5 ms·

Pirating isn't stealing anyways since the original isn't removed

thiht 3y ago
You’re still generating a loss of income to someone somewhere. I completely agree there are some ethical arguments in favor of piracy, but don’t be a fool, of course piracy is a form of theft. Nothing is black or white. I still do it when the legal offer fails me, but I’m honest with myself. In the same way, going to an half empty theater to watch the show without paying would not be stealing according to your definition (you’re not taking the place of a paying customer anyway), yet it is a form of stealing too.
- Aerroon 3y ago
  >You’re still generating a loss of income to someone somewhere. No you're not. A pirated copy is not a lost sale. Many people wouldn't interact with some media/software at all if they hadn't pirated it. Linux on the desktop would probably be more popular too.
  - thiht 3y ago
    And the person stealing a seat in the theater would not have bought it so it’s not a lost sale either according to you. Maybe lost sale is not the correct term, but it’s still a form of theft: you took something even though its owner didn’t allow you to take it.
    - mjevans 3y ago
      It wouldn't be a lost sale, but that would be trespassing, and possibly deprive someone who legitimately rented that seat.
      - thiht 3y ago
        Let’s consider piracy as digital trespassing then
        mjevans 3y ago
        Not the same thing at all. The digital equivalent to trespass is unauthorized access to secured locations / resources like servers.
        thiht 3y ago
        Counterfeit then maybe?
        mjevans 3y ago
        IRL it'd be more like what monks used to do, copy books by hand. Only today we have machines that copy books by idiot savant automation at speeds our ancestors would call magic. Further, none of the physical resources 'of the owner' are being consumed past whomever first liberated the data. Hopefully obtained as an otherwise legitimate purchase / rental / access. A copy of a copy...
    - thfuran 3y ago
      Someone sneaking into a movie theater is consuming a limited resource (a specific seat at a specific showing) and causing some presumably small amount of wear on the seats. They're actually taking something even if its value is probably significantly less than the notional lost sale. But someone who downloads a movie has taken nothing. They just have something someone didn't want them to have.
    - Minor49er 3y ago
      As the owner of my digital library, I allow others to take freely via P2P :^)
      - thiht 3y ago
        Even if you bought a Blu-ray, chances are the licensing doesn’t allow you to do that. You usually can legitimately share with close friends and family to a certain extent, and that’s it
account42 3y ago
Actually, piracy does usually involve theft. Copyright infringement on the other hand...

You’re still generating a loss of income to someone somewhere. I completely agree there are some ethical arguments in favor of piracy, but don’t be a fool, of course piracy is a form of theft. Nothing is black or white. I still do it when the legal offer fails me, but I’m honest with myself. In the same way, going to an half empty theater to watch the show without paying would not be stealing according to your definition (you’re not taking the place of a paying customer anyway), yet it is a form of stealing too.

Aerroon 3y ago
>You’re still generating a loss of income to someone somewhere. No you're not. A pirated copy is not a lost sale. Many people wouldn't interact with some media/software at all if they hadn't pirated it. Linux on the desktop would probably be more popular too.
- thiht 3y ago
  And the person stealing a seat in the theater would not have bought it so it’s not a lost sale either according to you. Maybe lost sale is not the correct term, but it’s still a form of theft: you took something even though its owner didn’t allow you to take it.
  - mjevans 3y ago
    It wouldn't be a lost sale, but that would be trespassing, and possibly deprive someone who legitimately rented that seat.
    - thiht 3y ago
      Let’s consider piracy as digital trespassing then
      - mjevans 3y ago
        Not the same thing at all. The digital equivalent to trespass is unauthorized access to secured locations / resources like servers.
        thiht 3y ago
        Counterfeit then maybe?
        mjevans 3y ago
        IRL it'd be more like what monks used to do, copy books by hand. Only today we have machines that copy books by idiot savant automation at speeds our ancestors would call magic. Further, none of the physical resources 'of the owner' are being consumed past whomever first liberated the data. Hopefully obtained as an otherwise legitimate purchase / rental / access. A copy of a copy...
  - thfuran 3y ago
    Someone sneaking into a movie theater is consuming a limited resource (a specific seat at a specific showing) and causing some presumably small amount of wear on the seats. They're actually taking something even if its value is probably significantly less than the notional lost sale. But someone who downloads a movie has taken nothing. They just have something someone didn't want them to have.
  - Minor49er 3y ago
    As the owner of my digital library, I allow others to take freely via P2P :^)
    - thiht 3y ago
      Even if you bought a Blu-ray, chances are the licensing doesn’t allow you to do that. You usually can legitimately share with close friends and family to a certain extent, and that’s it

account42 3y ago

Actually, piracy does usually involve theft. Copyright infringement on the other hand...