I'M A PIRATE!

[God-The-RapistV1]

THIS THREAD IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND IN NO WAY IS IT AN ADVOCACY THREAD FOR DOWNLOADING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS A CRIME.

So, piracy is quite an issue these days. I must say that even though the media has seemed to dropped the issue for whatever celebrity is willing to take of their tops/pants the idea and actual actions of copyright piracy is well and strong.

Yet despite all of the people who are "stealing" from the entertainment industry they seem to be making a crapload of petty cash. In fact 2008 was a record breaking year for some.

It begs the question, who is really getting the short end of this stick and if those with the money are actually getting the "short end" how much money would they be making with the long end?

I have myself viewed what some would call "illegal" material. Especially in 2008 and yet that has not stopped me from breaking a personal record as well last year. I bought more DVD's/CD's last year than any other year. In fact more than every other year COMBINED.

I question the motives of those people who advocate the actions of some governments and their "fight against piracy". To me this whole thing seems like a Win-Win situation and for some reason there is always someone out there who is crying "THEFT" and trying to ruin this harmony. If everyone is profiting where is the "theft"?

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Art By: La Belle Isolde

 

[Taeryyn]

If it wasn't for pirated music, I would have never discovered most of my favourite music groups. 3nodding  

[wakusei]

It seems like society likes to scold piracy often enough so it doesn't have to feel as guilty committing it.

 

[Izumi Iris]

Second. I'm a pirate, and I have the hat ^_^ You can't get good imports anymore without going to San Francisco. Go Japan Town!!  

[AlcoholicPancake]

Piracy Technically isn't theft = /

Theft is stealing a product. The original of it. Piracy is copying it. Therefor, you're not really stealing it, more just replicating it.

That's how I see it at least. It's not stealing in my eyes.  

[Serious Erius]

Right, I think Piracy is a bad term for it i nthe first place.
Real pirates didn't copy stuff, they actually stole cargos and ships.
Software pirates, do not...as you said.

It would be awesome if the piracy groups actually would enter and hijack trucks carrying software, though...yarrr pirate

Also, while I don't think that piracy hurts the big publishers and companies a lot financially, it might be a problem for smaller studios...but they usually get supported, as wel as "good" software companies....
I also "half-think" that it's the reason for the uprise in casual games since those people are usually not very computer savvy (yes, that seems to include piracy...) and thus they are bigger cash cows than the rest.

The other reason, Ithink, is the huge popularisation and availability of game systems and games...

Kind of ironic that the people who claim to love games the most seem to pirate the most as well.
I guess supporting good game devs would have no meaning otherwise, ...hmm  

[AlcoholicPancake]

I'm not going to lie, I've downloaded many games in the past, and still do from time to time. The thing is, when I download a game, it's usually to try it out. If I like it, I'll consider buying it, or tell others how good it was so they can go buy it. I also delete them after playing them, so It's not like I KEEP them. Usually, if it's a small developer making the game, like Crayon Physics for example, I'll BUY that game if I like it. I show support for the little guys, because I like what they do =D


Also, for those of you who haven't played them -

AQUARIAS - Go download them demo and try it out, it's a pretty fun game.
Crayon Physics Deluxe - Go download them demo, play it a bit, then buy the full game, NOW. It's an addicting little b*****d of a physics simulator/puzzle game.

With that, I still don't think of it as stealing, but if you like a game or artist, buy their product to show your support! It's what Cthulu would do!  

[Saverio C.]

As a rule I try to only pirate games I've owned or are too old to matter. While it is taking money from the company in their eyes (negative profit is still a kind of loss) I wasn't going to buy a copy of Morrowind for the computer when my brother had it for his X-box. And I'm sure as hell not rebuying Diablo. Most of the time I'd go without the game rather then buy it. As I run on Linux it's a bit of a gamble buy a game, it might not be compatible with Wine.

Erius, I'll tie a sail to my car and we will start to raid. You bring the scimitars.  

[Shram]

I am an old ATG member =]

I pirate games I want and if I like them I buy them

Click here to PM Me regarding ATG.
I am not a Mod but I am a regular and will always answer if you ask =]

 

[Novatierrie]

I pirate music, but if I really like the album and artist, that is generally followed by buying every release I can get my paws on.

If I really like a band though, I'll usually buy other merchandise. More of that money goes to the band than from album sales--a majority of that goes to the record company.

I don't want to support the record company, I want to support the musicians. As for software, I try and find a freeware alternative before I try and find a pirated torrent.  

[Erverain]

I'm not a pirate. What I do is not piracy, but "creative investigation."  

[Philo_Clio]

My ancestors were actually real pirates. 3nodding Back in Queen Elizabeth's day. They worked as "pirvateers" for her, and is it said that generation after generation became pirates until they became gold miners instead. theres even a story of them capturing a lost egyptian princess on one of their adventures! Pirate is in my blood! mrgreen  

[The Dinosaur Next Door]

I usually don't download anymore... I used to be a massive pirate. I had Napster, Kazaa, Morpheus, LimeWire, and Ares.
Nowadays, though, I just use links from Project Playlist... and if I really like a band, I give them props by buying a CD or T-shirt or something. There are few bands that actually inspire me to spend anything more than that...  

[Thaliat Everwood]

It's not my fault if I manage to download music without being charged and it stays on my computer and then later loads itself on my iPod. Seriously, I didn't think I saved half the downloaded songs that were on my computer. I thought I was just saving the page and it might work offline with the right player. But now I've got some Voltaire and such on my iPod and it was free. Free, I say! mrgreen

It's not my fault if the website doesn't charge me for content.  

[The Dinosaur Next Door]

You're the first I've ever spoken to who knows Voltaire, Thal! surprised Hooray!