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I was born and raised in an African country. My father had a salary of 500$ a month. I could never afford a 50$ book about resiliency engineering or about Java

I was born and raised in an African country. My father had a salary of 500$ a month. I could never afford a 50$ book about resiliency engineering or about Java Concurrency when I was 17 years old, neither could my father. The reason I love computer science and tech and excel at some parts of it, is simply because I could access any book, pirated. I have a huge will to learn, and piracy was quite literally the only means to learn. Once I worked and got on my feet, I started buying a lot of the books that marked my learning (because nostalgia and also great resources), and if and when I can, I always buys the books. Let's not talk about movies. My town STILL has no cinema. Nearest one is 100Km away, and costs about 15$ for a ticket. So if it wasn't for piracy, I would've probably never watched Iron Man, and never dreamed of having my own Jarvis, and hence never taking up speech recognition and deep learning. Again, now that I can, I had periods where I watched 3 to 5 movies a week in the cinema, because I have the means to. I believe people are more likely to buy books/movies when they can. But for those who can't, I believe it's almost always a net positive to society to give them access to those resources.

emerged 5y ago
I think the state of software and media piracy have been in somewhat of a sweet spot. It’s technically illegal and not just every random person can easily find what they want. But those who are motivated enough to find the content and skirt the laws are able to do it. This way the industry is still able to monetize and those without the resources can still get access with some effort. I pirated like crazy growing up poor but internet savvy, but now that I’m a well paid professional it isn’t necessary and isn’t even worth the effort when I can just rent/buy.
- hh3k0 5y ago
  > It’s technically illegal and not just every random person can easily find what they want. But those who are motivated enough to find the content and skirt the laws are able to do it. «I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.» Robert A. Heinlein
- 838812052807016 5y ago
  Seems like a code smell, when breaking the rules is the most beneficial to society.

emerged 5y ago

I think the state of software and media piracy have been in somewhat of a sweet spot. It’s technically illegal and not just every random person can easily find what they want. But those who are motivated enough to find the content and skirt the laws are able to do it. This way the industry is still able to monetize and those without the resources can still get access with some effort. I pirated like crazy growing up poor but internet savvy, but now that I’m a well paid professional it isn’t necessary and isn’t even worth the effort when I can just rent/buy.

hh3k0 5y ago
> It’s technically illegal and not just every random person can easily find what they want. But those who are motivated enough to find the content and skirt the laws are able to do it. «I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.» Robert A. Heinlein
838812052807016 5y ago
Seems like a code smell, when breaking the rules is the most beneficial to society.