Comments on: Reflections on Stickin’ To My Guns http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/ Here lies da booty Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:25:01 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jed http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-/#comment-2807 Jed Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:36:57 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2807 I agree with some, that paying for a product should buy property, not just a license. I agree that an e-version of a book should be included free-of-charge with the purchase of a printed book (though the enforcement of that is tough because there's nothing stopping a nogoodnik from just wandering a bookstore snatching up all the license keys or media). I agree that DRM is a damned hassle and (at least historically) doomed to failure. Now by definition, piracy (in the warez sense) is the illegal download of commercial media, but the spirit I was going for in my post allows for the purchase of the legal version and then the subsequent download of a pirated, non-DRM'd version of that product. The spirit is to provide incentive for producers to continue producing and to stop the mindset that illegal downloads are in any way different than real-world theft. I'm a little bit of a hypocrite on that subject in that I condone piracy for the sake of education/professional development if-and-only-if (IFF) the intent is to do one of the following (i apologize for the lack of showing bullets below): <ul> <li>Learn a piece of software to determine if it is a possible career track</li> <li>Increase competitive advantage for an individual who is already on a particular career track and will pay for the software license as soon as it's possible financially</li> <li>Bypass DRM (as explained above) on already-licensed software</li> </ul> I think my hypocracy has enough caveats to make my stance still fairly obvious. :-) Write back and tell your friends about cyberpir8.net ;-) I agree with some, that paying for a product should buy property, not just a license. I agree that an e-version of a book should be included free-of-charge with the purchase of a printed book (though the enforcement of that is tough because there’s nothing stopping a nogoodnik from just wandering a bookstore snatching up all the license keys or media). I agree that DRM is a damned hassle and (at least historically) doomed to failure.

Now by definition, piracy (in the warez sense) is the illegal download of commercial media, but the spirit I was going for in my post allows for the purchase of the legal version and then the subsequent download of a pirated, non-DRM’d version of that product. The spirit is to provide incentive for producers to continue producing and to stop the mindset that illegal downloads are in any way different than real-world theft. I’m a little bit of a hypocrite on that subject in that I condone piracy for the sake of education/professional development if-and-only-if (IFF) the intent is to do one of the following (i apologize for the lack of showing bullets below):

  • Learn a piece of software to determine if it is a possible career track
  • Increase competitive advantage for an individual who is already on a particular career track and will pay for the software license as soon as it’s possible financially
  • Bypass DRM (as explained above) on already-licensed software

I think my hypocracy has enough caveats to make my stance still fairly obvious. :-) Write back and tell your friends about cyberpir8.net ;-)

]]> By: Jon Mitten http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-1/#comment-2722 Jon Mitten Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:56:45 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2722 I'm saying, from a perspective of the evolution of projects, piracy impedes on developers' abilities to afford to maintain and improve their projects. The revenue gained from a project's 1.0 release could result in a continued effort to improve the product to 2.0. It's free-market economics. However, and I maintain this, if you're starving, stealing an apple off of the apple-cart is not a "sin", however criminal. I don't know if being broke and stealing applications should be compared to core survival - in fact, I think it shouldn't - but there's a scale to moral flexibility in the face of living with few resources. I'm not saying I'm letting myself off the hook by virtue of being poor. I revisited this article to post this, actually, a little slice of irony. It's on-topic: http://torrentfreak.com/file-sharing-heroine-lilly-allen-is-a-copyright-hypocrite-090921/ I’m saying, from a perspective of the evolution of projects, piracy impedes on developers’ abilities to afford to maintain and improve their projects. The revenue gained from a project’s 1.0 release could result in a continued effort to improve the product to 2.0. It’s free-market economics.

However, and I maintain this, if you’re starving, stealing an apple off of the apple-cart is not a “sin”, however criminal. I don’t know if being broke and stealing applications should be compared to core survival – in fact, I think it shouldn’t – but there’s a scale to moral flexibility in the face of living with few resources. I’m not saying I’m letting myself off the hook by virtue of being poor.

I revisited this article to post this, actually, a little slice of irony. It’s on-topic:
torrentfreak.com/file-sharing-heroine-lilly-allen-is-a-copyright-hypocrite-090921/

]]> By: Jed http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-1/#comment-2709 Jed Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:37:16 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2709 I'm not sure I'm summarizing correctly, but it sounds like you are a proponent of piracy for the educational benefits of having a "learning version" of a given piece of software. Is that right? How does that opinion translate into the creative works? <blockquote>Evolutionarily speaking, it I’m not sure I’m summarizing correctly, but it sounds like you are a proponent of piracy for the educational benefits of having a “learning version” of a given piece of software. Is that right? How does that opinion translate into the creative works?

Evolutionarily speaking, it

]]> By: Jon Mitten http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-1/#comment-2708 Jon Mitten Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:50:38 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2708 As many know, I have been known not only to be an avid pirate (pir8), but also a sneaker-net of goods to those in my close circles. Essentially, I feel confident putting myself in the line of fire (legal retaliation being the most terrifying prospect of pirating intellectual property) in order to supply my loved-ones with the tools necessary to learn applications. That said, I recognize the limitations of pirated software and media - generally, you're getting a 1.0 or X.0 version of the software - not the industry standard or updated / updatable versions - and MP3s are a mere shadow facsimile of the music as it can be heard by purchasing the CD that the music originated from. The drawbacks to piracy are plenty, from a user's perspective, and besides the legal implications, and can lead to, frankly, a reduction of the expectation of the softwarez or mediaz. Evolutionarily speaking, it's a detriment to the sophistication, artfulness, and attention that is paid to a relatively high-stakes, high-brow approach to productivity and entertainment. As many know, I have been known not only to be an avid pirate (pir8), but also a sneaker-net of goods to those in my close circles. Essentially, I feel confident putting myself in the line of fire (legal retaliation being the most terrifying prospect of pirating intellectual property) in order to supply my loved-ones with the tools necessary to learn applications.

That said, I recognize the limitations of pirated software and media – generally, you’re getting a 1.0 or X.0 version of the software – not the industry standard or updated / updatable versions – and MP3s are a mere shadow facsimile of the music as it can be heard by purchasing the CD that the music originated from. The drawbacks to piracy are plenty, from a user’s perspective, and besides the legal implications, and can lead to, frankly, a reduction of the expectation of the softwarez or mediaz. Evolutionarily speaking, it’s a detriment to the sophistication, artfulness, and attention that is paid to a relatively high-stakes, high-brow approach to productivity and entertainment.

]]> By: Jed http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-1/#comment-2630 Jed Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:17:48 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2630 t-b0wn!!!! I'm with you in the sense that I try to stay in the legitimate (i.e., non-pirated) world and have been there for music and software for a long time now. What you're saying about the dangers of cracked software (e.g., malware) is so true, and that discussion (at work no less) is what brought me to think more on my use of Installous. Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to write more if you think of something. t-b0wn!!!! I’m with you in the sense that I try to stay in the legitimate (i.e., non-pirated) world and have been there for music and software for a long time now. What you’re saying about the dangers of cracked software (e.g., malware) is so true, and that discussion (at work no less) is what brought me to think more on my use of Installous.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to write more if you think of something.

]]> By: t-b0wn http://www.cyberpir8.net/2009/08/31/reflections-on-stickin-to-my-guns/comment-page-1/#comment-2629 t-b0wn Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:15:19 +0000 http://www.cyberpir8.net/?p=190#comment-2629 I actually find myself purchasing more software these days. Trying to find cracked versions might be easy, but a lot of times it's easier to just buy the app. I do try to find applications that let me try it out to find out whether it will do what I want it to, or find open source solutions; and sometimes I go through 10 different programs before finding the one I like. What really amazes me is how many people I know who still pirate software and think nothing of it, and they are all smart enough to know what the potential consequences are of using pirated software. It's just not worth the hassle any more. I actually find myself purchasing more software these days. Trying to find cracked versions might be easy, but a lot of times it’s easier to just buy the app. I do try to find applications that let me try it out to find out whether it will do what I want it to, or find open source solutions; and sometimes I go through 10 different programs before finding the one I like.

What really amazes me is how many people I know who still pirate software and think nothing of it, and they are all smart enough to know what the potential consequences are of using pirated software. It’s just not worth the hassle any more.

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