In these groups it's probably mostly driven by desire for internet fame/prestige, a sense of belonging, and competition with other pirate groups. But a lot of

In these groups it's probably mostly driven by desire for internet fame/prestige, a sense of belonging, and competition with other pirate groups. But a lot of piracy I think comes from the spirit of sharing. No one paid all those people who uploaded their obscure Hawaiian music on what.cd and they probably didn't boost their ratio that much from them either. But they did it anyways, presumably out of a sense of community/giving back. (And yes I'm aware of the power law nature of uploads on private trackers but there are still plenty of people with a handful of uploads who can get a good enough ratio from just downloading and seeding but still upload occasionally anyways).