RPG Piracy

[Eternalknight]

No need to be rude... it was a civilized discussion until you arrived.

 

[MEG Hal]

1) Nice idea. I suspect they would have me arrested if I try to take the plastic off though. And yes, this is most of the LGS's near me. If FLGS's let me return all the crappy d20 products, it might be worth it.
2) What part of I DON"T HAVE THE MONEY didn't you understand? Me with no money and DL books earns WotC (or whomever) EXACTLLY the SAME amount of income to me NOT DL'ing. Squeeze that consumer stone all you want, you won't get blood.

Actually, my spending on RPG's has probably increased w/DL'ing. It's not worth it to use the stuff for anything other than a review copy. Layoffs? Lets see the info saying that filesharing caused that. EVERY (vaugely impartial) study I have seen indicates filesharing increases sales by creating intrest in the product. Maybe its because, ummm, RPG's are a luxury item and we're in the longest recession in decades? Nah...

1) My FLGS seals its books but lets you open them, just ask.

2) I do not have enough money for a Porsche, I will never have enough so I stole one, it will not hurt the manufacturer because I will never have enough money. Yes I know one is physical and one is "cyber-space" but same theory, I do not have Monsternomicon or Monsters Handbook (?, by FFG) and money is tight so I will wait to get them. I hear what you are saying RD, and you will do what you want just be honest and know you are doing the wrong thing and breaking the law. No excuses, illegal is illegal.

Maybe it is my law enforcement background but it does bother me when people justify an illegal activity with excuses.

 

[Henry]

In the spirit of giving this a chance, I'm going to ask all responders to please keep their future responses relevant to the subject at hand. Pro-con "why I pirate" / "why piracy is wrong" has been done to death, and ENWorld of course does not condone piracy in the slightest.

But to put this on track, One reason why piracy isn't as easily stopped is twofold:

1) Jurisdiction. Many sites that you find are hosted on systems that are physically outside of international boarders. You aren't dealing with one country's federal agency when you deal with piracy; you are dealing with 60 - PLUS countries. With the registration of domain names, it is not immediately apparent if someone is server-based locally or in a country with lax piracy laws.

2) A freedom-loving populace. Even dealing with local American-based products, Americans are loath to give up personal freedoms to ensure the security of something that affects so little of them. Even dealing with music piracy, the majority of people listening to current music are listening to legit copies. Not MOST, but the majority of them. Compare to places such as Thailand, were (I forget the exact figures) around 90% of all digital media is pirated (music, software, AND movies)!

These two factors, combined with the sheer amount of legal cost of prosecuting every "small fish" as Numion mentioned, make it difficult to prosecute at best. It is easy to find said sites, but not as easy to shut them all down.

 

[MEG Hal]

OK, Henry.

We are small and could not possible track down all of the illegal downloads, and if companies like WoTC can't do it we can't either, so when we are notified we will try and do something but it will never be stopped until the people who d/l stop and there is no need.

It will never be stopped but we can sure try and do better as a society and try and fix the issues, it does harm people it just does not harm them in an obvious direct way, and that is what makes it difficult to see the damage.

 

[Henry]

Roland and Hal, this really doesn't need to turn into another pro/anti-piracy discussion. Roland and I have indeed had this exact same discussion a few months back, and he knows all the points Hal has brought up, because I used them myself.

Roland & Hal - let's please keep this on-topic, or I will have to close this thread.

 

[MEG Hal]

Roland and Hal, this really doesn't need to turn into another pro/anti-piracy discussion. Roland and I have indeed had this exact same discussion a few months back, and he knows all the points Hal has brought up, because I used them myself.

Roland & Hal - let's please keep this on-topic, or I will have to close this thread.

As posted above, back on track.

 

[alsih2o]

And sometimes, really, people just want sections of a book, or will only refer to it on rare occasions. Sure, they could borrow it from a friend - maybe - but why bother? Why pay for a book you'll use on occasion, at unpredictable intervals, but honestly not very often?

because all other options are hideously amoral. it is theft, plain and simple. if you only need a little section, why not just go to the book store and cut it out while the owner isn't looking?

sorry, responded to this one before i saw henrys "cease and desist"

apologies

 

[Drawmack]

here, here Henry. I don't want this thread closed. It has been made abundantly apparent that you will never stop all piracy because no amount of education will enlighten everyone.

please keep it on topic I'd like to see what others have to say about the topic.

 

[Roland Delacroix]

1) My FLGS seals its books but lets you open them, just ask.

2) I do not have enough money for a Porsche, I will never have enough so I stole one, it will not hurt the manufacturer because I will never have enough money. Yes I know one is physical and one is "cyber-space" but same theory, I do not have Monsternomicon or Monsters Handbook (?, by FFG) and money is tight so I will wait to get them. I hear what you are saying RD, and you will do what you want just be honest and know you are doing the wrong thing and breaking the law. No excuses, illegal is illegal.

Maybe it is my law enforcement background but it does bother me when people justify an illegal activity with excuses.

Mine doesn't, i did ask. The owner is cool but he's never there and he always hires complete a-holes. This, and 30% off no tax, no shipping, is one of the reasons I order on-line

Completely different crimes, i won't bother noting the difference in robbing a $100k object and making a perfect copy of something.

And good is good. I would not hesitate to break the law for an instant if I thought it was wrong. LAW does not equal RIGHT. Alot of people DON'T feel that way, thats their perogative. Not completely lawless, i know it's there for a good reason, and thats why we obey.

Ha-HUM. henry barked at me before I could post this appology and offer to close this subject I don't think the original topic was clear enough, I posted why there is internet piracy in MY instance. If he wants a dissertation on internet security, without the moral/logical reasons, thats cool. I'll step off...

EDIT: Amoral? are mine the same as yours? Doubt it, i'm a shameless Keynesian and therefore all about free-est-market and consumers having perfect information.

 

[Henry]

Ha-HUM. henry barked at me before I could post this appology and offer to close this subject

Grrrrrrrrrrrr...RRRRRUFF! RRRRUF!

(pant)(pant)(pant)

Thanks, all!