What do you think about piracy? - I'd see no problem with it depending on the source.

[Gromitandwallace]

I'd think piracy should not be persecuted on the belief that what is being shared is merely a digital copy. In that line of thinking, there's not a problem with it since it's just sharing of a copy so it should not constitute as theft. It is like if I buy a game online and manage to hack past the drm and distribute it among my friends. I did not steal or rob anything so I don't see why it's necessarily bad by itself. In this logic, it would not be bad if someone were to pirate my work since they would be doing as I would to them in this situation, and to be honest, I don't see much of a problem with it. I think artistry can be born out of hard work and through suffering, but they can still live through donations and from good will. Back in Europe, artists typically starved and had to live by what they had. The rich artists were employed through patronage. I do think a evolved version of this system would work, and a higher quality of work would emerge or at least be very different. But I do see problems with it. What do you think? I'm aware kiwis are very differing in this topic as there are many shades of grey to be discussed so I do think it could warrant discussion.

If you're going to say all piracy is morally wrong, answer this one question first, do you pirate your porn?
Remember, discuss without turning it into a war. It shouldn't be a good idea to just lump it al(or most) of it into one group without saying why.

 

[Rand /pol/]

Literally nothing wrong with piracy only soy filled bitch niggas disagree with me.

 

[Flake452]

It is stealing, and creators should have the ability to profit from something they created. You can own land you didn't create so should be able to own something you did. That being said I watch stuff online illegally all the time and don't feel bad about it. I support their rights even though I infringe them.

 

[Recoil]

It's necessary when companies don't support older titles or make them available, or when licensing bullshit keeps something out of the stores or out of re-release.

 

[Lone MacReady]

Piracy is great, what better way to vet a product than to try it for yourself first. If it's good and you're not a complete cunt you will support the official release. If you didn't like the experience then fuck them you were never gonna become a fan anyway.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

I pay for Sam Hyde’s videos, and I’ll Patreon support creators I like (Dick Masterson, Whang, etc), but I’ll pirate mainstream shit all day long.

 

[Colmerry]

I don't see it as stealing. It's like when you use an adblocker, the advertiser doesn't lose or gain money; and when you download digital files, the IP owner doesn't lose or gain money.

It's not like you're stealing a physical copy of something that costed money to manufacture.

 

[Damn Near]

I hate paying for shit content, so I'm firmly in favor of it

 

[MasterDisaster]

I advocate the piracy of movies because if a movie costs 100 million to make and makes 500 million in the box office and another 600 million overseas they don't need my twenty bucks for a bluray.

I don't pirate games. Those guys work hard.

 

[Recoil]

I'm a big opponent of the way copyright is enforced in music, it completely cripples sample based artists from reaching their potential and it's fucked that we'd only ever have a group like the Avalanches (3500+ samples in one record) come out of Australia on account of how copyright law functioned there at the time of recording.

Sampling the record crackling before the song even starts is - legally - an act of piracy. That sound belongs to the record company, because it's on their record. Don't even get me started on Paul McCartney, who's been making a fucking fortune off of buying up rights to thousands of songs solely to license the recordings.

That's awful. That's not why copyright was created. That's not perpetuating creativity. That's also the law of the land. Make your choice.

 

[MuuMuu Bunnylips]

I'm just there for the raping. The other guys can do the pillaging.

 

[RG 448]

Meh, sometimes it’s the only way to get your hands on something. Mostly though I prefer to financially support the shit I’m into.

 

[Gordon Cole]

I'm all for it, it just depends on the medium:

Movie: Delete it afterwards or buy the blu-ray if you really like it if it's still in circulation, keep it if it isn't.
Music: Keep it, but buy a shirt/record/concert ticket if you really like them.
Vidya: If the publisher doesn't give a shit about keeping it in circulation, then why should I respect them when they also say not to pirate it? (This doesn't apply to games in circulation.)

 

[Exsosym]

If the creator sells for fiat: fuck him for supporting the tax system.
If the creator sells for crypto: based, buy, support.

 

[Crichax]

i dont care about piracy but the chart you posted is laughable

What's the point of bringing up a chart like that in a piracy discussion? Also, Warren needs to be moved waaaaay to the left.

 

[Gromitandwallace]

What's the point of bringing up a chart like that in a piracy discussion? Also, Warren needs to be moved waaaaay to the left.

It's supposed to show people being partisan can lead to them showing the world in a more biased manner. I want a fair and a more open-ended discussion even if it does prove to be hard.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I have this autistic fascination with cartoons, especially obscure ones. And piracy does come up quite a bit in this hobby.
For example, Hulu has Daria, but they don't have Daria with the original music. So, barring finding someone who taped the original airings, piracy is the most feasible way to get the original show.
Some shows don't get Hulu or Netflix, so you go look for the DVDs. But some shows don't get DVDs. Sometimes, there is no feasible way to pay money for the show you want. If there is no way to pay, is it really morally wrong to pirate something?
The argument against that, however, is that when people IRL can't buy something, they just don't have it. That entertainment is not like food, and is not required for living. And that's true, I don't need to watch cartoons to survive.
But, does that hold true in the age of the Internet, where you can just send money and files as you please with minimal effort? It comes down to copywrite, and thanks to Disney it's bullshit. We have situations where a company that's been dead for a decade holds the rights to things no one is able to legally sell.
So, I don't think it's morally wrong to pirate something if that's the only way, but at least make an effort to pay the original creators if you can.

 

[UnclePhil]

My decision whether to pirate is based on three criteria:

1. Is it in print or otherwise available for purchase in my country?
2. Did the fans provide a better version than what the IP owner has made legally available? (the Despecialized Star Wars versions, King Turd's Beavis and Butt-Head edits)
3. Is the alternative paying hundreds of dollars on eBay for it?

On rarer occasions:

4. Are the streaming services I subscribe to not providing it, and do I have to shell out extra fun budget money because it is behind some studio's paywall now?

Sometimes I am less scrupulous and just grab the torrent. "Try before you buy."

 

[ThinkThankThunk]

I'm a cheap asshole, so I pirate a ton. The exception is unless it's vidya that has a multiplayer mode I want to play, or if something gets a suitably fancy physical release. The funny thing is that I still spend the same amount on shit now as I used to before I began pirating stuff, it's just that I spend more on the few things I genuinely care about supporting as opposed to spending a little bit on everything.

 

[Easterling]

I watch TV shows on putlockers but i'll buy used dvds for movies I know are good because im a collector and they're extremely fucking cheap. But overall I pirate shit/ watch it online because I know the industry will survive because there are plenty of faggots that care about supporting corporations like netflix and amazon, the very same faggots that watched avengers endgame multiple times so beat Avatar in box office. The only example of piracy being a major issue for a film production was for the youtuber KSI and his god awful comedy "laid in America".