| Posted: 30 September 2016 at 2:51am | IP Logged | 1
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It's heart warming to read this thread. Many moons ago when the JBF was in its infancy, I argued the exact point people are making here. Theft is theft is theft no matter if it's a physical copy or digital bits. I got huge pushback from a ton of people (none of whom are posting now). Much of it was "sticking it to the man" (as if you could honestly use that as a defense if you stole a car off a lot or a book from a big box store) and the rest of the defense was "it was there, for free, so why not?" That the vast majority here now see online theft the same way as physical theft means that hopefully there's been a shift in perception for the good.
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Good to see you here, Matt. I'm glad you found it heartwarming.
Like others here, I am with you. Theft is theft. People can 'justify' it however they like. It's usually one of these:
I wasn't going to order the actual product, anyway. Actors are rich. Let's stick it to them.
Neither of which I agree with. They say they weren't going to order the actual product, but they downloaded a free copy and watched it, anyway.
As for sticking it to actors, that's immature. One, what about the ancillary staff, i.e. the mailroom clerk at Universal or Paramount? Two, I disagree, anyway. I loathe some of the rather immoral CEOs in Britain (look up Phillip Green or Mike Ashley), but if I had to shop in their stores - which I try to avoid - I'm not breaking laws to stick it to them.
Plus, on a personal level, there's also this: the only place that really sells DVDs and CDs in the UK now is HMV (competitors such as Virgin Megastores and Our Price are long gone). Waterstones is the main book seller. I want those stores to thrive. For social reasons, too. I love the interaction when I go into those stores. HMV and Waterstones are renowned for great customer service. I never fail to get chatting about books if in Waterstones; and in HMV, I got into a chat about Superman with one staff member.
Do we really want a bleak Britain where those stores are gone?
You want something, you pay for it. It is odd how people perceive this, though. Those who download or seek free PDF copies of books would probably NEVER steal other things. If a local criminal secretly advertised the fact that he had stolen a load of Coca-Cola cans from a lorry, I doubt those people would necessarily go to have a free can (some would). Yet they think nothing of downloading physical media.
Sadly, the excuses will continue. The last one I heard - someone had downloaded CLOUD ATLAS - was, "But Tom Hanks is rich!" Jeez...
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