this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023
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Well, my friend, he's kinda poor he can't afford some books and some streaming services, so he pirates. He pirate books, audiobook and videos and other stuff. Sometimes he buys books he likes a lot out of loyalty to the author (yeah, I don't understand it either), he likes to read physical books, but yeah, if he hates the author or just wants to skim through it, he will download the book.

He usually doesn't like to pirate from small companies or professors who are trying to make a living by selling books, but from millionaires & plenty of mega corps which already have loads of money, he feels like it's the right move to pirate

Also, have you ever noticed that you have felt that the value of a product has decreased just because you didn't pay for it, thus you are less interested to read it? i.e., had you paid for the book, you would have more likely read that book.

He says he will buy stuff when his time is more valuable than money, let's all hope that day is soon.

What are your piracy habits?

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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

Generally stuff like Steam games I'll pay for, especially now that I can afford it. I have no qualms with people pirating things if they can't afford it, like teens, students, between jobs, on social security, people living in a country with an undervalued currency. To me it's not stealing, it's expanded access to knowledge, and unlike stealing benefits companies who get much better reach and recommendation than if the price tag (or stupid DRM) stopped them from trying.

When I do pirate something, I often treat it as a demo, like I can play the game to get the feel but no/limited networking features, no updates etc.. I don't like having to pay and refund something if I was just going to try it out. If a friend wants an idea of how a game is like, I give them a copy I bought after removing DRM if I can. Often times they go and buy their own copy because it's a cool game, when they don't it probably wasn't interesting enough to complete.

Sometimes there are just too many middlemen taking a cut here and there that I would rather obtain something in contravention of copyright then provide value back to the creator more directly if I could. Steam, a rare exception for me, justifies their value through their robust update, social, modding, Linux supporting ecosystem.

[–] businessfish@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago

i only pirate things that i do not "need" and i would not purchase no matter the price - typically movies and shows that are not on the streaming platforms i pay for.

if pirating that thing isn't an option, i'll just do without it. so in my eyes the creator is not losing any sales from me since i would not be paying for it in any scenario.

[–] maniel@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Ebooks often cost more than paper books, they're also easily pirate-able, mainly due to their small size, so my Kindle has almost... 600MB of wArEz

Pirated games some long time ago, if I liked it I bought it, it's a nice way to test how a game runs on my machine, there were almost no demos a few years ago, now more and more games have them, also you can test some of them with subscriptions like gamepass

Also streaming subscriptions are too fragmented, that IMO justices occasional piracy

[–] SurpriZe@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I feel good seeing how the corpos squirm when trying their damndest to get rid of any pirating method (which is fair and what everyone in the world deserves free of charge by birth) only to be met with impossible tasks and fall flat on their faces. It's one of the better feelings in this world. I pirate everything, everywhere, unless I know I can help a talented (and actual) human out.

[–] Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I don't pirate because I'm an adult who makes money and respects creators.

[–] dan1101@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I used to pirate like crazy in my youth. Now since Steam and Netflix I don't pirate, recognizing that creators deserve to get paid and also by paying them that supports making more content.

[–] HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone 1 points 2 years ago

It is noble and dare i say, even cool and funny to download (evilly).

[–] systemglitch@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I want? I pirate. It loses no value. If the price is right I'll support smaller guys when I can, but shit is only getting more expensive, so I support less these days.

Shits getting expensive and I'm not getting richer. I think I'd be stupid to not pirate.

Shit really is getting expensive.

[–] HarriPotero@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Copying is not theft. Stealing a thing leaves one less left. Copying it makes one thing more; that’s what copying’s for. Copying is not theft. If I copy yours you have it too. One for me and one for you. That’s what copies can do. If I steal your bicycle you have to take the bus, but if I just copy it there’s one for each of us! Making more of a thing, that is what we call “copying”. Sharing ideas with everyone. That’s why copying is FUN!

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[–] Destraight@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I think pirates are cool but the download links they put to make you download viruses are not cool

[–] MicrowavedTea@infosec.pub 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Specifically for books I pirate because I get a better product this way. I prefer reading on my phone and downloading an epub means I can open it in any app I want, add chapters and share it with whoever I want. If I could easily pay for a book and get the same experience without any drm or online account bullshit I would probably do it.

Physical books are also ok but buying anything not in my language means possibly waiting forever for it to arrive and paying more for transit costs. I may still do it if I really want to support the author but I'd rather have a way to pay them directly tbh.

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[–] mercury@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago

I like stealing

[–] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

I pirate to try things, if I like it I pay for it. I have games on Steam with less than an hour played but most achievements unlocked because after finishing the game I purchased it.

[–] Nobsi@feddit.de 0 points 2 years ago

I pirate everything that i cannot afford. Lately it's gotten to the point that i can afford everything but before i had Money i would pirate all games that looked interesting.
I just didnt wanna lose money that i barely had saved.

And no, my interest in the thing i stole never had any impact from the pricetag.
I liked the thing, thats why i wanted it.

And i do not understand people that try to make theft morally okay.
It is not okay to steal from Target the same way it is not okay to steal from EA.
If you can afford it just buy the things.

I made up exceptions to this rule to make myself feel less guilty. At the end of the day the reason was that i was poor and i couldnt accept that i couldnt get a thing.

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