Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
I am no writer, musician, or in any other way affected by piracy. I am 100% on the other side of the fence.
The point is, how can you justify the downloader getting something for free? What has he or she done to deserve it? No matter what or if there is any damage, no matter if anyone notices it. What gives the downloader the right to just take what doesn't belong to him?
I am looking at it purely from the downloaders state of mind. How does he justify it? This is the important question. Forget what others are doing, who else did something wrong or immoral. The downloader had no book, song, movie before he downloaded. After "the act" he has a copy of something that costs money. How is this right?
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You've probably seen all the same excuses as me, but I doubt many people doing it even think about it in those terms, never mind try to justify it to themselves or others.
"Because it's there" is probably the most likely, and that's something creators do have at least some control over. Usenet not so much (though that didn't stop Harlan Ellison or Suze Randall) but it's such a minority interest these days that it's not really worth fretting about. Most providers will warn users about copyright complaints and take action over multiple complaints, or release subscriber details with a court order.
Ebay, anyone who wants to (whether they are the owner or not) can have listings removed just by asking. I've had 1970s Hells Angels books removed, and also devices to plug a Playstation controller into a USB port (the latter almost certainly done by a competing seller).
Anything else, if the site owner won't play nice just get Google to remove it from their search results, that will cut out anyone who was ever likely to buy it. You don't need to be American to take advantage (or misuse) American laws.