3 ms·

Do people generally feel like digital goods should be free? Seems like people are always trying to rationalize bypassing paywalls, pirating games and using emul

Do people generally feel like digital goods should be free? Seems like people are always trying to rationalize bypassing paywalls, pirating games and using emulators, torrenting movies, etc. It’s very ironic that this is a tech forum, much of which is software and this view is prevalent among some here

Tenoke 5y ago
I take advantage (pirate and use this extension) mostly because where I've grown up it was normalized (Eastern Europe) and because it's convenient. Nowadays I do try to support more but I am not so sure I really buy the arguments that this isn't wrong. The way I see it those who support subsidize the rest and that's not necessarily a bad thing but I can be convinced otherwise.
mint2 5y ago
It is strange those making their living off coding and tech and are tech enthusiasts based on reading HN are also promoting ways to steal the income of others who make their living coding and tech and other knowledge based work.
- bcj7393nsk 5y ago
  > promoting ways to steal the income of others who make their living coding and tech and other knowledge based work. Kill or be killed. YC founders, Fortune 500 devs, and FAANG engineers: 1. pirate all kinds of shit (Sublime Text, FLAC songs, movies) 2. Improve their company’s software to prevent pirating and/or licensing detection Not everyone on Earth is a saint.
pedroma 5y ago
One way to justify this is if people don't feel like paying for something and the business runs out of money, it culls the models of business that aren't working and a replacement will come along at some point if there is any merit at all to it. However I am not convinced people don't want to pay for digital goods. Many digital goods can be accessed through piracy, like music or TV shows, but people still pay for Spotify and Netflix. Steam still makes a ton of money selling digital games despite rampant piracy. These businesses provide some value beyond the content itself, and perhaps the more successful media/news outlets will have to discover what that is for them.
rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago
Yup!

Tenoke 5y ago

I take advantage (pirate and use this extension) mostly because where I've grown up it was normalized (Eastern Europe) and because it's convenient. Nowadays I do try to support more but I am not so sure I really buy the arguments that this isn't wrong. The way I see it those who support subsidize the rest and that's not necessarily a bad thing but I can be convinced otherwise.

mint2 5y ago

It is strange those making their living off coding and tech and are tech enthusiasts based on reading HN are also promoting ways to steal the income of others who make their living coding and tech and other knowledge based work.

bcj7393nsk 5y ago
> promoting ways to steal the income of others who make their living coding and tech and other knowledge based work. Kill or be killed. YC founders, Fortune 500 devs, and FAANG engineers: 1. pirate all kinds of shit (Sublime Text, FLAC songs, movies) 2. Improve their company’s software to prevent pirating and/or licensing detection Not everyone on Earth is a saint.

pedroma 5y ago

One way to justify this is if people don't feel like paying for something and the business runs out of money, it culls the models of business that aren't working and a replacement will come along at some point if there is any merit at all to it. However I am not convinced people don't want to pay for digital goods. Many digital goods can be accessed through piracy, like music or TV shows, but people still pay for Spotify and Netflix. Steam still makes a ton of money selling digital games despite rampant piracy. These businesses provide some value beyond the content itself, and perhaps the more successful media/news outlets will have to discover what that is for them.

rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago

Yup!