell with a gentleman that thinks you have some soft hands and a "purty mouth". While being pounded rudly in your backside, you will have the great honor of knowing that you could have stopped anytime, but didnt. That you could have been an advocate and kept others from the same fate. Enjoy your preperation H ppl you will have earned it.

 

[treetops]

treetops

No matter how hard you try you will never change their mind. Only reality will do that. They need to be stolen from before they themselves will realize that they are thieves. No ifs ands or maybes. They dont see it beacuse of two reasons. 1. Its doesnt impact them directly so they feel its ok. 2. They choose to believe that they are not thieves but some form of freedom fighter. Sitting safely in their computer room whanking it whilst they press that torrent link. Guess what "freedom fighter", the only thing your freeing is the govt to eventually come arrest you. And before the ney sayers hop in and say it will never happen. Guess what it is already happening. Eventually, despite your thefts, the MPAA/RIAA will make it illegal and every bit that you have downloaded will be used against you. You are not smarter then them. If you were, you would be working for them. You may think you have the perfect defence against this but you would be incorrect. No matter how smart you think you are there is someone smarter then you working against you. In this case it will be the money thats smarter then you. They will Lobby and they will win. Maybe not this year maybe not in the next 5 years. But it will happen. So enjoy your petty theft while you can because eventually you will end up in some nice mid max prison sharing a cell with a gentleman that thinks you have some soft hands and a "purty mouth". While being pounded rudly in your backside, you will have the great honor of knowing that you could have stopped anytime, but didnt. That you could have been an advocate and kept others from the same fate. Enjoy your preperation H ppl you will have earned it.

Look at porn sites, the future will be streamed pirated movies, they have been trying to stop copy righted porn forever. Of course those sites will have viruses just like most free porn sites.



I hope you don't think rape is a good part of our justice system.I doubt you do but this is the quazy internetz.
idk why I am taking everything seriously this morning

 

[Tygerstrike]

@Tree
Unfortunatly the days of a pretty much free internet are going to quickly come to a halt. The more piracy and money lost due to piracy, the more groups like MPAA/RIAA will Lobby. Their agenda is to clamp down on all copyright protected material. Yes their MAIN goal is to protect their ppl, but once rolling, we will see more and more material being covered. All it would take is literally enough ppl to STOP pirating so the issue dies down. Thats all really. Take a break from stealing for a few months. Let it drop to a blip on the news. Unless this happends, we WILL see more and more restrictions. We will see more and more of the lawsuits against regular ppl. Who by the way really cant afford a Lawyer in todays economy.
As for the jail comment, Im sorry I would feel no pity for them. If they got tossed into prison due to their inability to basically stop thieving. Its about a choice. If they chose to pirate then they can chose to accpet the consiquences. Eventually prison will be where they end up if they continue to pirate. Information is the "new" gold. And even giant multi billions corporations enjoy their gold.

 

[wiyosaya]

IMHO, the easy thing is to complain about the way things are; the harder thing is to suggest something different. I don't have any solutions, and I am not going to rant about how things are. I can see both sides of the argument.

I have, however, one disk recently that has none of the usual pirate warnings on. it I forget which one it is, and it is a legitimate disk. IMHO, this is great because then I am not treated like I am a criminal because I payed for the disk. In this respect, there is an old adage about the law - "ignorance is no excuse for the law." If the warning were not present on any legitimate commercial disk, and if someone who bought that disk then pirated it and got caught, the lack of a warning on the disk would be no excuse for that person.