Need some piracy advice....

[Vegosiux]

People are saying that "Copyright infringement is totally cool because copyright laws are bullshit."

And since they're ALSO saying that "Piracy is copyright infringement and not theft", then the Transitive Property says that they're saying "Piracy is totally cool because copyright laws are bullshit."

*citation needed*

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Unfortunately, the logical alternative is a system that lets them prove, in court, that you read and understood every single word of that 500 page agreement. Like, a system that requires you to copy that sucker out word for word, in triplicate, rather than clicking "I agree". If you try to take away the company's ability to cover themselves with a legal agreement you didn't really have to read (and there ARE legitimate liability issues for them in there, in addition to all the bull) then their solution is not going to be to stop covering themselves... it's going to be to make it legally binding. No matter how annoying they have to be to do so.

That's the problem of whoever didn't read the agreement, really. Just cause you can scroll down and hit I AGREE doesn't mean you shouldn't read the thing.

I say that whoever agrees to something without reading it only has themselves to blame. Yeah it's tedious, yeah "Who's gonna read that shit", but it takes 5-10 minutes tops and you can avoid some problems. As long as you agreed to it, it doesn't matter if you read it.

The real problem is that you've already paid for the product, and you have to click "I agree" if you want to use it -- even though that agreement was not a part of the original contract of sale. It's adding additional terms to something that you have already paid for, and requiring you to agree to it word for word if you want to use the program -- no negotiation at all. Honestly, there's not much point in reading the damned things, because even if you do know what's in it, you can't do anything about it.

 

[targren]

People are saying that "Copyright infringement is totally cool because copyright laws are bullshit."

And since they're ALSO saying that "Piracy is copyright infringement and not theft", then the Transitive Property says that they're saying "Piracy is totally cool because copyright laws are bullshit."

*citation needed*

Here are some lovely citations for you:

*snipped*

Nice attempt at selective interpretation, except that you made the mistake of quoting me. I never said it was "totally cool." I said that you cannot claim the moral high ground.

 

[Gigano]

Can't be that much of a friend if you'd make an example of him.

Anyway, no company is going to take anything to court on the basis of "This anonymous guy called and said this other guy pirated our game!", and getting actual proof would be public relations nightmare for them. So there's no chance of getting a reasonable company to waste time on such unprofitable actions, in service of your rather disproportionate desire to win an argument.

 

[Vegosiux]

Nice attempt at selective interpretation, except that you made the mistake of quoting me. I never said it was "totally cool." I said that you cannot claim the moral high ground.

There's nothing wrong with ignoring an unjust law.

You were saying?

...so WHERE did people claim piracy is OK?

 

[targren]

...so WHERE did people claim piracy is OK?

Let it go, dude. Clearly, there are no words small enough.

 

[bfgmetalhead]

OP: If it bothers you so much buy your friend a copy of the game. That will make them legit, give the publishers their money, and it should send a jolt to your friend how much you care about the issue. Not saying it will stop them, but it should make them think a bit more.

You know, this is exactly what I said way back on page three. I still think it's the best route if he doesn't want to lose his friend. These people should just listen to our awesome ideas.

I bought him teraria after he pirated it last year. I felt the same then cause yknow..teraria

 

[legendp]

One of my friends pirated Skyrim recently (like a day ago). I am really, really irrated about it, I spent a whole hour almost ranting at him about how cruel it was to Bethesda's workers who poured so much work into the game for him to just pirate it.
He said that he was completely justified in taking it at as he did'nt want to pay for it, which in my opinion is a terrible excuse.

Now I don't hate pirates, some times it is fair. Like situations like no demo, trying before you buy it, it's an EA game(lol half-joke) or it is'nt available anymore to buy; but just taking a product for the sake of WEYHAY FREE SHIT!!111!! just does not sit well with me.

Anyway I need some advice, is their any system that I can report this to secretly? Cause I really think I need to make an example of him, and he is the kind of person that if he does it once an gets away wih it, he will do it again.

So fellow escapists any suggesions?

p.s Don't turn this into a Skyrim vs Oblivion thread plox. WUV U <3

Edit. I don't like the idea of snitching on him but there is no other way I can think of were he would get the message that theiving of deserving companys is unacceptable. I f anyone has a suggestion I would love to know .

why is it that on the escapist pirating is considered as bad as murder or physical abuse. I mean piraters will pirate, making an example of him will not stop him. I know people who have pirated 100+ games, I don't dob them in because they will do it anyway. Anyway don't act like you have never listened to a downloaded song or watched a pirated movie. People need to get some perspective, pirating is bad but people are overacting as badly as the video game companies. Have you considered that he didn't have the money anyway, or wouldn't play it for more than a handfull of hours, sure theses are not reasons to pirate but maybe you shouldn't be so judgemental about it and relax. the majority of pirated games are not played through to the end, A lot of pirates basically just play an extended demo and then move on to something else. Has your friend played the game for more than 6hours

I hate how people are so judgemental about people they don't even know. I could name a dozen reasons people might pirate that I have never even seen raised on the escapist, they are not justifications but they are factors to be considered

 

[Silverfox99]

OP: If it bothers you so much buy your friend a copy of the game. That will make them legit, give the publishers their money, and it should send a jolt to your friend how much you care about the issue. Not saying it will stop them, but it should make them think a bit more.

You know, this is exactly what I said way back on page three. I still think it's the best route if he doesn't want to lose his friend. These people should just listen to our awesome ideas.

I bought him teraria after he pirated it last year. I felt the same then cause yknow..teraria

Well you can't keep buying him games then that only will reinforce the bad behavior. Maybe don't talk to him or play any game with him you know he has pirated?

OP: If it bothers you so much buy your friend a copy of the game. That will make them legit, give the publishers their money, and it should send a jolt to your friend how much you care about the issue. Not saying it will stop them, but it should make them think a bit more.

You know, this is exactly what I said way back on page three. I still think it's the best route if he doesn't want to lose his friend. These people should just listen to our awesome ideas.

Yea I agree. I didn't see your post in the haze of the other posters taking over the thread to discuss pirating instead of helping the op with his friend.

 

[Altorin]

I'd rather be friends with a person that pirates every game ever made then be friends with someone who would throw aforementioned friend under a bus.

People will disagree. But that's okay. I don't want to be their friend if they would disagree.

This is the dumbest thread I've ever read and I used to post on GameFAQs

 

[Guardian of Nekops]

Unfortunately, the logical alternative is a system that lets them prove, in court, that you read and understood every single word of that 500 page agreement. Like, a system that requires you to copy that sucker out word for word, in triplicate, rather than clicking "I agree". If you try to take away the company's ability to cover themselves with a legal agreement you didn't really have to read (and there ARE legitimate liability issues for them in there, in addition to all the bull) then their solution is not going to be to stop covering themselves... it's going to be to make it legally binding. No matter how annoying they have to be to do so.

That's the problem of whoever didn't read the agreement, really. Just cause you can scroll down and hit I AGREE doesn't mean you shouldn't read the thing.

I say that whoever agrees to something without reading it only has themselves to blame. Yeah it's tedious, yeah "Who's gonna read that shit", but it takes 5-10 minutes tops and you can avoid some problems. As long as you agreed to it, it doesn't matter if you read it.

Which is the way the current system works, sure. However, if you start saying these things don't apply to you because you were asked to sign it after you bought the product, and not before, then they're going to start needing legally enforcable records. You know, like any other contract.

Which, I'm sure you'll agree, would be bloody annoying to fill out every time the game releases a patch.

 

[Bobby Carless]

Hi, I remember seeing this comment on a different forum, and thought it was worth copying and pasting over:

I've seen it before too. Now here's why it's a load of bullshit.

"To all those anti-piracy people here, for crying out loud shut up and
get off your high horse.

Starting off with an insult. Not a good way to start a valid argument...

Piracy is not equal to stealing; that is a common fallacy. Digital
piracy is simply the reproduction of something that is already
existing.

Copying =/= stealing, and using a copy is certainly not
equated to getting it away from someone.

THIS is the common fallacy, right here. A game is not simply the 1's and 0's used in the creation of the game. When you buy a game, what you're paying for isn't just the data for the game, you're primarily paying for the legal right to play the game. Piracy is the act of illegally obtaining the right to play the game.

You are a non-entity until you purchase the product. For all intents
and purposes, you are still a random variable that can go either way.
Pirating a product does not change that. Only when you pay for the
real thing after using the pirated version do you matter. And if you
don?t? Well, you?re no more than a person who didn?t buy the product
in the first place.

Really, this bit is mostly saying that piracy isn't as bad for the gaming industry as they always make it out to be, which is a separate argument entirely, but it's also using that as a weak rationalization for piracy being perfectly acceptable.

The only reason why you?re all butthurt about it is because pirates
are experiencing something that you paid for. Boo-fucking-hoo. Does it
harm you that they are? No? Then shut up and drink your tea."

And this bit is just insulting and belittling everybody who thinks that you shouldn't be able to get something for nothing.

Any more bullshit?

Hey, I didn't say I agreed with it, just that it was interesting... No need to be hostile.

But what about the people who use torrenting as a way to demo games then buy them officially to ensure they don't get ripped off?

Is it wrong for me to ask a friend to lend me Skyrim for a few months while I lend him my COD? The thing I never understood was torrenting, by its nature is so close to sharing among friends. Only I suppose with torrenting it's like having millions of friends who are fine giving you a copy of whatever you're looking for. What's the difference? Where do you draw the line?

 

[Vegosiux]

Which is the way the current system works, sure. However, if you start saying these things don't apply to you because you were asked to sign it after you bought the product, and not before, then they're going to start needing legally enforcable records. You know, like any other contract.

I said that if they want to insist this is a licensing business the agreement should be presented on purchase. Can't take only the convenient bits of a concept and ignore those that are a bit of a hassle, can you now.

Which, I'm sure you'll agree, would be bloody annoying to fill out every time the game releases a patch.

Annoying? Yes. But sometimes I'm willing to trade some convenience off to make sure I'm not being had. 'sides, yes, that could result in lower sales because people would go "Fuck that" at the red tape.

Means the industry will just have to come up with something that's both convenient and respects our rights, hm? But no, why should companies have to spend money on that shit if they can spend it on manager payoffs, right? [/drooling sarcasm]

'sides, whenever a patch appears, I think it would be quite enough to merely highlight the changes in the contract - since you're still bound by everything else you agreed to previously. So yes, on patches, when terms change, the supplier should highlight the changes so you only have to read and agree to what you did not read and agree to previously. It would take them, what, three minutes? Just, you know, make whatever changes you just put in more visible? Change the text color?

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Everyone who was willing to pay for the game has already paid for it. Buying it now would likely just result in getting it used and you'd simply be feeding the parasitic Gamestop.

 

[Something Amyss]

They have the same effect in the long run. Insurance 'duplicates' lost physical stock. Piracy causes lost sales through duplication. While the item is still present, somebody has the original, or the copy, without paying for it. That's just not cricket.

They do not have the same effect in the long run. One takes away physical copies others can no longer purchase and causes a chain of actual traceable damage. The other does nothing of the sort.

Insurance, similarly, does not actually duplicate, it replaces. Money is still spent and the products do not actually appear out of thin air. Even putting it in quotes does not make the comparison honest.

 

[Thyunda]

They have the same effect in the long run. Insurance 'duplicates' lost physical stock. Piracy causes lost sales through duplication. While the item is still present, somebody has the original, or the copy, without paying for it. That's just not cricket.

They do not have the same effect in the long run. One takes away physical copies others can no longer purchase and causes a chain of actual traceable damage. The other does nothing of the sort.

Insurance, similarly, does not actually duplicate, it replaces. Money is still spent and the products do not actually appear out of thin air. Even putting it in quotes does not make the comparison honest.

But for it to make a difference, it would have to be a huge number of either objects or occasions. So for all intents and purposes, insurance will 'duplicate' the item. Because the shop does not know nor care where the replacement comes from. So. It's an honest comparison.

 

[Something Amyss]

But for it to make a difference, it would have to be a huge number of either objects or occasions. So for all intents and purposes, insurance will 'duplicate' the item. Because the shop does not know nor care where the replacement comes from. So. It's an honest comparison.

Actually, that's exactly why it's not duplication.