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Warning: unpopular opinion that you won't like. If the audience of HN were writers, singers, and artists, people who know what it's like when the fruits of you

Warning: unpopular opinion that you won't like. If the audience of HN were writers, singers, and artists, people who know what it's like when the fruits of your work are stolen and you barely make any money (I have friends like that), the sentiment would've been quite different. But software developers can't relate to this and that's why they are so pro-piracy. They get a paycheck every month or bi-weekly and never face a situation when their intellectual work is stolen against their will and offered to their employer for free and the employer now cuts the paycheck in half because why pay if you can get it for free. I'm not saying the current situation with content consumption is ideal. Big corps have no shame in many ways. But sometimes both sides can be wrong. And this is exactly what I'm seeing here.

flohofwoe 3y ago
The question is always: how much money would those individuals make if their work wouldn't be pirated. It's much more likely that they would just barely survive like they do now instead of raking in the big moneyz. Sometimes it's not piracy that's the problem, but simply that the art/content is unpopular, or a bad business model was chosen. > when their intellectual work is stolen against their will and offered to their employer for free and the employer now cuts the paycheck in half because why pay if you can get it for free Your friends should get a lawyer. This is a different case than people "pirating" content because the content is locked exclusively behind yet another service subscription.
missedthecue 3y ago
I agree. It's always very curious to see the way these internet forums (HN, Reddit, Twitter, etc) justify piracy. Every thread about Spotify for instance is full of people upset that they don't pay artists "enough", as if everyone wasn't pirating music en masse in the days before streaming. Give me a break. And I'm not even throwing stones. I remember filling my MP3 player with pirated music 20 years ago. If you're pirating content, you're stealing it. I'd 100% prefer that people just own up to it than try to contrive these elaborate arguments about how the social contract has been completely rearranged and why ackshually they are not only justified but practically obligated to do it. Beyond ridiculous. Get over yourselves.
- skeaker 3y ago
  You're so right. As an aside, it really is a shame that every song, movie, television show, video game, piece of artwork, etc. has vanished because some pirate stole the original and deprived everyone else of it instead of just making a copy.
Pugpugpugs 3y ago
It's not really stolen when nobody is deprived of it by the act, digital content is infinitely duplicable, but sure whatever. If it's stealing I'm perfectly alright with being a thief. I'm also perfectly alright with other people "stealing" my work (I'm a musician). I think the free proliferation of art is a better ethos than the garbage system we have now. IP just lets corporations gather up all the valuable stuff and toss the artists some crumbs for their work. Artists were still starving well before internet piracy. I think we need a model of fans crowdfunding their favorite artists, which could work if it became more common. Artists could, for example, set a donation goal after which they'd release a new album. It would be a large social transition but it's the only real way out. Since that's never going to happen legally, I want to see technology render the law meaningless, hence why I like piracy.

flohofwoe 3y ago

The question is always: how much money would those individuals make if their work wouldn't be pirated. It's much more likely that they would just barely survive like they do now instead of raking in the big moneyz. Sometimes it's not piracy that's the problem, but simply that the art/content is unpopular, or a bad business model was chosen. > when their intellectual work is stolen against their will and offered to their employer for free and the employer now cuts the paycheck in half because why pay if you can get it for free Your friends should get a lawyer. This is a different case than people "pirating" content because the content is locked exclusively behind yet another service subscription.

missedthecue 3y ago

I agree. It's always very curious to see the way these internet forums (HN, Reddit, Twitter, etc) justify piracy. Every thread about Spotify for instance is full of people upset that they don't pay artists "enough", as if everyone wasn't pirating music en masse in the days before streaming. Give me a break. And I'm not even throwing stones. I remember filling my MP3 player with pirated music 20 years ago. If you're pirating content, you're stealing it. I'd 100% prefer that people just own up to it than try to contrive these elaborate arguments about how the social contract has been completely rearranged and why ackshually they are not only justified but practically obligated to do it. Beyond ridiculous. Get over yourselves.

skeaker 3y ago
You're so right. As an aside, it really is a shame that every song, movie, television show, video game, piece of artwork, etc. has vanished because some pirate stole the original and deprived everyone else of it instead of just making a copy.

Pugpugpugs 3y ago

It's not really stolen when nobody is deprived of it by the act, digital content is infinitely duplicable, but sure whatever. If it's stealing I'm perfectly alright with being a thief. I'm also perfectly alright with other people "stealing" my work (I'm a musician). I think the free proliferation of art is a better ethos than the garbage system we have now. IP just lets corporations gather up all the valuable stuff and toss the artists some crumbs for their work. Artists were still starving well before internet piracy. I think we need a model of fans crowdfunding their favorite artists, which could work if it became more common. Artists could, for example, set a donation goal after which they'd release a new album. It would be a large social transition but it's the only real way out. Since that's never going to happen legally, I want to see technology render the law meaningless, hence why I like piracy.