My life as an ex computer pirate

theyd blatantly been watching him for a while etc , watching his net activity , maybe watching his house if thats where he was "dealing" from

i imagine if they had of found more stuff then you could have went to jail for a bit ?

very lucky :)
 
QABoy said:
To be honest I was relieved that it happened. For the previous four years I'd been in a trap I couldn't get out of. People relied on me for their stuff and of course greed also played a part. Taking away my PC was the least of my worries and I didn't want to argue the point. I've got on fine without a PC even though the laptops are on broadband upstairs and the wife does all her internetting on them.
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So you didnt contest it even though you could have ?

Makes sense if you just wanted it to end, but didn't feel like in control enough to stop it yourself.
 
LordSplodge said:
Doesn't matter how much in the wrong he was. The law had no real evidence and if it was me I'd have been to my lawyer faster than you can say "ahoy me harties"
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I'm just speculating. I don't know the particular case.

I'm assuming there must have been enough evidence for the OP to receive the punishment he did.

My point is that, if I were the OP I doubt I'd try and debate the punishment, no matter how flimsy the 'evidence' used to come to that decision. I'd know that I was in the wrong and I'd just count myself lucky to get away with such a small punishment and so I'd just want nothing more to do with it.

/edit - seems like the OP felt the same. Just was glad to get it over and done with.
 
maybe i am wrong here,but i was told you can keep software on your comp
for 24 hours unless its trail software..

so i cant understand why they took your pc and stuff.
but there again,they could have gone to your ISP and see what you have downloaded for the last 5 years..mmm
 
div0 said:
My point is that, if I were the OP I doubt I'd try and debate the punishment, no matter how flimsy the 'evidence' used to come to that decision. I'd know that I was in the wrong and I'd just count myself lucky to get away with such a small punishment and so I'd just want nothing more to do with it.

/edit - seems like the OP felt the same. Just was glad to get it over and done with.
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In that case you could have stopped it ... And got a lighter sentence. Don't see the need to accept longer sentences if the evidence to support it wasn't there.
 
Sinizterguy said:
If they found no money, no pirated goods, and no unmatched finances why were you charged and banned from owning computers?

Surely owning CD duplicating towers is not a crime.
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I think they can do you for being equipped to commit an offense, well thats the case for known burglers. I'm guessing the OP didn't have a valid legit reason that would stand up in court for the equipment.
 
deuse said:
maybe i am wrong here,but i was told you can keep software on your comp
for 24 hours unless its trail software..

so i cant understand why they took your pc and stuff.
but there again,they could have gone to your ISP and see what you have downloaded for the last 5 years..mmm
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tis a myth i think.
 
Robbie G said:
Well I hope your opinion is extremely humble because that is absolute garbage.
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Why is it?
In most cases when it comes to piracy those same people who are making a profit from pirate software and DVD's are also making money from drugs, prostitution and other illegal activities.

The pirate software pusher himself may not be pushing drugs around, however the person he is pushing the software around for or gets his stuff from is quite likely to be doing so.
Despite what a lot of people think, a lot of the people selling pirate software & DVD's at the market etc aren't neccessarily the ones with the intelligence to be doing the actual piracy.

Piracy is no less victimless than shoplifting.
However we very rarely see people on these forums write:
Yer, I just "Acquired" a new 8800GTX *Wink* as if it was big and clever.
Only difference is one activity your unlikely to be caught, the other you probably would be...
 
Fraggr said:
Not really tbh, drugs can actually kill people, whereas listening to music, or watching a film can't.
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i take it you haven't heard paris hiltons musical efforts...

:p
 
cheets64 said:
Some people see it as a harmless money earner but its up there with drug dealing imho.
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"Oh no, another software overdose"
"Officer I just got mugged by pirate software addict"
"Several dead as software smugglers shoot up airport"
"Boy stabbed in pirate software related incident"

See my point?
 
Sinizterguy said:
In that case you could have stopped it ... And got a lighter sentence. Don't see the need to accept longer sentences if the evidence to support it wasn't there.
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The OP obviously felt he could take the punishment on the chin, and learn from his mistakes. All I'm saying is that I think that I'd feel the same if I were in the same situation.

I'm not saying that you personally would be wrong to challenge the decision - as I've already stated that I don't know all the facts of the case. But surely you're not trying to argue against other people just taking the relatively small punishment on the chin, learning their lesson and moving on with their life?
 
Sinizterguy said:
Don't see the need to accept longer sentences if the evidence to support it wasn't there.
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my gues is that the evidence was there somewhere, but it hadn't been found.

im trying to think that if it was me and i knew i had only just escaped it, i wouldn't then argue against it even though i was wrong, as they may end up finding even more evidence to go against me and make it worse
 
If the police took my laptop away right now I'd be screwed. I don't have any pirate software, but the amount of Lost episodes and others isn't funny.
 
div0 said:
I'm just speculating.

My point is that, if I were the OP I doubt I'd try and debate the punishment, no matter how flimsy the 'evidence' used to come to that decision. I'd know that I was in the wrong and I'd just count myself lucky to get away with such a small punishment and so I'd just want nothing more to do with it.
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Although we don't have the full facts from what we have been told by the OP the only evidence was some duplicating towers (perfectly legal) and the fact that his, and his spouses bank statements didn't quite match up (again, legal as far as I can tell) - yet he chose to let them ban him from a computer for five years without even trying to contest what is a very flimsy charge?

Sorry it's not what I would have done, unless the body of evidence is overwhelming then a fight is in order. Innocent until proven guilty, right?

What is with the major offensive on IP/Copyright infringement? Yes it is a crime, but I think the police should be more concerned with solving serious/violent crime rather than worrying about a few artists/software devs/movie execs losing a few quid. I know a lot of the law makers in America are in the media's back pocket, are we going this way to?

Welcome to the Free World as run by the BPI/MPAA/RIAA whatever :rolleyes:
 
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