Why DON'T you pirate?

[Aus_Snow]

While I don't know exactly what goes into making these things, I understand that 'quite a bit' basically sums it up. Also, getting your stuff out there in the marketplace without corporate backing could be challenging, I expect.

I do know from experience what it can be like in the music industry, as that's something I've been involved in (as a muso) and, to a lesser extent now, still am. And yeah, assuming you care at all about the stuff you create - and that you truly create stuff in the first place! - it can be pretty damn hard sometimes, depending on circumstances of course.

So anyway, just as I appreciate every single person who's bought one of our CDs, and - I hope - everyone who buys the book(s) I'll get around to writing , it's only right and fair that I respect the creators of RPG products, and show that respect in the ways that I can.

Also. . .

Lest you think me holier-than-thou, I freely admit that when I was an adolescent and a teenager I engaged in infrequent petty theft and software piracy for personal use. I never made any pretense that I was in any way justified, however, and I'm happy to say that I can avoid that temptation as a gainfully-employed adult.

Yeah, me too.

 

[kitsune9]

I'm not saying "you should go ahead and pirate."

I'm wondering what the reasons are that people do not download illegal material. I can think of five. I also think that most of these are not controlled by the owner of the IP. (Please share more if you've got them). Also, I want to point out that I'm mainly discussing the "download" aspect of this, and not so much the upload or creation of illegal files.


1. Ethics. They simply won't pirate, or they'll only pirate within some sort of "moral code", e.g. as "browsers," (i.e. "sample" a book that they can't otherwise find in order to make a determination on buying it--like looking through it in a bookstore or an Amazon preview--then delete it.) This is intrinsic to the person (potential customer) and cannot really be affected by the company.

2. Quality. Simply, that they want the book in print, and piracy is all digital. (That or the digital copies are poor.) This is a quality issue and is constant for every publisher contending with piracy. This is not the case for company created PDFs, though. If this is the only reason someone doesn't pirate, they'll happily pirate a "pdf for sale."

3. Fear. Fear of getting caught and somehow punished. This is one that the IP holder can enforce, but is like, as someone has put, the little dutch boy putting his finger in a dike.

4. Availability. There simply are not pirated copies available for download. Conversely, there simply are not legal copies available (out of print, not available in their country, the want a PDF and there are only print books).

5. Goodwill. This is the big one for many people who are willing to pirate in some cases, but not in others. I have friends who will pirate from companies or artists they don't respect, but not from those they do respect. I also have friends that will pirate from those they respect, and then LATER BUY THE SAME SONG with actual money. In some ways this is similar to buying new out of print books at a discount versus buying the books new from the publisher. It is goodwill that matters most in actually wanting to give your money to someone. I DON'T want certain companies to get my money. Specifically I want them to NOT get my money. Alternatively, I want other companies to get my money. It is my goodwill that drives me to purchase brand new books directly from a company (sans even Amazon discount), while "badwill" that makes me choose to only buy books used or secondhand from another.


So what do you all think? Agree, disagree, or have other reasons not to illegally download?

Ethics, Quality, Fear, and Availability are mine. I simply just don't pirate material, I like have the print in my hand so I buy it, I don't want a lawsuit for downloading a file that will cost me $5-$10 k for settlement and another $10-$20 k in legal fees, and I just don't know how to do it as I'm kind of technically ignorant. For me to make an attempt would be the equivalent of me walking into a police station and asking where I can find a drug dealer so I can score some narcotics--just a bad idea all around. For the Goodwill part, my respect or disrespect for a company is irrevelant. If WotC was truly an evil corporate empire, I would simply cease buying their products. I just cannot justify pirating anything for any reason, because ultimately, it doesn't hurt WotC or the other "evil corporate empires", only the to-be-laid-off personnel because profit margins weren't met and now they have to worry about feeding their kids.

One thing I think would be helpful for publishers is to provide a solid preview of their products. IMHO, a "rules light" or "fastplay" versions of their games is usually a good way to go get a good preview of their game.

Anyways, that's my take.

Happy gaming.

 

[Cadfan]

Ethics.

I have to question some of the others, specifically as they apply to people who DO pirate.

Take the hypthetical person who pirates music to see if he likes it, and goes out and buys it if he does. In my experience, every time I've met someone who claims to do this, they have a collection of mp3s they've purchased as a result of downloading a copy and liking it, and then they have a collection of music ten or a hundred times larger that they have downloaded and didn't go out and buy.

Or the hypothetical person who claims that he only pirates material from people he doesn't respect. I've talked to people who say they do this, as if they were some sort of modern Robin Hood teaching a lesson to some corporate fat cat. I always get the feeling that the lack of respect and the desire for pirated material are, at least in part, connected. It always seems like a justification rather than a reason.

 

[Mercutio01]

As a writer, I'm inherently tuned into the idea of owning my own work and controlling its distribution. Chalk up the fact that I don't pirate to the idea that I wouldn't want people to pirate my work. Also, that consumers should actually pay creators for products they wish to enjoy.

 

[Mournblade94]

I don't actively pirate myself, but I have received PDF's from people who I know aquired them from pirating. Many of my friends have only exclusively pirated copies of books. They can't afford books they claim. I am no better as if they have a file I need they transfer it to my jump drive. all the files I have from them are of books I already own, just not in PDF form.

I don't get how pirates make money, and I mean the sponsoring sites. What is in it for them other than fines and jail time. They do not charge for their copies, so what is the point.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I don't actively pirate myself, but I have received PDF's from people who I know aquired them from pirating. Many of my friends have only exclusively pirated copies of books. They can't afford books they claim. I am no better as if they have a file I need they transfer it to my jump drive. all the files I have from them are of books I already own, just not in PDF form.

I don't get how pirates make money, and I mean the sponsoring sites. What is in it for them other than fines and jail time. They do not charge for their copies, so what is the point.

They don't make money. They're not in it for the money. At the core, the reason they pirate stuff is the same reason your friends dump PDFs onto your jump drive. They have a copy, you need a copy, so they give you a copy.

There's also a few other kinds of reasons, like fame in the warez scene, or ideological concerns, but when it comes down to it, pirates are just trying to pass stuff around for the sake of people having that stuff.

It's the same with the old pre-internet VHS bootleg networks that used to distribute foreign movies, especially stuff like horror or exploitation films that were often banned in North America. They just wanted to get people watching the films they love.

It's not that they're out to procure any gain for themselves. It's that it's fun, and it makes them feel helpful. They just don't see the five concerns in the OP as very important, and behave accordingly.

 

[Wicht]

Ethics.

I believe it is wrong to steal at any time, from any person, for any reason. Hence I will not do it nor condone others doing it.

 

[Mikaze]

Ethics. I think people should be able to make a living from their work and I don't have an overinflated sense of entitlement.

Which makes it damnably frustrating when certain companies insist on biting the hands that feed them.

 

[Stoat]

My experience begins and ends with Kazaa and Morpheus. I stopped using them for the following reasons:

(in no particular order)

1) Quality -- a significant minority of songs I downloaded were very poor quality. Staticky, skippy, distorted, whatever.

2) Signal to Noise -- Search for a title or artist and you might find what you're looking for. You'll also find a pile of mislabeled junk and porn.

3) Download Problems -- Downloads proceed fitfully, take forever and crash suddenly.

4) Random lawsuits against old ladies and little girls -- I don't want to be sued.

5) Fear of malware.

6) Nagging and unavoidable knowledge that illegal downloads are, in fact, illegal.

7) itunes -- legal, reasonably priced, known quality, better signal to noise, better download times.

 

[Pyrex]

I work for a software company. My livelyhood depends on people paying for our IP.

It would be more than a little hypocritical of me to make a practice of pirating someone else's IP.

Also, I believe in putting my money where my mouth is (so to speak). If an entity produces content I enjoy, the best way to get them to produce more is to financially reward them for having produced that content (by paying for a copy of it).

OTOH, I tend to be fairly liberal in what I believe to be "fair use" (to be clear, I'm talking about my own personal guidelines, not necessarily what is legally fair use) and don't feel any guilt about downloading a more conveniently formatted copy of content I already own.