Opinion on Pirating

[ygohome]

My Dad is very black and white on the subject of software licensing.  He'll stick to the letter of the law/license even if he doesn't fully agree with the license.  If the software is beneficial to his company, he'll buy it and adhere to their license.  If the software is well backed and known to be proven, he will purchase the necessary license(s).  Keep in mind, I don't think he's ever played a video game in his life.

 

He is responsible for the software purchases in his company.  He knows that the financial consequences to the company are high if caught with unlicensed software installed on company computers, even if the software was unknowingly ("innocently") installed by an employee for any reason.  The fines are high and it is too great a risk.  There are regular audits in the company to prevent unlicensed software.  Fortunately, pro business, developer and productivity software almost always have a demo/trial or free version to try before you buy.  Some are crippled free versions, some are full versions but with a cutt-off date built in.  Some licenses permit duplicates to be made for backups, many do not.

 

But for someone like my dad, the decision is black and white.  If this person was interested in GTAV ,  but it did not have a demo/trial version, then that person would probably see what kind of reviews their peers gave it... wait for the trusted reviews, youtube reviews, etc.   If it looks favorable, then that person would buy it.  Else they wouldn't install and play it.  If the software license prevents downloading or making a backup, then no backup would be made other than machine system level and data backups.  If the software was lost, they would buy another copy.

 

I'm not as black & white as my dad in this area.  But I understand and respect it.  So it's up to you I guess.  You're the one who is responsible for any consequences.  If the consequences are not a worry, then it is up to your moral decision.

[Misanthrope]

Piracy is wrong, there's no getting around that.

However, in certain circumstances...

Don't know, that certainly seems like sort of getting around that there chief.

[xox]

Don't know, that certainly seems like sort of getting around that there chief.

It's open to interpretation whether it is piracy or not

[Recon97]

I only pirate because I don't have an access to legit ones.

[Misanthrope]

It's open to interpretation whether it is piracy or not

 

Many situations are. I'm ok with this part of your view, I just don't understand your first statement that implies it's absolutely and irreparably morally reprehensible, yet you later admit there are moral grey areas on the subject.

[Tacitus]

When you buy media on a disc or a cartridge or digitally you buy the right to access the content specifically on that disc, which may only work on one platform. If that disc were to break, get lost or stolen you are not legally entitled to then illegally download the game to resume playing it, as it's more appropriate to look at it by saying "I bought this disc which just so happens to contain GTA V on PS4". You wouldn't have a leg to stand on in a court, so your argument about buying the right to play it is moot.

 

Onto the moral side of things. I do not oppose pirating in many cases because in my eyes it does not harm the industry like developers and film directors claim it does. The reality is, people spend more year-after-year on digital content and on cinema/films etc. and in many cases people download things they otherwise wouldn't have because they'd not pay for them. 

[xox]

Many situations are. I'm ok with this part of your view, I just don't understand your first statement that implies it's absolutely and irreparably morally reprehensible, yet you later admit there are moral grey areas on the subject.

You should be okay with my view regardless... Otherwise, you are being a bigot...

 

I'm saying piracy is fundamentally wrong, but this may not be piracy; technically he has purchased the product but technically he hasn't. As you say, it's a grey area.

[v3nture]

Piracy is wrong but it definitely can be useful.

[ygohome]

Me, I don't mind downloading software from someplace and then buying a license key when it comes time to install.

 

Or, if I lost my physical media, I would just download another copy (preferably from authorized sources to avoid downloading garbage).  I'd just reuse my registered software key.  MS approves of this for their OS.  As long as the key's check out they don't care.  But if you want to install one of their Server OS or SQL Server products the licenses become extremely complex... dependent on number of CPUs, Cores, Virtualization, etc.

 

The problem nowadays is it is so easy to steal software that the license agreements are way over the top and ridiculously restrictive to protect their products/investments.

[Misanthrope]

You should be okay with my view regardless... Otherwise, you are being a bigot...

 

Ummm no. People can have a disagreement on this topics, if you want to dismiss my opinion because I not only consider grey areas troublesome but normal, no "excuses" piracy that's fine, but your opinion is far from absolute and calling me a bigot because I think there's always a pretty good reason to pirate something that's borderline for CoC here on the forums.

 

So just lets mutually walk away and agree to disagree.

[GrimNeo]

Clearly, I was taught not to steal from people, which honestly is what piracy is, sure you have not removed a physical copy, but you are robbing the people that worked on it of being paid

 

You dont have to play games, you are not entitled to them, whether that makes you cool or not is irrelevant. Not being able to afford video games is a first world problem, I would have thought your parents would not have said "oh if you cant afford it just steal your PS1 game from the shop, we dont care".

 

Oh you want to be a dev? great will pirate all your stuff

 

the whole point of being a developer as your JOB is to be paid for doing something you love, if not then its just a hobby

I agree with you and pirating is wrong.

 

i think we are getting a little agressive here so ill stop. also i already am a developer and please feel free to pirate my stuff. see the thing is you wont be able to get your hands on it. also i think pirating may be compareable to stealing products that that just ly on the street. its just so easy if it were harder to get your hands on them i think it wouldnt be that popular. 

as a developer i get paid to implement a product for one company. i deliver and get paid wether or not they let other people steal it is not my business i get paid regardless

Basically what you're saying if someone steals from you ,and takes all your money ,and possessions it's fine because it's popular. No one should feel sorry for you because the person that robbed you was poor and could not afford it. Also you should not be allowed to take legal action because if you did then you would be a hypocrite. Plus the insurance company would not back you up because you said its fair game. If the place you work at goes out of business because of piracy then no one should feel sorry for you because you said that its ok to take it from them. No wonder why companies want to support console gamers over pc gamers. Your street example for stealing is also a poor excuse. For example we have Cluelessgenius selling his product on the street and he spent x amount on said product. Customer A decides to take product because according to clueless its out on the street so its fair game to steal from him. Customer B wants to buy but since Cluelessgenius lost all of his inventory because of the "pirates" then now customer A can no longer support you. The cops don't get involved because hey, its fair game and its popular. The same could be said if you owned a store and allowed people to walk in to your store. That is also fair game. I could go on by why bother.

[sherwind2010]

[Hypotethical]

So the upcoming release of GTA V got me pondering a question. I bought the PS3 version of the game on release and was wondering whether or not it would be morally justifyable to pirate the PC release.

 

It could be argued that by purchasing the PS3 version i bought the right to play the game and hence should not have to pay multiple times for the same content. (I say this because of the discussion around not actually owning the data on a physical disk but rather owning the right to use / view that data)

 

Yes, im aware that theres gonna be additional content in the PC version but essentially its the same right?

 

I didnt like GTA 5 all that much and probably wont play it on PC either way but im curious what you guys think on the matter.

 

Discalimer: Before you light your torches and get your pichforks - I do buy my games

Careful, admitting to pirtcy is aganst CoC. I want to see that cute avatar without baned by it

[cluelessgenius]

I agree with you and pirating is wrong.

 

Basically what you're saying if someone steals from you ,and takes all your money ,and possessions it's fine because it's popular. No one should feel sorry for you because the person that robbed you was poor and could not afford it. Also you should not be allowed to take legal action because if you did then you would be a hypocrite. Plus the insurance company would not back you up because you said its fair game. If the place you work at goes out of business because of piracy then no one should feel sorry for you because you said that its ok to take it from them. No wonder why companies want to support console gamers over pc gamers. Your street example for stealing is also a poor excuse. For example we have Cluelessgenius selling his product on the street and he spent x amount on said product. Customer A decides to take product because according to clueless its out on the street so its fair game to steal from him. Customer B wants to buy but since Cluelessgenius lost all of his inventory because of the "pirates" then now customer A can no longer support you. The cops don't get involved because hey, its fair game and its popular. The same could be said if you owned a store and allowed people to walk in to your store. That is also fair game. I could go on by why bother.

dramatic much? "all your money, and possessions" ? calm down. how i see it is if im letting you steal its not your fault. but trust if i was selling at the corner you wouldnt be able to steal from me. thats all im saying. if software company arent smart enough to protect their products and let people crack it then its not my fault for getting on it. i do think its borderline gray area to actually crack games but luckily thats not what im doing. still i think if you let people take your shit then yes you deserve it. luckily i dont let people take my stuff so theres nothing to feel bad about. so get off my dick about it ok? ..jesus

[SuperPug]

Careful, admitting to pirtcy is aganst CoC. I want to see that cute avatar without baned by it

 

Thats why it says [Hypothetical] at the beginning. And as i stated im not gonna play it on pc either way since i didnt really like the game. It was more meant as a general question about owning a game on one platform and having to rebuy it on another.

[GrimNeo]

dramatic much? "all your money, and possessions" ? calm down. how i see it is if im letting you steal its not your fault. but trust if i was selling at the corner you wouldnt be able to steal from me. thats all im saying. if software company arent smart enough to protect their products and let people crack it then its not my fault for getting on it. i do think its borderline gray area to actually crack games but luckily thats not what im doing. still i think if you let people take your shit then yes you deserve it. luckily i dont let people take my stuff so theres nothing to feel bad about. so get off my dick about it ok? ..jesus

Clearly you don't understand what I'm talking about. I never said I was stealing from you. You obviliously think you're higher than everyone else and that it's ok for you to steal from people because of some excuse. I am calm and because its text over the internet people think they know how others are reacting. You have already proven my point here with your response. I just stated what you said and please don't bring Jesus into this because if you really believed in him then you would not be stealing. I love the poor excuse as well. Let me know when you grow up in a dirt hut and have no food because your country is constantly under attack by people who oppose the government. I never saw that as an excuse to steal from people.

[fringie]

Morally correct? Technically no, it's not. But, since when has that mattered? Most of our clothes weren't produced in a morally correct way for example..

 

I would love to be morally correct but I'm the type of person who prioritizes my own happiness over being morally correct (in regards to not being able to see the negative effects i.e. I wouldn't steal from someone but I would RMA a product I damaged if I can get away with it which is effectively the same thing). Most people are like this but pretend not to be.

 

Would I recommend pirating? Yes, I would; you are not supporting the companies/people that made the product but you are supporting yourself. I say peoples happiness are more important than petty pride/morals (some morals must be stuck with ofc but I think disregarding one like this is OK). If that makes me a 'bad person' then so be it.

 

I would also like to note my games are legit (out of laziness + I want a better experience i.e. patches/multiplayer) not because of morals I'm sure a lot of other people are the same but like to slam people that pirate games.

[ErickS89]

My opinion is, "NOPE, Nope, nope"

[sherwind2010]

Thats why it says [Hypothetical] at the beginning. And as i stated im not gonna play it on pc either way since i didnt really like the game. It was more meant as a general question about owning a game on one platform and having to rebuy it on another.

 

I hate buying it one platform & having to rebuy it on another, I didn't buy it yet. just waiting for PC

[LudoTheGreat]

I use pirating of games, and even movies and music, like test runs. I almost never play a game all the way through in the first run. I'll put 20 hours or so into it and then walk away from it due to being bored or what not. At some point I'll come back and finish the game. What I tend to do these days is Pirate the game and play it for that first 20 hours or so. If I want to go back to it I buy it. Usually around the time I see it on sale on steam or something of the sort. 

 

Don't use that as an excuse to pirate. Every company deserves to earn money for their work. It's just something I have started to do over the years after spending $1000s on games that I don't ever finish. Some that I end up not even liking.

[Flanelman]

I'm with you, i bought it on PS3 release, and for that reason alone, i will not be buying it again because i know first hand that it is not worth that amount of money.