Poll: Piracy and you?

[thevet]

anybody who has been playing games for the last 25 years will know that piracy has always been around and is here to stay.I have seen many many methods over the years to combat piracy...all have failed...cracking groups like SKIDROW and RAZOR have been around since the c64 days and are still around now cracking games like MW2,GTA4,Borderlands,Dragon age etc...its not gonna go away,get used to it,cracking games is a personal thing,the company against the cracker,i have read many many interviews in the past with Hacking groups who confirm this is one of the big reasons why they do it.

Do i pirate games?NO of course not..although some games like borderlands derserve to be pirated cause they are poor value for money

 

[ticklemebougy]

i only really download movies, i used to torrent almost everything but now i stream american tv shows and i dont listen to that much music so i dont download albums anymore. i used to download games but i realized they run horribly and its a lot less hassle to buy the game.so now really the only pirating i do is watching stuff online.

 

[fendi]

Glad external 2tb's are now sub 130 . But yeah.. I buy

 

[mrk]

When you can download a whole GB in just a few minutes, how can you contain yourself from doing such things

 

[stoofa]

So from my whole post, that's all you got from it?

Funny how you've just dismissed the references to "occasional speeding" isn't it?

The simple fact of it is that people actually have a CHOICE about purchasing content.

People now have the option to get the stuff for free, so there is actually a CHOICE, this is what the "piracy is theft" people don't understand.

If there was no way to download stuff for free, then the only option to get it for free would be theft, but that's not the case.

I now have a choice, do I want to pay for something? Is it worth it to me?

I can, and do get things for free, as do a lot of other people.

You can't say "you shouldn't do that" as it's very accessible, easy to do and practically given to you on a silver platter, hurts no one (despite what they would have you believe) and benefits everyone involved.

I then have the luxury of CHOOSING if I think it's worth my money.

Like it or not, but this is how it works for a lot of people.

So because people illegally place things up for download you feel this just offers you a "choice" and isn't theft at all?
You are simply attempting to justify the non-Justifiable.
Downloading for free is only a choice because people are breaking the law by giving you this "choice".

The bottom line is that if most people actually felt they could get caught they wouldn't be doing it.
You pirate because the chances of being caught are next to nothing.
We can only hope a few of these cases do make it to court and people get some amazing fnes.
Then maybe, once there is risk involved, piracy will die down a bit.

Very few people walk into a shop and steal the latest graphics card (it's a choice remember).
Because there is a good chance of being stopped.

 

[V4NT0M]

Yes I do it often (Serial copyright infringer)
I do it, but also purchase legit copies

I don't see how those two are mutually exclusive.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I answered the poll as:

I do it very occaisionally (i.e. a handful of times), but generally purchase copies.

I remember downloading a copy of Hitman:Blood Money when it came out. Really naughty of me and the feeling of guilt made me purchase it on Steam!

Also I've downloaded Need for Speed: Carbon, and a couple of music albums.

Apart from that I haven't downloaded anything for a very, very long time. I'm not sure of the statistics on being caught by your isp or the authorities, but it's just the thought that someone may catch me doing these things, that I stopped years ago.

Can safely say that I've now not got a single piece of media or entertainment in my possession that I have not paid for in full.

 

[snowdog]

i used to download games but i realized they run horribly and its a lot less hassle to buy the game

 

[mrk]

--"I don't see how those two are mutually exclusive."

I understand it just fine

I buy big stuff, Windows for example, I know I will make ample use of it, it will be with me for many years etc and I am happy to pay for it. Like Vista which cost £115 or 7 which was free (after buying 3 copies and selling 2 ).

I also buy games that I know I will play regularly or will enjoy after trying a demo if it's single player only.

If a developer doesn't release a demo before the game retails then I may well download it because what other option do you have to try it? PC games cannot be returned to the shops like console games can.

Movies are a different matter, I will go to the cinema to watch films but I'll only on rare occasions buy a DVD/set etc simply due to the fact that they are unreasonably expensive for what you get content wise on most DVDs.

The same goes for music. Out of a 19 song album only 10 songs will usually be good (example) so the £17 odd the album costs is not worth it at all so online music services work out a much better option.

I never buy TV show sets or anything like that. They are free to air so should remain that way online which is why I watch them on Hulu and such sites mostly.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I think he may mean in terms of timeframe perhaps?

If it wasn't for Steam keeping my games up to date for me I'd much rather go to a shop and buy the physical media than have to wait 4-5 hours on my 4MB line to download an average sized modern game.

 

[.one.]

I know it's wrong but i like it.

 

[Chronictank]

If you download a tv series. it is still piracy unless you watch it from a legitimate source (e.g. BBC iplayer, 4od and so on). It is not 'free', it is paid for by the tv stations and usually comes out on dvd later if it is popular.
Edit: cheating the region checks also counts as piracy

If you download a movie... it is still piracy regardless how ridiculous the price or bad it is

Anime fansubs are also piracy, regardless if they aren't released in the UK (or as with most popular series months/years late)

Expensive apps like photoshop, AutoCAD etc.. still piracy regardless how ridiculous the liscences are

The free porn you watch/download from certain websites.. yep same thing

Music (even though you get better quality rips from dodgey sources, lossless vs 192Kb/s etc..), same thing

If there is absolutely no justification for pirating computer games, then there is none for any of the other piracy

/pushes a few people off their high horses

Though if they spent less money on fighting piracy then they would be able to sell the games cheaper and more people would be likely to buy rather than download .
Who could really be bothered to download it from a dodgey source if it was say £5 anyway? ><
Just look at gog.com, they are making a killing from games very widely available through not so desirable means

 

[kylew]

So because people illegally place things up for download you feel this just offers you a "choice" and isn't theft at all?

I don't feel that it offers me a choice, it DOES offer me a choice, fact. A choice is a choice whether it's morally right or wrong.

You are simply attempting to justify the non-Justifiable.

The same way that piracy isn't theft, it's piracy, and no matter what people like you say, it's not going to change it?

Downloading for free is only a choice because people are breaking the law by giving you this "choice".

It's still a choice, and boo hoo, breaking the law. For such an important law, there sure is a huge lack of "come back" for those who break it.

It seems to be "illegal" for the sake of it.

The bottom line is that if most people actually felt they could get caught they wouldn't be doing it.

That's not the bottom line, not at all. Most people wouldn't do it if they got caught, isn't that common sense? If no one got caught for speeding, do you think the amount of people who speed on the road would increase or decrease?

Being told something is bad and wrong doesn't stop being from doing it, if they wish to. Risk of punishment does.

You pirate because the chances of being caught are next to nothing.

Sure, that's the only reason...

We can only hope a few of these cases do make it to court and people get some amazing fines.

We? Speak for yourself there, but I would suspect that 95% of people would laugh at you for that. Shouldn't the courts be spending their time on far more serious cases? Piracy isn't a serious issue, it never will be.

Then maybe, once there is risk involved, piracy will die down a bit.

Do you know why piracy is so common? Obviously you don't.

Very few people walk into a shop and steal the latest graphics card (it's a choice remember).
Because there is a good chance of being stopped.

That would be because it's theft.

What if I invented a machine that clones things and I made a perfect clone of my friend's new 5970? Is that theft? Yeah right, sure it is.

You "piracy is theft" crowd purposefully ignore the huge distinction between piracy and theft.

Piracy, copies with no permanent deprivation of property.

Theft, permanent deprivation of property while other party gains.

Hang on, if piracy is theft, then isn't theft piracy? Surely it should work both ways, according to your "special" logic?

How about all forms of assault now get called "attempted murder"? That'd be about right according to your logic.

Really stoofa, no one values your input on such discussions, you never debate, you just try to enforce your ideals on people.

Your "input" isn't wanted to be frank, and I wouldn't be surprised of you're on a lot of people's ignore lists.

Why do so few people respond to you?

I suspect "they can't see your posts" and "your opinion isn't valued" would occur many times.

 

[NotAGolf]

Out of interest, how do they know what content is copyrighted and what isn't?

I have used torrents and rapidshare to share music/videos with my friends. This is all legal stuff, but how do they know that?

 

[godinman]

Can't see this being a long running thread?

Lol, don't know if someones done this yet but I found it amusing.

 

[tuffty747]

I used to when I was younger, a lot, but I then grew up a bit, got a job, and have started buying physical copies. It was only ever music I downloaded, but don't do it any more, think I've begun to appreciate the importance to bands of buying their music, after becoming a musician myself.
Plus, it's much cooler to have a collection of CD's

 

[HumbleCoder]

There is not really an option here for me. I'm a reformed pirate but only because services have appeared that take away my need to 'steal' content from the internet.

I don't download music any more because between Last.FM and Spotify I can listen to everything I want to.

I don't download games because I'm a console gamer and modifying/copying games is too much hassle and you can get games cheaply enough if you're prepared to wait a few months.

I don't pirate films since joining LoveFilm

I don't download TV episodes because I only did it for convenience and with online players and TV media centres I don't have any need to.

For me, at least, it has always been about convenience and ease of use. The legit world is finally catching up.

 

[moon man]

used to do it i.e buying a 3 quid screener every week plus top 40 albums on mp3(wouldnt insult my ultrasones with 128kbps mp3s now). buy cds now but mmmm when i think about it im supposed to wipe the music of my player when i sell the cd arnt i ? does anybody do this?

 

[Tefal]

used to do it i.e buying a 3 quid screener every week plus top 40 albums on mp3(wouldnt insult my ultrasones with 128kbps mp3s now). buy cds now but mmmm when i think about it im supposed to wipe the music of my player when i sell the cd arnt i ? does anybody do this?

iirc the riaa (and the uk equivalent that tried to sue quick fit for using the radio) argued that if you copy it to your pc then to your mp3 player you're a pirate as you're only entitled to one digital copy as a "back up" under fair use or some crap

 

[ashrobbo]

think I've begun to appreciate the importance to bands of buying their music, after becoming a musician myself.

Artist name plz? So I can go dl your tracks.

Plus, it's much cooler to have a collection of CD's

That's what your CDRW/DVDRW is there for.

And I think I pay for it by paying my internet bills, anything accessible on the net is part of the deal . So to me it's all above board. Though honestly, most of the technology illiterate people think this way. Also poll results are great, knowing that 75%+ of the net do it, they'll sure have a hard time putting restrictions(3 strikes you're out) in place.

I can see new ISPs emerging if the current ISPs abide by the new laws and not continue fighting it. And a LOT of switching going on. Can't wait!