Quote:
Originally Posted by wgrimm
The big problem with these moralistic arguments against piracy is that they really don't solve anything. DRM sucks because it trashes your rights; in my case, DRM has cost me lots of money- books I bought that were DRM'd are no longer available to me.
So, pirates are bad, and DRM is bad, and authors have a moral right to earn money off their e-books. I have heard this hashed and rehashed on tens if not hundreds of threads here. But still nothing is solved.
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The problem is in discussing financial issues in moralistic terms... you're right, it clearly doesn't work. Discussing the issues as moral absolutes isn't working: DRM is not the equivalent to an H-bomb; Pirates are not the Sons of Satan; Authors are not idealistic saints.
The only way to deal with financial loss is to take financial steps (including laws that support the financial steps). Appealing to the consumer's morality is pointless, because it has already been demonstrated that money trumps morality in the majority of consumers' minds.
I think copyright concerns can be upheld in a digital economy. I think that financial steps will accomplish that, by making it financially worth the while of the majority (consumers and creators) to support the copyright-based system. If it does not happen, it will only be because the financial system developed some other sales method that the majority will consider in their best interests to support.