6 ms·

The Coast Guard is your ally, along with the Navy. Talk to your insurance company; they have lots of experience (or else you picked the wrong one.) Oh, are you

by dsr_ 9y ago

The Coast Guard is your ally, along with the Navy. Talk to your insurance company; they have lots of experience (or else you picked the wrong one.) Oh, are you equating copyright violation with major theft, murder and associated felonies so heinous that there is actually a separate body of international law to address it? Please don't do that. Unless you are already a market leader, copyright violation is largely equivalent to an unpaid, unauthorized marketing issue. Your problem is to convert those non-paying users into paying users. Policy: 1. Make it so inconvenient to use your software without paying for it that they decide to pay you. This is the "stick" option: you hit them with a stick until they either go away or pay. 2. Make it so easy and useful to pay for your software that they decide to pay you. This is the "carrot" option: you dangle something good in front of them until they willingly walk towards it. Every method falls into one of those two policy groups. Think about which policy you want to use before you start making changes. If you decide to make your software open source, you are likely to stop making money at it by selling it. However, you can still make money by consulting -- you are the world's foremost expert on this software, after all.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jameskegel 9y ago
Although I suspect the votes won't reflect, I enjoyed your first paragraphs with the piracy false equivalency argument
ttoinou 9y ago
I don't understand the irony. I've already said I don't care about piracy in itself and that I am a huge pirate myself.
- dsr_ 9y ago
  It's not irony, it's naming. If you name copyright violation as piracy, you associate murder and theft and rape and kidnapping with unauthorized copying. Don't be a pirate. If you have to be, be an unauthorized copier. In the meantime, think about whether you want to use carrot strategies or stick strategies.
  - ttoinou 9y ago
    If you name copyright violation as piracy We pirates embrace that term, don't we ? Sorry if that word originally conveys the violence associated with theses marginals groups
  - eCa 9y ago
    > If you name copyright violation as piracy [...] I think that ship has sailed.
    - xiaoma 9y ago
      I'm not going to use a term the MPAA/RIAA co-opted and pushed into our language, despite the success of their marketing efforts over the last few decades. If you want to equate murder, rape and plundering from and often enslaving strangers with the concept of unauthorized copying, then that's your prerogative. I won't judge, but I'll still call it either unauthorized copying or just sharing.
      - eCa 9y ago
        > If you want to equate murder, rape and plundering from and often enslaving strangers with the concept of unauthorized copying, then that's your prerogative. I certainly don't equate those things. But words have different meanings in different contexts. One of my favourite games from way back when was Sid Meier's Pirates!, so I might be coloured by that. And yes, it was pirated.
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
> Oh, are you equating copyright violation with major theft, murder and associated felonies so heinous that there is actually a separate body of international law to address it? Please don't do that. The term "software pirate" was invented by software pirates.
- Torwald 9y ago
  That does not matter, still conveys the negative things the grandparent doesn't want to have conveyed.
bitwize 9y ago
"Piracy" has meant "doing something without license or authorization" since at least the days of "pirate radio" going back to the early 20th century. And why not a carrot AND stick? Think Steam DRM. Unobtrusive to legitimate users but slows down casual pirates. And is linked to an easy way to pay for the software.
vacri 9y ago
> Oh, are you equating copyright violation with major theft, murder and associated felonies so heinous that there is actually a separate body of international law to address it? Please don't do that. And java shouldn't be called java, because it's not an island; and cache shouldn't be called cache, because it's not a hidden collection of supplies; and a mouse shouldn't be called a mouse because it's not a small rodent; and bluetooth shouldn't be called bluetooth, because it's not a discoloured tooth... The battle over the 'real meaning of the word 'piracy'' was lost a very long time ago.

by dsr_ 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

jameskegel 9y ago

Although I suspect the votes won't reflect, I enjoyed your first paragraphs with the piracy false equivalency argument

ttoinou 9y ago

I don't understand the irony. I've already said I don't care about piracy in itself and that I am a huge pirate myself.

dsr_ 9y ago
It's not irony, it's naming. If you name copyright violation as piracy, you associate murder and theft and rape and kidnapping with unauthorized copying. Don't be a pirate. If you have to be, be an unauthorized copier. In the meantime, think about whether you want to use carrot strategies or stick strategies.
- ttoinou 9y ago
  If you name copyright violation as piracy We pirates embrace that term, don't we ? Sorry if that word originally conveys the violence associated with theses marginals groups
- eCa 9y ago
  > If you name copyright violation as piracy [...] I think that ship has sailed.
  - xiaoma 9y ago
    I'm not going to use a term the MPAA/RIAA co-opted and pushed into our language, despite the success of their marketing efforts over the last few decades. If you want to equate murder, rape and plundering from and often enslaving strangers with the concept of unauthorized copying, then that's your prerogative. I won't judge, but I'll still call it either unauthorized copying or just sharing.
    - eCa 9y ago
      > If you want to equate murder, rape and plundering from and often enslaving strangers with the concept of unauthorized copying, then that's your prerogative. I certainly don't equate those things. But words have different meanings in different contexts. One of my favourite games from way back when was Sid Meier's Pirates!, so I might be coloured by that. And yes, it was pirated.

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

Torwald 9y ago
That does not matter, still conveys the negative things the grandparent doesn't want to have conveyed.

bitwize 9y ago

"Piracy" has meant "doing something without license or authorization" since at least the days of "pirate radio" going back to the early 20th century. And why not a carrot AND stick? Think Steam DRM. Unobtrusive to legitimate users but slows down casual pirates. And is linked to an easy way to pay for the software.

vacri 9y ago

> Oh, are you equating copyright violation with major theft, murder and associated felonies so heinous that there is actually a separate body of international law to address it? Please don't do that. And java shouldn't be called java, because it's not an island; and cache shouldn't be called cache, because it's not a hidden collection of supplies; and a mouse shouldn't be called a mouse because it's not a small rodent; and bluetooth shouldn't be called bluetooth, because it's not a discoloured tooth... The battle over the 'real meaning of the word 'piracy'' was lost a very long time ago.