5 ms·

I always find it interesting to see if I can find the logic in the arguments that people make to justify stealing other people's property. I really doubt that

I always find it interesting to see if I can find the logic in the arguments that people make to justify stealing other people's property. I really doubt that the artist behind "Hurt Locker" were trying to "connect with us directly" when people ripped off their movie on the torrents.

monsterix 14y ago
But you agree that people were trying to see the movie 'Hurt Locker' or treasure it? And obviously there was no official way of acquiring the content - a place which works nicely and is priced correctly. We've seen this, argued over and over again for past fifteen years. Justifying stealing is different from putting middlemen to their place. Teaching consumers manners, penalizing them is not the right way. One can understand this, or wait to understand this the hard way.
- ghshephard 14y ago
  Oh, I agree that people were trying to see the movie hurt locker in much the same way that I try to see (and treasure, trust me!) Game of Thrones off the torrents. I don't have any rationale other than the fact that I don't want to pay the $876 that HBO + Cable will cost me. I also like to have it with me while travelling, and the streaming solutions from HBO, good as they are, just aren't great on an airplane / hotel in some other country. I'm not "putting middlemen" in their place - I just want cool content in the format that is convenient for me for what I consider to be a reasonable cost to me. I do make it a absolute habit of purchasing the DVDs when they come out, to try and make my conscience a little lighter. But, I _never_ kid myself that the artists behind GoT wanted to "connect with me directly." They wanted to get paid the same as I do at my job.
  - Swizec 14y ago
    I pirate most television shows I can get my grubby little paws on. But whenever an artist whose works I enjoy tries to connect with me directly, I buy stuff. For instance, I have bought most of Amanda Palmer's albums in her various bands. Especially now that she isn't using a label anymore, but even before that she was putting a lot of work into connecting with fans directly. I also bought Louis CK's standup show thingy. And I've bought certain indie games that were enjoyable. All because the creators connected with me directly-ish. But more importantly, they made buying from them reasonable. Never any DRM, downloadable content immediately after purchase (the CD is just for show and dust collecting), ability to buy on every content in every country at the same time and so on. Conversely, I didn't buy my latest MacOS upgrade even though it was just $25. Why? Because I would have to wait three weeks for it to be available (online) in my country. Fuck that.
tomjen3 14y ago
I don't really care whether you think it is okay or not. I just care that I can get the stuff on my terms. Not for free, but I don't want to have to see it at a specific time or pay for a bunch of channels I don't want.
alan_cx 14y ago
I feel a Sunday rant coming on.... Its people who incorrectly keep using the word "stealing" who make me want to copy everything I can. People who confuse borrowing and sharing with stealing must be hard to get on with. Can I borrow that newspaper? No. Can I borrow that book? No. Can I borrow a lawn mower? No. Kids? Do they share, sorry, steal books from each other? Toys? Are newspapers left on the trains when people get off to incite other to "steal" ? If I glance across and read a head line as you read, are you illegally sharing? Copying and sharing is NOT stealing. Get that in to your head and you might get a sensible debate going. Until people stop using these exaggerated WMD terrorist OTT type claims, the debate cant even start. Oh yeah, I have heard it claimed that sharing funds terrorism. Really. More than anything, I am sick an tired of this industry, backed by the US gov, continuing to support a failing old industry with bullying and threats. See how nasty and vindictive these people get when their controls on us fail. That infinitely worse than sharing stuff. And if sharing is wrong, then the USA can stop using our language, English. Or perhaps pay the UK a licence fee for its use. In fact, the US could really help put Spain in that respect. See, it's ridiculous, isn't it? Anyway, isn't it Christian to share? Isn't it kind and decent to share? That's what I learned as a kid. Has the world really gotten that bad? Lastly, I want to see a loss proved. I want to see it proved that down-loaders would have purchased had they not down loaded. Or, I want to see a business like Fox go bust due to sharing. If that happens, I will believe their claims. Until then, I will be sure that all they are doing is protecting greed, since despite all the whining, they are still incredibly profitable. I suspect out sourcing costs more US jobs than sharing. I'm now off to download something I don't want. Never seen Hurt Locker..... I'll leave a comment on the torrent site to explain my motivation. Sunday rant done. Thank-you.
- benologist 14y ago
  I'm so glad someone finally posted this on HN. The unique and new viewpoint you bring to this site is invaluable, just like in years gone by when it was pasted almost verbatim all over Digg and Reddit thousands of times. I hope you and many more people come here armed with the same diatribe about copying != stealing to post on the many future fluff pieces TorrentFreak and TechDirt will write just for your upvotes.
- citricsquid 14y ago

monsterix 14y ago

But you agree that people were trying to see the movie 'Hurt Locker' or treasure it? And obviously there was no official way of acquiring the content - a place which works nicely and is priced correctly. We've seen this, argued over and over again for past fifteen years. Justifying stealing is different from putting middlemen to their place. Teaching consumers manners, penalizing them is not the right way. One can understand this, or wait to understand this the hard way.

ghshephard 14y ago
Oh, I agree that people were trying to see the movie hurt locker in much the same way that I try to see (and treasure, trust me!) Game of Thrones off the torrents. I don't have any rationale other than the fact that I don't want to pay the $876 that HBO + Cable will cost me. I also like to have it with me while travelling, and the streaming solutions from HBO, good as they are, just aren't great on an airplane / hotel in some other country. I'm not "putting middlemen" in their place - I just want cool content in the format that is convenient for me for what I consider to be a reasonable cost to me. I do make it a absolute habit of purchasing the DVDs when they come out, to try and make my conscience a little lighter. But, I _never_ kid myself that the artists behind GoT wanted to "connect with me directly." They wanted to get paid the same as I do at my job.
- Swizec 14y ago
  I pirate most television shows I can get my grubby little paws on. But whenever an artist whose works I enjoy tries to connect with me directly, I buy stuff. For instance, I have bought most of Amanda Palmer's albums in her various bands. Especially now that she isn't using a label anymore, but even before that she was putting a lot of work into connecting with fans directly. I also bought Louis CK's standup show thingy. And I've bought certain indie games that were enjoyable. All because the creators connected with me directly-ish. But more importantly, they made buying from them reasonable. Never any DRM, downloadable content immediately after purchase (the CD is just for show and dust collecting), ability to buy on every content in every country at the same time and so on. Conversely, I didn't buy my latest MacOS upgrade even though it was just $25. Why? Because I would have to wait three weeks for it to be available (online) in my country. Fuck that.

tomjen3 14y ago

I don't really care whether you think it is okay or not. I just care that I can get the stuff on my terms. Not for free, but I don't want to have to see it at a specific time or pay for a bunch of channels I don't want.

alan_cx 14y ago

I feel a Sunday rant coming on.... Its people who incorrectly keep using the word "stealing" who make me want to copy everything I can. People who confuse borrowing and sharing with stealing must be hard to get on with. Can I borrow that newspaper? No. Can I borrow that book? No. Can I borrow a lawn mower? No. Kids? Do they share, sorry, steal books from each other? Toys? Are newspapers left on the trains when people get off to incite other to "steal" ? If I glance across and read a head line as you read, are you illegally sharing? Copying and sharing is NOT stealing. Get that in to your head and you might get a sensible debate going. Until people stop using these exaggerated WMD terrorist OTT type claims, the debate cant even start. Oh yeah, I have heard it claimed that sharing funds terrorism. Really. More than anything, I am sick an tired of this industry, backed by the US gov, continuing to support a failing old industry with bullying and threats. See how nasty and vindictive these people get when their controls on us fail. That infinitely worse than sharing stuff. And if sharing is wrong, then the USA can stop using our language, English. Or perhaps pay the UK a licence fee for its use. In fact, the US could really help put Spain in that respect. See, it's ridiculous, isn't it? Anyway, isn't it Christian to share? Isn't it kind and decent to share? That's what I learned as a kid. Has the world really gotten that bad? Lastly, I want to see a loss proved. I want to see it proved that down-loaders would have purchased had they not down loaded. Or, I want to see a business like Fox go bust due to sharing. If that happens, I will believe their claims. Until then, I will be sure that all they are doing is protecting greed, since despite all the whining, they are still incredibly profitable. I suspect out sourcing costs more US jobs than sharing. I'm now off to download something I don't want. Never seen Hurt Locker..... I'll leave a comment on the torrent site to explain my motivation. Sunday rant done. Thank-you.

benologist 14y ago
I'm so glad someone finally posted this on HN. The unique and new viewpoint you bring to this site is invaluable, just like in years gone by when it was pasted almost verbatim all over Digg and Reddit thousands of times. I hope you and many more people come here armed with the same diatribe about copying != stealing to post on the many future fluff pieces TorrentFreak and TechDirt will write just for your upvotes.
citricsquid 14y ago