Quote:
Originally Posted by eppythacher
I think it's moot because of my alcohol argument... My whole point is that legally and morally we can sell and consume alcohol, and that kills people. What is sharing compared to that? Nothing... Just like i'm for sharing, it shouldn't be illegal, because that doesn't stop sharing and it creates a whole host of other problems for legitimate consumers.
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This is another rationalization that has nothing to do with this issue.
The fact that enforcing a law is hard doesn't mean it's not worth enforcing. It is in fact good to regulate alcohol sales and production... if we did not, the number of lives lost would be even higher. Same thing goes for speeding: Speeding kills, but most people speed, under the assumption that if they're wary they won't get caught. That doesn't change the fact that they still kill, and society should continue to try to catch as many speeders as it can, because it saves lives.
However... that's not our issue here. The issue here is whether or not the actions of a consumer are ripping off the producer of that content by not paying for it. Stop trying to confuse the issue with non-sequitors.
Stating that e-books are "okay to take" suggests that they are essentially worthless. Well, those of us who produce ONLY e-books, in order to avoid the world of print, might disagree. E-books are not worthless by-products of printed books, they are legitimate products in themselves, and they are the only product some authors and publishers use to make money... there are no hardback sales and big publishing contracts. If you take our e-books, we don't make a dime.
So, is it morally or ethically okay for you to take my only product and not pay me for it,
just because it's hard to catch you? I don't think so, and I think most people would agree with that statement.
Maybe DRM makes things "harder" for the consumer... on the other hand, if the consumers were honest about paying for things they took, DRM wouldn't be necessary. So it's pirates themselves who are responsible for DRM, which they fight against, causing the creation of stronger DRM... a vicious circle that the pirates themselves caused and that they cause to escalate.