Posted on Aug 11, 2014
Do you think it's OK to download free music, videos, and applications?
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Yes, they're out there. From youtube-mp3.org, to Bittorrent, Limewire, etc...
I'm not asking for confessions or if you're doing it (for the sake of not self-incriminating), just points of view. If the means are out there, do you think it's OK or not?
Bits of history: Napster used to be an innocent freeware back in the early 00's when people casually exchanged music and videos. Entertainment industry started taking a big hit on its pockets and started crying to congress for help. The congress in return deemed Napster no longer at liberty to share its music or videos for free. Is it just me then or money does talk?
I'm not asking for confessions or if you're doing it (for the sake of not self-incriminating), just points of view. If the means are out there, do you think it's OK or not?
Bits of history: Napster used to be an innocent freeware back in the early 00's when people casually exchanged music and videos. Entertainment industry started taking a big hit on its pockets and started crying to congress for help. The congress in return deemed Napster no longer at liberty to share its music or videos for free. Is it just me then or money does talk?
Posted in these groups: 
Music
Music
Posted 10 y ago
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I know damn well what the right answer is, that it's not OK to pirate, but there are certain completely theoretical scenarios that I could foresee myself possibly giving the industry the middle finger and pirating anyway.
1) Price gouging. When publishers charge over $250 for a complete TV series collection, especially series that have been off the air for some time and do not merit premium pricing, then alternative methods of gaining said content might become worthy of consideration.
2) Publishers taking forever to localize. Foreign media can take a while to localize to an English dubbed format, I get that, but when that time frame starts stretching into years post initial release I might become more understanding to the idea of pirating a copy with english subtitles.
3) Fear of censorship. Having a digital archive of media that is deemed controversial or no longer in circulation for various reasons is a means of preserving that media.
4) As a deployed soldier how else are we going to watch media? Most of my buddies took a laptop and an external hard drive chock full of illegal goodies so that they could have some entertainment during their year+ away from the states. It's not like they could just meander over to a nearby video rental place.
I could keep going, but the point is this. It's illegal to steal, I don't think anyone is disputing that. At the same time there's only so many means of thumbing our noses at blatantly anti consumer practices that publishers and other media related companies take part in.
1) Price gouging. When publishers charge over $250 for a complete TV series collection, especially series that have been off the air for some time and do not merit premium pricing, then alternative methods of gaining said content might become worthy of consideration.
2) Publishers taking forever to localize. Foreign media can take a while to localize to an English dubbed format, I get that, but when that time frame starts stretching into years post initial release I might become more understanding to the idea of pirating a copy with english subtitles.
3) Fear of censorship. Having a digital archive of media that is deemed controversial or no longer in circulation for various reasons is a means of preserving that media.
4) As a deployed soldier how else are we going to watch media? Most of my buddies took a laptop and an external hard drive chock full of illegal goodies so that they could have some entertainment during their year+ away from the states. It's not like they could just meander over to a nearby video rental place.
I could keep going, but the point is this. It's illegal to steal, I don't think anyone is disputing that. At the same time there's only so many means of thumbing our noses at blatantly anti consumer practices that publishers and other media related companies take part in.
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PO1 (Join to see)
So I concur with you, stealing is wrong of course. What about downloading a personal copy of something? I mean, the original actor still has his/her works of course. You're just making a copy for personal entertainment without profiting. Do you still consider it a taboo?
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SFC (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see), I'm glad you found a way to justify theft. So by your logic, if I was selling a bicycle for way more than you thought it was worth, but you really wanted the bike, you can now steal it. Do I have that right?
If a publisher was selling a TV series for $250 and that was over priced, then I guess you don't get that TV series. You're not entitled to it.
As a deployed soldier watching movies and TV is a luxury soldiers of past wars didn't have. Let's call off the war. My hard drive with all the movies crashed.
If a publisher was selling a TV series for $250 and that was over priced, then I guess you don't get that TV series. You're not entitled to it.
As a deployed soldier watching movies and TV is a luxury soldiers of past wars didn't have. Let's call off the war. My hard drive with all the movies crashed.
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What I always thought was funny: In the Navy on deployment they would tell us not to buy pirated movies, music, etc. BUT the ship would always have merchants on the pier or close by (who were officially approved to be there) selling these "prohibited" items.
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PO1 (Join to see)
I guess it comes down to being aware either by training/education or common sense whether something is prohibited or not. Frankly I DON'T support illegal distribution of ANY music/movie/software for profit. It's the free-sharing that becomes kind of gray. Thank you for your input.
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PO1 (Join to see)
So do you think it's stealing? Even though you're making a mere copy of the product for personal enjoyment without physically 'stealing' and depriving the company of its possession?
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PO1 John Miller
I would buy these pirated movies, as would a lot of people. I'm not justifying it, I'm just saying what happened.
But do I think what I did was stealing? Perhaps. But who was more guilty? Me for buying a pirated movie or the person whom I obught it from or the person who made the illegal copy in the first place?
That's where it starts becoming a little grey.
But do I think what I did was stealing? Perhaps. But who was more guilty? Me for buying a pirated movie or the person whom I obught it from or the person who made the illegal copy in the first place?
That's where it starts becoming a little grey.
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Quite simply, no, it's not ok. If you provided a product which someone else acquired (lets say legally) and then began to distribute that same product free of charge with no money returned to you, would this be ok with you? You would, in essence, then only be able to sell one copy of whatever you produce and it would then be available free to everyone else. How long would you continue to produce anything new? This applies to music, movies, software, etc. It's called piracy.
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