3 ms·

As an avid fly fisherman, I completely agree; however, it's often very difficult for people to conceptualize that wildlife is a limited resource. How does my ta

by WillyF 16y ago

As an avid fly fisherman, I completely agree; however, it's often very difficult for people to conceptualize that wildlife is a limited resource. How does my taking a fish that is a half inch under the limit really hurt anyone? What about an extra fish? Or fishing after dark when it's illegal? The negative effects are often extremely far removed from the initial act. That doesn't make it ok, but it does explain why many people who would never steal from a store will break all kinds of Fish and Game laws.

wvenable 16y ago
This is tragedy of the commons -- if one person does it, there is no real harm but if everyone does it then there will be no fish left for anyone. A lot of people can conceptualize this but many others rely on the fact that other people don't break the rules. Music piracy is similar. Piracy works right now because there are enough people buying music and the margins are high enough that those legitimate buyers are supporting the pirates. Only at the point that creating music is unprofitable will piracy be affected (no more fish in the sea). I don't see that happening for a long time.
- chc 16y ago
  Even erstwhile pirates often buy music. In fact, studies have shown that pirates are actually the music industry's biggest supporters: http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-tons-more-music-than-average-folks.ars http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-... There are some devout pirates who simply will not buy, but I suspect they would not buy even if they had another option — these are the people who would tape songs off the radio and copy their friends' CDs. They're either people who just refuse to pay for things or too poor to pay for things. But you can't generalize this to "pirates."
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  The zillions of unsigned bands wailing on guitars in every bar from Thursday to Sunday suggest that there'd still be plenty of music, even if there was no way to sell recordings.
- gnosis 16y ago
  "Only at the point that creating music is unprofitable will piracy be affected (no more fish in the sea)." Many (most) musicians/artists create music/art for the love of it. They make very little if any money doing it. Often, they even do it at a loss. It has been this way since long, long before the internet and filesharing existed.
dantheman 16y ago
True, but those breaking the fish and game laws may not be hurting anyone. They may disagree with the law. Especially because the fish and game laws only apply to public property. It'd be more analogous to going to a private reserve or piece of land and disregarding the owners regulations.

by WillyF 16y ago

wvenable 16y ago

This is tragedy of the commons -- if one person does it, there is no real harm but if everyone does it then there will be no fish left for anyone. A lot of people can conceptualize this but many others rely on the fact that other people don't break the rules. Music piracy is similar. Piracy works right now because there are enough people buying music and the margins are high enough that those legitimate buyers are supporting the pirates. Only at the point that creating music is unprofitable will piracy be affected (no more fish in the sea). I don't see that happening for a long time.

chc 16y ago
Even erstwhile pirates often buy music. In fact, studies have shown that pirates are actually the music industry's biggest supporters: http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-tons-more-music-than-average-folks.ars http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-... There are some devout pirates who simply will not buy, but I suspect they would not buy even if they had another option — these are the people who would tape songs off the radio and copy their friends' CDs. They're either people who just refuse to pay for things or too poor to pay for things. But you can't generalize this to "pirates."
steveklabnik 16y ago
The zillions of unsigned bands wailing on guitars in every bar from Thursday to Sunday suggest that there'd still be plenty of music, even if there was no way to sell recordings.
gnosis 16y ago
"Only at the point that creating music is unprofitable will piracy be affected (no more fish in the sea)." Many (most) musicians/artists create music/art for the love of it. They make very little if any money doing it. Often, they even do it at a loss. It has been this way since long, long before the internet and filesharing existed.

dantheman 16y ago

True, but those breaking the fish and game laws may not be hurting anyone. They may disagree with the law. Especially because the fish and game laws only apply to public property. It'd be more analogous to going to a private reserve or piece of land and disregarding the owners regulations.