Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
Agreed, it is easier to ignore the grey.
It is also much easier for the discussion to equate every pirated download with a lost sale and every downloader as a criminal freeloader unwilling to pay for anything. Yet arguing that doesn't seem to be acceptable.
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Those are very different things. They are ignoring the grey because for the hypothetical point being discussed, the grey doesn't matter. Essentially, what it boils down to in the argument they are making is that people will fall into one of two categories. Those that would continue to create without monetary incentive, and those that wouldn't. Yes, most artists are going to fall somewhere in the middle of the "love of the art" versus "want to make money" scale, but if you turn off the money you'll end up with people who stop and people who don't. Their particular place on the scale no longer matters. The grey area isn't relevant to the specific point being made.
Equating downloads to lost sales is entirely different. That is directly relevant to the arguments people make when they talk about the losses due to piracy.