Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy
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.
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You could just as easily argue the following....
When someone downloads anything that shows they want the thing. If they want the thing then they "should" pay for it and by illicitly downloading it they are not doing so. Ergo, every download is a lost sale.
For the point being made, all those people who download simply because they can and have no intention of reading it, or as a test or for any other reason don't matter.
How is that really any different?
I would say the structure of the argument(black and white, ignore the grey) is the same. If that structure is not suitable for one side to be engaging in then it should not be suitable for the other.
IMHO the only reason the argument is used is because it makes it nice and easy to denigrate and demonise any who may wish to make a living from their creativity rather than simply doing it for the pure joy of it. In this way we can lump those ignoble and sullied artists in with the evil publishers and wont have to deal with any issues about whether we should be paying a fair and equitable price for their creative works. Not to mention dealing with the idea that it is ok to leech off the creative efforts of others simply because they enjoy creating and would continue to create even if no one paid them.
Cheers,
PKFFW