Quote:
Originally Posted by Yapyap
I don't feel guilty about those years of downloading first, paying (i.e. buying DVDs) later, even if I don't do it any more for the simple reason that I can't afford to accumulate more physical media in my limited-space home.
I don't think the person in the article, who paid first and then upon realising they wouldn't be allowed to actually watch the paid-for content (regardless of whether they should have realised it before signing up or not) should feel guilty either. They've paid; the content creator gets what is theirs.
Is this illegal? Possibly. (Downloading for personal purposes, I've gathered, isn't illegal in all jurisdictions - so depending on how they download something, whether directly or uploading at the same time, and where they are located, it may not even be illegal.) Is it immoral? Not to me.
It often happens that what one person sees as justifications and excuses are meant as explanations. People explaining their reasons in a thread that directly calls for people to explain their motivations is IMHO not necessarily either justification or making excuses.
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Explaining why you do something is usually not an excuse, like explaining to a child why they should brush their teeth. An excuse is often put forth as an explanation. And of course if you hae paid for a product, such as the right to watch an American TV sow in China, you should get to watch it or your money back. No arguments there.
I have certainly done things in my life that were of questionable legality. I am not trying to point a finger of blame. Many things we do in life without thinking of questionable legality. I may have hired people to do things without getting a tax number and reporting it for instance or bought goods without a sales receipt. In the municipality I live in it was illegal to give money to a panhandler and I did on occasion. And I jaywalk, or cross against the light, either intentionally or accidentally, although I do wish I wouldn't. If I got caught I would just pay the fine not give any explanations. I don't feel any noticeable guilt so I feel no need to explain. And of course if I did for some unfathomable reason try to explain, people would just say I was making excuses
Helen