Honestly, I don't think this approach would work at all. Taking for example myself (which is a bit of a debating faux pas, but whatever): If I see some softwar

Honestly, I don't think this approach would work at all. Taking for example myself (which is a bit of a debating faux pas, but whatever): If I see some software that I think would be useful, but don't have €14.99 to spend on it, I'll download it and google for a cracked serial number. Easy-peasy. I then copy-paste the number. I hit return enough times to get to the main window of the software. I use the software. If I use the software an awful lot - say more than once a week - my own guilt will start to hit me, and I'll pay for it - perhaps more than they ask, if the option is available. Notice the part where I said "hit return enough times to get to the main window of the software". Pirates don't give a shit about the developers. If they did, they'd pay for the software in the first place. Furthermore, by the time anyone reads that guilt-trip paragraph, the decision has already been made to pirate the app, and all it takes is for me to hit return, and hey presto, no more guilt-tripping. This is why very few pay for software like winzip (or is it winrar? You know the one, anyway). By the time you hit the "You should pay for this software!", you don't care anymore, and it takes no more than a keypress or mouseclick until it's gone. Disclaimer: I'm a pillar of society who wouldn't pirate something if a gun was to my head, and all situations described above are purely hypothetical.