Piracy, simply put.

[Davroth]

I've been wondering. Are there actual scientific studies pointing out the harmful effect of piracy on the entertainment industry?

Because I could point to a scientific study, conducted by the Swiss government, that came to the conclusion that piracy (more specifically file sharing) actually has a positive effect on the industry. Oh, and the Escapist even ran an article about it. Where did I put that again? Hmm..

Oh, here it is. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114537-File-sharing-Remains-Legal-In-Switzerland

Why does the Swiss government lie to us? :O

 

[Marmooset]

I've been wondering. Are there actual scientific studies pointing out the harmful effect of piracy on the entertainment industry?

Because I could point to a scientific study, conducted by the Swiss government, that came to the conclusion that piracy (more specifically file sharing) actually has a positive effect on the industry. Oh, and the Escapist even ran an article about it. Where did I put that again? Hmm..

Oh, here it is. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114537-File-sharing-Remains-Legal-In-Switzerland

Why does the Swiss government lie to us? :O

"The government's argument was this: intervening through additional copyright legislation would make sense if it preserved the economic benefit of content like music and movies. But intervening would bring with it its own economic costs. The government then looked at 22 studies analyzing the effects of piracy on the music industry, with five showing a positive impact on sales and three showing no correlation."
( http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397173,00.asp )
22 studies. 5 showed a positive impact. 3 showed no impact. Wonder how many pointed out a negative impact? Let's see - 22 minus 5 minus 3...
It's interesting how The Swiss Govt. went with a finding that agreed with all of 22% of the results. Could they be guilty of the same cherry picking that folks who constantly refer to their stance on piracy do?

 

[Davroth]

I've been wondering. Are there actual scientific studies pointing out the harmful effect of piracy on the entertainment industry?

Because I could point to a scientific study, conducted by the Swiss government, that came to the conclusion that piracy (more specifically file sharing) actually has a positive effect on the industry. Oh, and the Escapist even ran an article about it. Where did I put that again? Hmm..

Oh, here it is. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114537-File-sharing-Remains-Legal-In-Switzerland

Why does the Swiss government lie to us? :O

"The government's argument was this: intervening through additional copyright legislation would make sense if it preserved the economic benefit of content like music and movies. But intervening would bring with it its own economic costs. The government then looked at 22 studies analyzing the effects of piracy on the music industry, with five showing a positive impact on sales and three showing no correlation."
( http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397173,00.asp )
22 studies. 5 showed a positive impact. 3 showed no impact. Wonder how many pointed out a negative impact? Let's see - 22 minus 5 minus 3...
It's interesting how The Swiss Govt. went with a finding that agreed with all of 22% of the results. Could they be guilty of the same cherry picking that folks who constantly refer to their stance on piracy do?

And why would the Swiss government side with piracy?

 

[Dr Jones]

The problem is there are two places our points of view differ. I have a "no compromise" attitude, whereas you have the opposite attitude. There is no reason for you to get all aggresive at me. If they pirate 1 game, they are freeloaders (considering they have money to buy games), there is nothing more to it, man. Buying 9 cheeseburgers and stealing one doesen't make you a saint, it makes you a thief.

I like you. Although I think you should have said Kahuna Burger.

OT - I'm not a saint. I make no claim of innocence. But the whole muddling of the definition of piracy is a big part of rationalization on the part of mild low-grade pirates who don't want to admit that they're the bad guy. Blame is displaced on others, extenuating circumstances, or faulty studies showing that their acts are somehow beneficial. It's reminiscent of serial killers who are only able to say, "this thing happened," instead of "I did it."

I've said it before, but I'd be a lot more inclined to respect someone who says, "fuck it, I'm a pirate. I steal. If you'll excuse me, I have some downloading to do." But those people are either very rare, or don't spend valuable stealing time on message boards.

It makes me wonder how many folks in the old days thought they were modeling themselves after Robin Hood when all they actually did was rob travelers indiscriminately.

Big Kahuna Burger, the cornerstone of every nutritious breakfast
And i agree. To me (and it should be to everyone, just deal with it) piracy is illegal, and is in nearly no way condoneable (some rare cases maybe). I don't like piracy, but i stream episodes off a couple'a times in a month. I know what i'm doing is wrong, i'm a dirty freeloader, and a bastard. Atleast i actually acknowledge it.

 

[Marmooset]

And why would the Swiss government side with piracy?

Hell, I dunno. They've always been kinda the edgy type.
I make no accusation of corruption. It's simply that if the numbers play out as they appear, the choice seems somewhat subjective and/or illogical, and not really the cornerstone of an argument.

To me (and it should be to everyone, just deal with it) piracy is illegal, and is in nearly no way condoneable (some rare cases maybe). I don't like piracy, but i stream episodes off a couple'a times in a month. I know what i'm doing is wrong, i'm a dirty freeloader, and a bastard. Atleast i actually acknowledge it.

Now I really like you.