The Morality of Pirating Software/Music/Movies etc -- Your Opinions?

I have no problem with pirating and am a pirate myself.

There has always been a resistance to new forms of information exchange, since the first word was written. The RIAA, MPAA and all other organizations will fail in stopping it, and rightly so. These organizations are trying to stop the inevitable efficient-izing of transmission.

Sure, people will lose money...but if that's a person's motivation in creating art, it's not, in my opinion, worth "protecting" anyway.

[edit on 1-1-2008 by iceofspades]

my DVD player is giving out on me so i started looking at hd players. then i saw the cost of hd movies. $30 for a damn movie?!?! i couldn't help but blurt out "F*(# that!" while browsing at Target". i've been known to buy dvd's on a whim, but i won't buy a single hd movie until the asshats in charge figure out that they're gouging customers. i'm inclined to just download the hd rips and watch them on my tv from the computer. sorry for the borderline expletives. i was just very surprised by the pricing on both hd and blu-ray. i can easily justify this type of scenario without feeling an ounce of guilt: download the HD rip of a movie and buy the DVD version from the bargain bin for half the price. technically you're just getting a license to watch the movie anyway. the mpaa/riaa said themselves you don't purchase anything but the right to possess a copy of the movie/music. i'd argue that as long as you don't redistribute, you're not breaking those terms. i'm sure lawyers would love to challenge that argument though.

in terms of software - programmers aren't all "software moguls". some (a lot) of them work 80 hours a week and don't make as much as you would expect. a lot of people have this idea that if you're a programmer you get to sit there and "play" on a computer all day long and get paid oodles of money for it. that simply isn't the case. so i really do buy software that i use regularly. there are instances that i downloaded a program and was extremely relieved that i didn't pay anything for it. same goes for music.

mainstream music doesn't appeal to me. overplayed, regurgitated, uninspired crap. i listen to the college radio station that plays some really off the wall indie "crap". but it's at least so different than the mainstream that it's actually pleasant to listen to sometimes. it's pretty bad that i feel like an old person at 26 because i "can't stand the garbage these kids listen to these days." and i feel like i've heard everything that gets played on the radio a hojillion times.

my biggest complaint is DRM. that's the stuff that only lets you use your legally purchased music on a limited number of computers, or prevents you from ripping that new music cd to mp3's. pirates have no difficulty getting around that stuff and regular people get nothing but headaches from it. i kid you not: i have bought a game and music cd and then immediately "obtained" a "pirated" copy just because it was less hassle than using the authentic media. the day the mafiaa/software industry figures out that DRM is a waste of time and money will be a good day for everyone.

[edit on 2-1-2008 by an0maly33]

Originally posted by an0maly33
my DVD player is giving out on me so i started looking at hd players. then i saw the cost of hd movies. $30 for a damn movie?!?!

When "Full Metal Jacket" was first released on VHS, it cost $100. In those days, that was normal.

Thirty dollars is really a good deal, considering that it's new technology.

Originally posted by iceofspades
I have no problem with pirating

So what? You don't have a problem with stealing from others. That doesn't mean anything, that doesn't make it right. What about someone who doesn't have a problem with carjacking? They have the right to go around stealing cars? "Well officer, I don't have a problem with people stealing cars, so it's ok."

Sure, people will lose money...but if that's a person's motivation in creating art, it's not, in my opinion, worth "protecting" anyway.

Who isn't in it for the money? Everyone is in it for the money, why shouldn't they be? And since they're in it for the money you should be able to steal it?