Morpheus and DnD

[reapersaurus]

hmm.. 2 impressions I get whenever filesharing is discussed on these boards.

1) I'm surprised at people trying to logically defend illegal copies of music, books, or software.

2) I'm surprised at people playing "holier-than-thou" about said illegal sharing.

Maybe it's a generational thing?
But in REAL LIFE (i.e. not on a message board, where platitudes can sometimes be thrown about easier than bull-excrement), most normally-law-abiding citizens have NO PROBLEM with filesharing.

They see it as a Good Thing.

All moral discussion aside, if you get people out of a message board forum, I'd be willing to wager money that the majority of people DO fileshare, and think it's great.

This is based on actual first-hand discussions with networking professionals and students.
Hundreds of them, in different sample groups, over years of personal study.

If I brought up the moral argument that is apparently the predominantly-held belief on these boards, they would probably say something close to "So What.
You can go ahead and pay of you want, but i like getting mine for free."

 

[rounser]

anyway, this is all in fact academic. the law is pretty clear. if you want to break the law more power to you, but don't bother trying to justify yourself.

"If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." (widely attributed to Otto Van Bismarck.)

 

[Agamon]

*ahem* I won't admit or defend anything. However, I want to know why it is that I can buy a pdf from say Natural 20 or Malhalvoc Press, but I can't buy an ESD from Wizards. Maybe there'd be less sharing if things were more readily available.

Again, I'm not rationalizing, just saying that better availability might lead to less piracy.

 

[eXodus]

i am a thief.

i will gladly raise my hand and be honest about this whole thing. i am a thief. i download things that i would rather not pay for. simple as that. i offer no excuses or explanations other then that.

sweet, simple honesty.

 

[Humanophile]

Let me throw just a little oil on the fire here...

When I go to a bookstore, I have an opportunity to leaf through books. Many times, I'll go through a gaming book, see one or two things I think are neat, and keep them in my mind without buying the book. (I didn't have the money to buy S&S, but I'm not going to forget how to flank in nonstandard situations either.) In any case, a solid preview lets me know whether or no the book is worth my money.

This is a moot point, since the only gaming book I've downloaded was a free copy of Will and the Way when TSR was offering it. (I made copies, but it was a free book, I paid liscensing each time.) And file sharing technologies... well, I have my theories, but post-napster they won't likely work. I've seen cases where companies have profited from piracy even, but in all those cases it was on a preview-style basis. So while getting your $5 pdf for free is bad form, where is it allowed for you to check it out before dropping $5 on it?

 

[Eternalknight]

I too have downloaded nearly all WotC 3E books (I also own ALL of them. Yes, ALL).

I also have downloaded copies of Keep of the Borderlands, Tomb of Horrors, 1st edition Monster Manual, Dragon magazine number 1, etc. I have over 200 pdfs from all editions. Therefore, I am a thief.

I have also recorded TV shows on to video, taped cd's for my friends, borrowed magazines from a library and photocopied parts of them for myself. I am a thief. And so are 99% of the people I know.

Is it wrong? Yes. Do most people give a crap? No. I think that is the difference. If the police were to raid every house in my town, I am guessing that the whole town would be convicted of piracy. The police offiers probably would too (In fact my dad is a cop and i know for a fact he would).

 

[Corinth]

The people have spoken, and they've given the middle-finger to the piracy arguements. Getting good stuff for free is better than paying for it.

 

[Eternalknight]

True enough.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Man, I have arrived late. As luck would have it, it seems KDLadage is equally late (which is a shame, becasue he can mount a pretty stirring defense of the "Don't Fileshare" position).

In any event. I fileshare (steal) because I have been so ill-treated by producers in the past, be they RPG Publishers (WotC's Sword and Fist is money of mine they did not deserve), Music Companies (Metallica's Load was not the Metallica I had come to love) or Software developers (I have lost count of the poorly tested crap in need of two dozen patches that has gone to market and onto my hard drive).

I must agree with Harlequin: as a consumer, the business world has destroyed any faith I ever had in them. Shoddy goods are the new Baseline.

Filesharing has allowed me to sample stuff that I may like to buy (I prefer CD's for listening in the car, but can't be bothered to "Make" them). If a band's material grabs me from listenig to MP3's, I buy their CD.

[i}Defenders of the Faith[/i] was purchased solely because I could download it. After Sword and Fist I vowed to never buy another 3E classbook. Perusing it in PDF form, I found enough value to make it worth purchasing.

So I guess what I'm saying is it allows me to preview things before I purchse them, sometimes that pays off for business (DotF), and sometimes it doesn't (White Wolf's Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand). I won't bother making comparisons to Test driving a car, as I think it's apples and oranges.

Plus I don't care if anyone approves or not.

The Laws that people are bandying about no longer protect me (the consumer) if they ever did. As such, I will pay about as much attention to them as they deserve.

I still buy products that I think have merit. If Companies feel that they are being deprived of the ability to sell me their product sight unseen...well, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it.

Viva la Grokster.

 

[Harlequin]

The people have spoken, and they've given the middle-finger to the piracy arguements. Getting good stuff for free is better than paying for it.

The above was just too funny (and too true)
not to give the big thumbs up

TB (Teflon Billy) its always good to know we are on the same page...

When you going to DM on Irc again?


Harlequin