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Also, people can support an musician by buying concert tickets and merchandise. Software doesn't let people "morally offset" piracy in other ways.

• briandear 15y ago
  The whole idea of moral offsetting is nonsense. That's like saying that I'm going to steal Oreos from the grocery store but make up for it by buying milk.
  • zecho 15y ago
    To be fair, it's more like saying you'd wait for Oreos to come to town, pay an outrageous sum of money to view them and then buy milk at four times what you'd normally pay for it. It's not that I think music piracy is justified, but let's not understate the reality of merchandising and touring prices in the music industry. When people feel they're being ripped off, they're probably going to be more likely to not feel so bad when they return the favor.
  • whatusername 15y ago
    Do you live in a country where there are restrictions on products you would like to purchase? (as in -- anywhere that's not the continental US). Perhaps an ebook that's not available in your country. If the only way to consume a good is to obtain it illegally (and there is no loss of the orginal owner - I'm talking about digital copies) then moral offsetting is the only slightly moral way to consume/acquire the item.
    • saw-lau 15y ago
      ...or not consume it in the first place. I don't understand where this 'right to be able to get everything I want' has come from in recent years. Sometimes it sucks to not get all you want, but - you know - that's life.
  • shantanubala 15y ago
    I didn't say it was ethical, but you can't deny that it definitely makes it easier for people to justify piracy in their minds.