I signed up to a forum for this software I’m learning how to use. It’s a forum where people give advice on how to use it, share plug-ins, and have contests. I made an introductory post, and in it I accidentally implied that I had pirated the software, which I had. The next day (today), I woke up and found a message in my inbox from the owner of the forum. He said that if I don’t provide proof that I have actually bought the software within 24 hours, I will be banned and blocked.
I did a search on the term “pirate” in the forum, and found that the board members do seem to be all-around generally anti-piracy. I was surprised, although now that I think about it, perhaps I shouldn’t be. Perhaps that’s what I should have expected.
But the software costs hundreds of dollars! I’m not even sure I’m ever going to be good with it, or make money with it, or anything. I’m just testing the waters, I’m not going to throw in hundreds of dollars just to see if I like something. That’s ridiculous, and I don’t feel any guilt about it.
But I’m just a full-fledged software pirate anyway. I have a legitimate copy of Windows 7 64 bit running my computer, but everything else is either free or pirated.
As for music and movies/shows, I occasionally buy the former, never the latter except of course for theater visits. I’d say I’m an intermediate-level pirate. I know some good, obscure or semi-obscure resources with a lot of content. On a private tracker or two. I even achieved “power user” status on one of them, to exemplify my dedication to the art of piracy.
I know that you guys have your own ideas on piracy. Some of you are totally against it! Some of you are better than me! Some of you may even want advice from me on how to become a more effective pirate and how to find more things. All comments, questions, arguments are welcome. Pro or against piracy. Whatever you think about it, you can talk about it.
Piracy is determined by laws, and mosty people here know how I feel about those…
Whether I pay for software, music or video usually depends on circumstances: Who would get paid if I bought it? Why am I acquiring it? Is there a free, open source alternative? Am I going to be making money from this? If the creators are the ones getting paid, what do I know about them?
I am currently studying film production and I have thought a lot about how I would integrate piracy into my business (only a fool would think s/he can avoid it). Mostly, I would try to adopt a rock band model, where I make most of my money from screenings. After they have done rounds on the film festival circuit, I want to set them up for sale in a webpage with a disclamer like: If you are going to pirate this movie, please do include this or that in the torrent (including a note saying that if you liked it you can buy it at the link, and that the bought version has cool original features), include a link back to this site, and give credit where credit is due. If there is a leak along the way and it gets pirated before I can set any of it up, so be it.
The internet pirating community is usually morally aware, and would definetly respond to artists including piracy in their schemes.
That does seem to be the case. Even music piracy blogs take down links when bands ask them to, and link to the band’s own site when they use that In Rainbows album sales scheme.
a file is nothing but a really big number, digitally
it’s how we interpret that number that gives it meaning
meaning, if i somehow manage to generate all numbers from 1 to 2^30, and listen to all of them in a media player, at least one of them is going to sound like this
does that mean i’ve pirated a song?
makes me want to write a software, and copyright the interpretations of the numbers 0-2^30 with said software, such that anytime someone uses any file under a gigabyte, i own it… although previous copyrights, which can be interpreted to multiple numbers… probably cover a lot of these by now
i don’t knowingly pirate software anymore (i did in high school, college)
one thing you might want to look into, if you haven’t already, is linux and linux based software…there’s some user friendly distributions like ubuntu which are fairly straightforward for those who aren’t tech savvy…its pretty much free versions of everything most people use windows for. when it comes to specialized software that is really expensive, i sympathize for the piracy… but you wont catch me actually doing it anytime soon
I never pirated anything prior to Iraq… shit changed when I couldn’t get internet access on a computer or have my one phone… and there was shops selling bootlegs left and right WITHIN the base by locals. That stuff changed me for several years, and I refused to buy anything.
Now, I buy stuff for the most part, unless it’s impossible or outrageously priced. I figure it’s better to contribute I to the means of production of something I like than to not. Fuck, it’s not like I’m lacking in knowledge of movies or music… I can quote what I need to get by.
I want to control the Pakistani versions of any books I release. I know they are mass printed in Mogadishu, and sent in their bootleg form to countries like Pakistan. I would like to make my own introduction and emphasis on on texts used in these regions of the world. I would license the bookleggers to limited marketing even, give them a little legitimacy. I just want creative control over the product itself. It’s weird seeing where stuff pops up. I found half a PDF of mine in Malaysian while searching online… and it’s so rotten I can’t even make it out with the help of my Malaysian penpal. I know it’s my old biography of Machiavelli, and a part of my commentary somehow fucking stolen off a forum of mine that I closed down with no members, it was private unless registered and I was using it myself to write, and condense all the ideas. Few years later after I forgot about it, bootleg. WTF? Only bootleg version of anything I write floating around though. Everything else I can still find seems legitimately holding to how I wanted it presented. Save for some quotes of mine from a Canadian Anarchist… that’s no bootleg, but it’s annoying. He was my first fan and all, but it’s like, weird and shit to see something from me from when I was so young still in use. It causes me to get all weird seeing it float around, thinking about the emo-fucks with mohawks randomly reading it… me… fucking unreal. Like… honestly… I wonder about shit like this sometimes… who is actually being influenced by me. I hear from all sorts of random places sometimes. I have a fan in Brazzaville, and also in rural Sweden (and she’s a looker)… I just like… fuck. Everything I write will someday be pirated… and it will go places I never would of imagined. Some weird fuck is going to be staring at it, perhaps even in the future to perhaps even the distant future. Am I staring back at them? I feel naked. I also feel quite broke. If they ever invent time machines, I like totally need some money… someone needs to hook my bank account up with some. I accept anonymous donations. I know how these internet websites are archived. Yeah you… you reading this in 10,000 years, best make your way back to my time, tonight on Feb 16th, 2012, and drop enough cash in my account for a sprinter van and a little on the side for turning it into a mobile office. It’s not like you can’t just easily just make the cash. You owe me for all the laughs I give you, and insights I give.
In all seriousness, if you are able to get to Montreal I can help you out some. I am already pre-producing a movie and I want to have a philosophizing hobo in it. We already have a couple here, but I know your ideas in a bit better detail. Hoboeing is better in Canada in terms of gvnt. lackeys, but winters can get rough. There is always volunteer assosiations handing out enough food for all hobos and shelter. In any case, I could help with those things if you did the movie.
I pirate films a lot, that’s about it though. Not really anti something you can’t police, there doesn’t seem much point. I don’t personally care if everyone does it or just me. I don’t consider it stealing and I have no real problem with it. When I notice vast media empires crumbling because of it instead of actually benefiting from it I might shed a tear.
Are you really in Montreal? It’s the only place in Canada I would ever consider living. One of my favorite cities. I had my butt pinched there alot by women, and got fucked for free by a stripper. And it’s theater is awesome, and Buckminister Fuller’s Dome is there, with plenty of access to his ideas. Plus, their the opposite end of the history I grew up with in the Ohio River valley- the french and indian wars were fought from Montreal to my old neck of the woods.
And yes, unfortunately I don’t look like a hobo. I don’t actually care what I look like, I just have to do it so I am employable and not arrested for existing. It’s a lifelong camouflage technique I’ve learned over the years. I can’t just blend in, but have to give a ‘guild’ like flair to my dress that labels me slightly eccentric… or else people will reject me. I’ve noted my one sole similarity with Derrida is this grasp on the oddity and yet refinement of dress of a outsider suddenly on the inside, used to being different and yet having to fit in. The impulse for correct dress in society is absurd.
I can get you a millionaire who looks like a hobo though, several infact. Have you seen this spring’s fashion for men at Prada and Hermes? Everyone is in silky pajama suits that is made of the same texture as my underwear. Bunch of derange idiots. At least I don’t have to be around them wearing a suit anymore. I still have my 200 dollar ties though. I suppose thats not defensible on being a cynic, but couldn’t bring myself to giving them up, considering the manger who gave them to me was fired a while back and they were off the books. My ties now mofos.
Yes, I really am in Montreal and yes, it is the most culturally advanced place I have lived in (out of a grand total of two, where one had all the cultural substance of continuos guerrilla warfare, but I get the feeling not many cities are like this one.)
Well, I also need assorted weird smart people for the movie, no need to be a traditional hobo (I’l just ask one of my hobo friends to be the hobo.)