3 ms·

Many people I know have always pirated software and TV and said once there was a reasonable way to get it legally they would pay for it. I haven't seen this be

Many people I know have always pirated software and TV and said once there was a reasonable way to get it legally they would pay for it. I haven't seen this be the case. I don't think you can convert pirates. It is possible however to convert legal users to pirates by having systems that annoy people who have legally purchased. I don't know how you strike the balance. I hate the entitlement of people who pirate stuff, if it's not legally available in your area that's a shame but it doesn't give you a right to it.

ilogik 9y ago
I used to be like that in high school, college. Everybody did it. Now? I've been paying for Google play music and Netflix since they've been available in my country. I pay for my IDE I have a steam library so large that I'll never be able to play everything
aerovistae 9y ago
Speaking as a prolific pirate, I currently pay for Spotify because it's just so convenient. I currently pay for HBO Now because I don't want to wait an extra hour to watch Game of Thrones. I pay for games on Steam, but I still pirate most major creative software like Adobe, Windows Office, or DAWs and their plugins...I just have absolutely zero incentive to do otherwise. And before anyone guilt trips me on morality, please stop to carefully think through why you believe sharing digital files is stealing but borrowing a book from a library or buying a used video game or movie is not. None of those things give ANY proceeds to the authors or creators, either, and the authors have no choice in that matter either. Yet society deems that arbitrarily acceptable.
- ttoinou 9y ago
  but I still pirate most major creative software But do you make money out of this activity ? Yet society deems that arbitrarily acceptable Well it feels like society is OK with pirated content, no ? I only know 1 person in my environment that attacks me about it.
  - aerovistae 9y ago
    I do not make any money off of it, no. And now that I think about it I actually did buy a used license for Word, which doesn't give any money to Microsoft, but which is again arbitrarily considered moral. As for society being ok, yes and no. Nobody attacks me about it but I know plennnnnty of people who will refuse to budge on the idea that it's immoral and wrong.
- JamesBaxter 9y ago
  That makes 0 sense to me. Presumably an author can pick a publisher that does or doesn't distribute to libraries. Even then a library is still buying at least one book if not multiple. If a creator stopped making software you pirated because it wasn't sustainable would you feel guilt?
  - aerovistae 9y ago
    > Even then a library is still buying at least one book if not multiple. And someone originally bought the pirated software, too, which they then went on to share with others....just like a library. So what, again, is the difference? No, of course I wouldn't feel guilt. Do you feel guilt when you buy things secondhand or borrow books from libraries? You're not benefiting the creator and you're shortchanging the creator of the cost of purchase because you don't want to pay full price for a new copy. What's the difference? > Presumably an author can pick a publisher that does or doesn't distribute to libraries. As if a library is legally required to only carry books with the publisher's permission?
    - JamesBaxter 9y ago
      I would imagine a lot of pirated software is taken from versions stolen from creators so there was no original purchase. Also buying second hand is completely different as one second hand DVD can't be shared amongst millions of people. It's a completely different scale... Was also interested to read about the PLR https://www.plr.uk.com/allAboutPlr/whatIsPlr.htm https://www.plr.uk.com/allAboutPlr/whatIsPlr.htm
      - SyneRyder 9y ago
        > I would imagine a lot of pirated software is taken from versions stolen from creators I can confirm this. One of the 'cracks' for one of my programs was a license code obtained by someone using a stolen credit card. No attempt to actually crack & keygen the software. And there's genuine theft there, as payment processors keep the transaction fee after the refund, and there's a $25 penalty fine for a chargeback. Plus the owner of the credit card temporarily gets their card locked until it's replaced, etc. So if you've ever used warez from Team OXiDE, keep in mind that some of that software was obtained via actual fraud. > Was also interested to read about the PLR To save people a click: "Public Lending Right (PLR) is the right for authors to receive payment for the loans of their books by public libraries." Australia has a similar Public Lending Right as well. In return for allowing their books to be available in libraries, authors receive a subscription payment from those libraries: https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/lending-rights https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/lending-rights
michaelbuckbee 9y ago
A good case study to look at is probably Game of Thrones - widely reported to be the most pirated TV show. At last report HBO Now (digital on demand only) was at 2mil subscribers. I'm one of them and converted to paying when I didn't need a full cable package just to watch it.
josteink 9y ago
> Many people I know have always pirated software and TV and said once there was a reasonable way to get it legally they would pay for it. I haven't seen this be the case. I don't think you can convert pirates. I grew up on a 100% pirated diet. I now develop software for a living. I'd be an absolute hypocrite to pirate commercial software when I myself demand to be paid for my commercial efforts. You won't see me running any pirated software at all. Of course, given the choice and options we have today, in practice it means I'm running much less commercial software, and depend almost entirely on open source software. For that software I try to "pay" by contributing back when I can and it feels natural.
unclenoriega 9y ago
It's comments like this that make me want to stop paying for things. Some pirates can be converted. Some can't. No need to be overly broad.
- JamesBaxter 9y ago
  Seems like your looking for an excuse to stop paying. I said "I don't think"....
danpalmer 9y ago
I pirated a lot of software in high school, but used it to Tech myself skills and now EPA’s for much of what I used, or have enough good will and skills that I would pay for it if I needed it. I also pirated a lot of films. I now subscribe to 2 streaming services, and search them and BBC iPlayer before pirating anything now as it’s more convenient.
sumedh 9y ago
> I haven't seen this be the case. I don't think you can convert pirates. Well I used to pirate 100% when I was a student but now I have money to spend, I purchase things legally. I cant even remember the last time I opened a torrent client.

ilogik 9y ago

I used to be like that in high school, college. Everybody did it. Now? I've been paying for Google play music and Netflix since they've been available in my country. I pay for my IDE I have a steam library so large that I'll never be able to play everything

aerovistae 9y ago

Speaking as a prolific pirate, I currently pay for Spotify because it's just so convenient. I currently pay for HBO Now because I don't want to wait an extra hour to watch Game of Thrones. I pay for games on Steam, but I still pirate most major creative software like Adobe, Windows Office, or DAWs and their plugins...I just have absolutely zero incentive to do otherwise. And before anyone guilt trips me on morality, please stop to carefully think through why you believe sharing digital files is stealing but borrowing a book from a library or buying a used video game or movie is not. None of those things give ANY proceeds to the authors or creators, either, and the authors have no choice in that matter either. Yet society deems that arbitrarily acceptable.

ttoinou 9y ago
but I still pirate most major creative software But do you make money out of this activity ? Yet society deems that arbitrarily acceptable Well it feels like society is OK with pirated content, no ? I only know 1 person in my environment that attacks me about it.
- aerovistae 9y ago
  I do not make any money off of it, no. And now that I think about it I actually did buy a used license for Word, which doesn't give any money to Microsoft, but which is again arbitrarily considered moral. As for society being ok, yes and no. Nobody attacks me about it but I know plennnnnty of people who will refuse to budge on the idea that it's immoral and wrong.
JamesBaxter 9y ago
That makes 0 sense to me. Presumably an author can pick a publisher that does or doesn't distribute to libraries. Even then a library is still buying at least one book if not multiple. If a creator stopped making software you pirated because it wasn't sustainable would you feel guilt?
- aerovistae 9y ago
  > Even then a library is still buying at least one book if not multiple. And someone originally bought the pirated software, too, which they then went on to share with others....just like a library. So what, again, is the difference? No, of course I wouldn't feel guilt. Do you feel guilt when you buy things secondhand or borrow books from libraries? You're not benefiting the creator and you're shortchanging the creator of the cost of purchase because you don't want to pay full price for a new copy. What's the difference? > Presumably an author can pick a publisher that does or doesn't distribute to libraries. As if a library is legally required to only carry books with the publisher's permission?
  - JamesBaxter 9y ago
    I would imagine a lot of pirated software is taken from versions stolen from creators so there was no original purchase. Also buying second hand is completely different as one second hand DVD can't be shared amongst millions of people. It's a completely different scale... Was also interested to read about the PLR https://www.plr.uk.com/allAboutPlr/whatIsPlr.htm https://www.plr.uk.com/allAboutPlr/whatIsPlr.htm
    - SyneRyder 9y ago
      > I would imagine a lot of pirated software is taken from versions stolen from creators I can confirm this. One of the 'cracks' for one of my programs was a license code obtained by someone using a stolen credit card. No attempt to actually crack & keygen the software. And there's genuine theft there, as payment processors keep the transaction fee after the refund, and there's a $25 penalty fine for a chargeback. Plus the owner of the credit card temporarily gets their card locked until it's replaced, etc. So if you've ever used warez from Team OXiDE, keep in mind that some of that software was obtained via actual fraud. > Was also interested to read about the PLR To save people a click: "Public Lending Right (PLR) is the right for authors to receive payment for the loans of their books by public libraries." Australia has a similar Public Lending Right as well. In return for allowing their books to be available in libraries, authors receive a subscription payment from those libraries: https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/lending-rights https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/lending-rights

michaelbuckbee 9y ago

A good case study to look at is probably Game of Thrones - widely reported to be the most pirated TV show. At last report HBO Now (digital on demand only) was at 2mil subscribers. I'm one of them and converted to paying when I didn't need a full cable package just to watch it.

josteink 9y ago

> Many people I know have always pirated software and TV and said once there was a reasonable way to get it legally they would pay for it. I haven't seen this be the case. I don't think you can convert pirates. I grew up on a 100% pirated diet. I now develop software for a living. I'd be an absolute hypocrite to pirate commercial software when I myself demand to be paid for my commercial efforts. You won't see me running any pirated software at all. Of course, given the choice and options we have today, in practice it means I'm running much less commercial software, and depend almost entirely on open source software. For that software I try to "pay" by contributing back when I can and it feels natural.

unclenoriega 9y ago

It's comments like this that make me want to stop paying for things. Some pirates can be converted. Some can't. No need to be overly broad.

JamesBaxter 9y ago
Seems like your looking for an excuse to stop paying. I said "I don't think"....

danpalmer 9y ago

I pirated a lot of software in high school, but used it to Tech myself skills and now EPA’s for much of what I used, or have enough good will and skills that I would pay for it if I needed it. I also pirated a lot of films. I now subscribe to 2 streaming services, and search them and BBC iPlayer before pirating anything now as it’s more convenient.

sumedh 9y ago

> I haven't seen this be the case. I don't think you can convert pirates. Well I used to pirate 100% when I was a student but now I have money to spend, I purchase things legally. I cant even remember the last time I opened a torrent client.