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With all due respect this is pretty ignorant. If someone goes to the lengths required to pirate & use your creation you should be flattered. The very nature o

With all due respect this is pretty ignorant. If someone goes to the lengths required to pirate & use your creation you should be flattered. The very nature of the action of them trying to get your creation - even though they don't have money - is testament to the value they think you have created. If they keep pirating your stuff every time you release a new version - you really should re-consider your pricing options or your distribution strategy. It means you are likely leaving money on the table.

mgkimsal 14y ago
"It means you are likely leaving money on the table." Wow, and for the past X (10? 20?) years, we've all been told "pirates wouldn't have bought anyway, so the 'lost revenue' is only $0'.
- marcamillion 14y ago
  Well...all you have to do is look at the most pirated movies and the highest grossing movies. There is a strong correlation there. Also, the same can be said about software. It seems to me that the firms that create the most pirated software (from MSFT, Adobe, Apple, et. al) are doing ok.
Xcelerate 14y ago
> With all due respect this is pretty ignorant. Ignorant? Do you know what that word means? Let me quote dictionary.com for you: "Lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned". I don't appreciate you calling me ignorant, seeing as how I do not meet the definition in any way. > If someone goes to the lengths required to pirate & use your creation you should be flattered. If someone goes to the lengths/peril required to rob your bank, you should be flattered. Sorry, this argument holds no water with me. How I "should" feel about something is not up to anyone else. If they don't have the money to afford my creation, they should talk to me about it. If I think they have a good reason for needing it, I'll give it to them for free. If I don't think they do, then it really should not be their decision to just take it anyway.
- marcamillion 14y ago
  Well...let me ask you something, which do you think is worse...making something no one cares about or making something so successful that you can't "monetize" every copy. I guarantee you, if you make something that so many people want such that they go to great lengths to pirate it, you are in a good position and should feel flattered that they do it. Ask Peldi from Balsamiq. He handles piracy in the best possible way. Balsamiq is widely pirated, yet if you email him and tell him you want his software but can't afford it, he will likely send you a license free.
  - Xcelerate 14y ago
    Let me put it this way. If I ever made something to be so popular that a lot of people wanted to pirate it, I wouldn't be too concerned about the piracy in a business sense. But the problem is that every business has to tolerate some level of immoral activity whether they like it or not. Department stores have to tolerate some employees stealing merchandise. Restaurants have to tolerate employees giving meals away to their friends. Gas stations have to tolerate the occasional late night robbery. With regards to profit, there is an optimal amount of resources you should spend on fixing behavior like this. Spend too much and your company will lose money. Spend too little and everyone's going to see what they can get away with. Same with software. However, just because this stuff happens and people are expected to deal with it and build it into their business plan does not mean it's okay. Cities deal with murder and theft on a daily basis; they shouldn't be flattered that their city is so popular that is has a lot of crime. I am unfamiliar with Balsamiq, but he has a certain model that works for him. Great. But why should everyone else be forced to adopt the same model he does? There's a gas station where I live that gave me free water once when I was on a run. Does that mean every gas station should be forced to give me free water? If they don't give me free water, should I just take it anyway? It's a negligible loss to them; they won't notice anyway. In fact, if I hadn't taken the water then I wouldn't know how great their water was to come back and buy some more or tell my friends. Do you understand what I'm getting it? There's a difference when arguing piracy on an optimal business basis vs a personal moral basis. I am arguing on the personal basis. I think we both agree on what makes the most business sense (as should any intelligent businessman). P.S. I'm still curious why you called me ignorant. What field do I lack training or knowledge in that pertains to this discussion?

mgkimsal 14y ago

"It means you are likely leaving money on the table." Wow, and for the past X (10? 20?) years, we've all been told "pirates wouldn't have bought anyway, so the 'lost revenue' is only $0'.

marcamillion 14y ago
Well...all you have to do is look at the most pirated movies and the highest grossing movies. There is a strong correlation there. Also, the same can be said about software. It seems to me that the firms that create the most pirated software (from MSFT, Adobe, Apple, et. al) are doing ok.

Xcelerate 14y ago

> With all due respect this is pretty ignorant. Ignorant? Do you know what that word means? Let me quote dictionary.com for you: "Lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned". I don't appreciate you calling me ignorant, seeing as how I do not meet the definition in any way. > If someone goes to the lengths required to pirate & use your creation you should be flattered. If someone goes to the lengths/peril required to rob your bank, you should be flattered. Sorry, this argument holds no water with me. How I "should" feel about something is not up to anyone else. If they don't have the money to afford my creation, they should talk to me about it. If I think they have a good reason for needing it, I'll give it to them for free. If I don't think they do, then it really should not be their decision to just take it anyway.

marcamillion 14y ago
Well...let me ask you something, which do you think is worse...making something no one cares about or making something so successful that you can't "monetize" every copy. I guarantee you, if you make something that so many people want such that they go to great lengths to pirate it, you are in a good position and should feel flattered that they do it. Ask Peldi from Balsamiq. He handles piracy in the best possible way. Balsamiq is widely pirated, yet if you email him and tell him you want his software but can't afford it, he will likely send you a license free.
- Xcelerate 14y ago
  Let me put it this way. If I ever made something to be so popular that a lot of people wanted to pirate it, I wouldn't be too concerned about the piracy in a business sense. But the problem is that every business has to tolerate some level of immoral activity whether they like it or not. Department stores have to tolerate some employees stealing merchandise. Restaurants have to tolerate employees giving meals away to their friends. Gas stations have to tolerate the occasional late night robbery. With regards to profit, there is an optimal amount of resources you should spend on fixing behavior like this. Spend too much and your company will lose money. Spend too little and everyone's going to see what they can get away with. Same with software. However, just because this stuff happens and people are expected to deal with it and build it into their business plan does not mean it's okay. Cities deal with murder and theft on a daily basis; they shouldn't be flattered that their city is so popular that is has a lot of crime. I am unfamiliar with Balsamiq, but he has a certain model that works for him. Great. But why should everyone else be forced to adopt the same model he does? There's a gas station where I live that gave me free water once when I was on a run. Does that mean every gas station should be forced to give me free water? If they don't give me free water, should I just take it anyway? It's a negligible loss to them; they won't notice anyway. In fact, if I hadn't taken the water then I wouldn't know how great their water was to come back and buy some more or tell my friends. Do you understand what I'm getting it? There's a difference when arguing piracy on an optimal business basis vs a personal moral basis. I am arguing on the personal basis. I think we both agree on what makes the most business sense (as should any intelligent businessman). P.S. I'm still curious why you called me ignorant. What field do I lack training or knowledge in that pertains to this discussion?