Pirate some things, pay for some things. It doesn’t have to be absolute.
When I was younger I pirated because I didn’t have any money to spare for digital media. Today I have a stable income and can afford all these things but I still pirate because it’s just more convenient in many ways.
Whenever I consume something that I really like I 100% support the artist / developers mostly by buying this exact product and / or some merch or by going to their concerts (if it’s music related)
To me piracy is just a way of freedom. Which includes to respect other people if they like or dislike spending money on certain things. In my eyes we should not split this community in such a way because this would kill the essence of freedom to make your own choices
Because in the words of GabeN, piracy (in a 1st world country at least) is a service problem and not a pricing problem. Many things are worth paying for, especially when you are supporting smaller creators, artists and indie game devs. But when heavy-handed DRM’s and corporate shovelware and services that actively remove content I pay for makes it a shit experience. I’m gonna just torrent that shit, fuck 'em
But when heavy-handed DRM’s and corporate shovelware and services that actively remove content I pay for makes it a shit experience. I’m gonna just torrent that shit
The annoying hurdles are what get me. I’ve cracked a lot of the games that I own because I hate forced updates, going through an additional client, or being asked to sign in for another service that I won’t use.
I once had a valid office key… But since I reset my computer to often the amount of “free activations” was used up… There where so many hoops to jump through to re-activate it that it was easier to get a cracked key to activate my office version… That’s just sick
Most of us are presumably adults who can afford to pay for things when they’re convenient. That’s what it’s about for me, convenience. If you’re not making it convenient for me to buy your thing fair and square, then I’m gonna pirate it.
I’m a bit astonished how often I see this kind of thread, even here. It’s like when people complain about FOSS apps charging subscriptions or standalone fees. How many times does it have to be pointed out that piracy as an activity does not define piracy as a movement or a collective?
I’m certain this simplistic “piracy = not paying for stuff” take can only come from a kind of ignorant individualism, one that lacks any structural analysis of why, when, and for what content people turn to piracy (and why, when, etc, they stop).
Pirating gives me the option not to support shit corporations that fuck over consumers with no business ethics. I can pirate the content I choose and pay for it when I want to support creators.
Historically, pirating and underground markets for good and services begin to proliferate in a society as a sign that their economic system is failing. IMHO, unbridled capitalism and corporate shitification in the US is turning the Internet into a hellscape with 5 companies basically controlling the entire Internet with so much lobbying muscle behind them they remain untouchable through what remains of the democratic system.
I don’t pirate because I’m opposed to paying for things. I pirate stuff because I don’t want to support scumbag corporations that don’t give a shit about me. In fact, I buy most of the media and games I consume, in order to support the devs behind it.
And that’s not a “new piracy gen”, that’s how piracy has always been for most people. You’re the odd one out here.
I ain’t cheap, I just don’t like my money going to billionaires who give us nothing in return. I pay for email, I don’t pay to watch a Marvel film.
I don’t think it’s that hard.
You…pay for email???
Proton!
The fuck if I’m gonna let Google train an AI off my emails.
