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0 points8fingerlouie7mo ago0 comments

>I didn't even mention that it's free or that there are no ads

It's free in the same way shoplifting is free, until you get caught. You are very much in violation of copyright laws if you pirate.

0 comments

hbn7mo ago

If buying things at the store was as painful as watching stuff on streaming services, and shoplifting was as low risk as torrenting, and my stealing an item didn't make that item disappear from the store, I'd probably do it there too.

Levitz7mo ago

I can name at least one country in the European Union in which torrenting copyright content for personal use is legal, people still do very much use spotify and netflix.

Gabe Newell got it right from the very start, piracy is a service problem.

kaliqt7mo ago

Only consequences, physically speaking the two are not the same at all.

Copying of anything digital is not actual theft, nor will it ever be.

ryandrake7mo ago

"You wouldn't download a car!"

Wait, I absolutely would download a car if I could... or food... or clothing... I'd download the shit out of physical goods if the technology existed. Who wouldn't? You could solve scarcity. If we had Star Trek Replicators, we'd be living in a literal utopia.

jiggawatts7mo ago

Thanks to 3D printing this is starting to become reality and not just science fiction.

cammikebrown7mo ago

The “download” catchphrase is a joke, it was originally “You wouldn’t steal a car”, which I’d argue is true for most people.

2 more replies

withinboredom7mo ago

So long as you’ve paid for it before… maybe not. In many jurisdictions you are entitled to a backup. The fact that you have to pirate it… might be a gray area.

nh23423fefe7mo ago

no true scotsman

wordsmithing on theft is the only defense thieves have

gooosle7mo ago

How dare you steal these hn comments by copying them over to your PC using your browser? Thief!

robertoandred7mo ago

Do you sneak into concerts or hop turnstiles too?

viraptor7mo ago

Those actually take the resources away (space at the venue for example). In piracy that's not the case.

probotect0r7mo ago

Of course it's theft. The owner of that content didn't intend to give it to you for free, they expected to get paid for their work.

const_cast7mo ago

I could copy A New Hope once for every atom in the universe, and no money is lost and the original continues to exist.

Theft is moving stuff. You can't move software or digital assets, you can only copy them.

If I committed a burglary and instead of taking your TV I go to Walmart and buy a copy, then that's not burglary. You certainly wouldn't report me to the police.

1 more reply

xyproto7mo ago

It's not comparable, because copying a bread with a bread copying machine should be completely fine.

probotect0r7mo ago

I don't think analogy is comparable either though. With a bread copying machine, the baker of the original piece is not involved in creating the new piece of bread (other than the recipe), so it is more acceptable (though maybe not completely, if you consider that the recipe is also being copied) that the baker is not compensated for the new piece of bread produced by the copying machine.

With digital media, the creator is expecting people to pay to view the content. By making a copy and viewing it for free, imo, you are stealing the content.

xyproto7mo ago

If I am telling you a secret word, expecting you to pay to hear it, and you are telling it to someone else, it may be lying, it may be bad manners, but it's not stealing.

Digital content is information.

ted_bunny7mo ago

Thank god they overturned Butter Krust v. Jesus Christ!

GoblinSlayer7mo ago

And I thought religion of pirates is pastafarianism.

firecall7mo ago

Depends on where you live.

Whereas theft of physical goods is generally not.

Penalties for copyright infringement differ between countries as well.

GoblinSlayer7mo ago

Shops aren't there yet, but ISPs are. Where can I pirate the internets?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

hbn7mo ago

Levitz7mo ago

I can name at least one country in the European Union in which torrenting copyright content for personal use is legal, people still do very much use spotify and netflix.

Gabe Newell got it right from the very start, piracy is a service problem.

kaliqt7mo ago

Only consequences, physically speaking the two are not the same at all.

Copying of anything digital is not actual theft, nor will it ever be.

ryandrake7mo ago

"You wouldn't download a car!"

jiggawatts7mo ago

Thanks to 3D printing this is starting to become reality and not just science fiction.

cammikebrown7mo ago

The “download” catchphrase is a joke, it was originally “You wouldn’t steal a car”, which I’d argue is true for most people.

2 more replies

withinboredom7mo ago

So long as you’ve paid for it before… maybe not. In many jurisdictions you are entitled to a backup. The fact that you have to pirate it… might be a gray area.

nh23423fefe7mo ago

no true scotsman

wordsmithing on theft is the only defense thieves have

gooosle7mo ago

How dare you steal these hn comments by copying them over to your PC using your browser? Thief!

robertoandred7mo ago

Do you sneak into concerts or hop turnstiles too?

viraptor7mo ago

Those actually take the resources away (space at the venue for example). In piracy that's not the case.

probotect0r7mo ago

Of course it's theft. The owner of that content didn't intend to give it to you for free, they expected to get paid for their work.

const_cast7mo ago

I could copy A New Hope once for every atom in the universe, and no money is lost and the original continues to exist.

Theft is moving stuff. You can't move software or digital assets, you can only copy them.

If I committed a burglary and instead of taking your TV I go to Walmart and buy a copy, then that's not burglary. You certainly wouldn't report me to the police.

1 more reply

xyproto7mo ago

It's not comparable, because copying a bread with a bread copying machine should be completely fine.

probotect0r7mo ago

With digital media, the creator is expecting people to pay to view the content. By making a copy and viewing it for free, imo, you are stealing the content.

xyproto7mo ago

If I am telling you a secret word, expecting you to pay to hear it, and you are telling it to someone else, it may be lying, it may be bad manners, but it's not stealing.

Digital content is information.

ted_bunny7mo ago

Thank god they overturned Butter Krust v. Jesus Christ!

GoblinSlayer7mo ago

And I thought religion of pirates is pastafarianism.

firecall7mo ago

Depends on where you live.

Whereas theft of physical goods is generally not.

Penalties for copyright infringement differ between countries as well.

GoblinSlayer7mo ago

Shops aren't there yet, but ISPs are. Where can I pirate the internets?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse