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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amal Shukup" data-source="post: 1411187" data-attributes="member: 6291">The longer this conversation goes, the more radical I seem to be getting... This misrepresents my point. My point was, that the vendor didn't LOSE anything and thus cannot 'claim' a loss. A downloader MAY have gained something, but it isn't a zero sum game and it isn't appropriate to present it as such. I'm not saying something bad didn't happen, but it is important to frame the discussion in terms of what is actually happening - not drawing a false parralel with the theft of inventory.When does it become illegal for them to keep bilking us? How should we as a society respond to their efforts to loot the creators and the public? (again, we have strayed far pretty afield from RPG publishers, who have not earned ANY of this animosity). Competition is the usual prescription, but the music and publishing industries have erected substantial barriers to market entry for those operating on different (more creator and consumer friendly) models. I guess we could rely on gov't regulation of those industries... Hah! Oh yeah, that's going to happen...YES! Absolutely. 100% the point. Also the point. Exclusive Copyright is a monopoly (anathema to a free society) which is endured by society in order to provide incentive to, and compensate the creators of works.Except of course, they are not getting paid. The major holders of exclusive copyright are not the creators of the works. How does it benefit society to enrich the corporations who force lousy contracts on their creators? And then use their ill-got millions to raise barriers against competition and to lobby for increasingly idiotic laws defending their poor helpless iron-clad selves against their unruly artists and ungrateful consumers? How do we do that without building a substantial mass of seething resentment?Okay. I'm definitely getting more radical here... Need to go read a thread on AOO's or something...The Internet ISN'T going to go away, and requires (like the printing press and radio) a paradigm shift in the way we view the process of rewarding the creators of content. The costs of 'enforcing' copyright unilaterally place an undue burden (financially and in use) on legitimate consumers and will ALWAYS exceed the value it provides to any party.Copyright is a compact (and one I believe in. Fiercely) between the creators of good work and those who enjoy the fruits of that work. Laws that protect copyright need to be based on that premise. Again, I'll quote myself: Most people are good honest people. We WANT to pay a reasonable price for the goods we want. Look at the people in this forum - offering to buy Mach 2.5's work SIGHT UNSEEN, just because we wanted to support him. This isn't unusual AT ALL - the world is FULL of people like this. The means of distributing and paying for products needs to reflect and reinforce this basic relationship. The Internet is an incredible tool to ENABLE this, but too many see it as a threat rather than an opportunity. Must wonder why...I think the RPG industry largely gets this. I don't think that many gamers rip off their favorite game publishers. Do we? No! We pay gladly for the stuff. And I hope that gaming industry NEVER goes the way of the music industry (and to a certain degree, mainstream publishing) where the interests of a third party (neither creators nor consumers) take precedence over the other two. Our responsibility as customers is to ensure this - keep buying the good stuff that you like and use! A'Mal</blockquote>

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