Pirated and OS software are different things, obviously. But would you prefer one over the other? I’m thinking of switching to both OS software AND pirated software. Just want opinions and tips from this community.
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@darkguyman There isn’t much I can’t do with open source that I can do with commercial software, hence the motive for pirating it isn’t there. I used to prefer adobe premier to kdenlive for example, but not so much for what it can do but for the user interface which I found superior, and I was even willing to BUY it when it was for sale but damned if I’ll pay a monthly extortion fee.
If buying isn’t owning then piracy isn’t stealing.
I have a few personal rules about it, eg. I’ll try not to pirate smaller, independent things where it might conceivably screw over the creator, but other than that it’s all fair game IMO.
As a side note, it’s been interesting to grow up hearing non-stop from the corporate world that piracy is evil and is killing art or whatever, only to watch them do a full 180 in the last couple of years now that they need to pirate the entire internet to train AI.
Rules for thee but not for me
My only rule is that I won’t pirate it if I would otherwise buy it and not do without it. Either way they make no money from me, but sometimes after pirating I’ll want to actually buy it.
Both FOSS and piracy are about freedom. The first is given, the second is taken.
I would definitely download a car.
I prefer to use FOSS software. There is a risk of getting malware from pirated software. Even if there is no malware, commercial software usually has lots of tracking and telemetry anyways.
Yup, network usage monitoring is a necessity when sailing the high seas.
History will thank pirates for keeping our cultural history preserved and safe from for profit leeches that would burn every single book in existence if it made them a dollar.
Piracy is the great economic equalizer in the age of digital exploitation.
I’m honestly… In the middle.
My home network is covered by a VPN, which means I can’t use streaming services without punching a hole for my home IP and sacrificing a little privacy - which I’m not willing to do. I’ve gone through my part and contacted providers to lemme through, without success. Even Amazon who CLEARLY knows my name and mailing address still won’t let me watch things even if I own Prime…
So yes, I pirate movies and tv shows. I’ve tried to cooperate, but if my money isn’t enough, then so be it.
Video games I no longer pirate, I’m content with Steam. I also backup all my installs on an external hard drive in the unlikely event Steam goes under or a company demands pulling a game from my profile.
This is no longer true for Nintendo. Their latest attitudes have resulted in me deleting my account and becoming a loyal pirate for Nintendo games. They literally turned me into what they’re fighting, ironic right?
I also no longer pirate general software because 98% of the software I use are FOSS, self created, or just free+offline in general. The other 2% is software I purchased because it was a lifetime permanent license and for software I felt deserved the money for support.
So yeah big tech is my main enemy. If I need something and they won’t work with me without ransoming my privacy and rights, then yeah so be it.
I like you. Your brain works in the right frequencies.
If a provided service is good and made accessible reasonably, I’ll use it and happily pay. As soon as it is intentionally obtuse or consumer hostile, say no more; I take to the seas.
But in all cases, I prefer FOSS first. It is generally better, more secure, has more vibrant communities, and represents a dying breed of freedom that we all need.
This is the way. The same goes for media too. Look at the state of streaming services, DRM, and digital storefronts, it’s a shitshow
What’s hilarious is, Netflix damn near killed piracy completely. Until every single network decided to do it themselves.
They forgot the most important part of piracy. Access.
I am NOT paying for your entire streaming service if I want to watch a movie.
Not to mention, a LOT of older movies should be in the public domain by now, and therefore free to watch. But nope, in fact, many older movies are simply gone. Never to be seen again.
Generally, if software was affordable and their business model is ethical, I wouldn’t pirate it.
If a company is charging a subscription for something that has no business being a subscription, I’ll pirate it. If a business is stealing data or willingly collaborating with evil people/governments/regimes/etc, I’ll pirate it.
There are three points I could make:
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Most software that is not free these days is also stealing all your private data. The value in these applications is generally greatly reduced, and in many cases, truly free alternatives exist, so the need to pirate should be much reduced from the past.
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Where the first point doesn’t apply, there is usually a reason. Either the company has used their monopoly powers to force people to use their software in order to do their job or to interact with government agencies (Adobe is one that often comes to mind). In this case, the ethics of the situation IMHO mean that pirating is OK. If the company is doing unethical things to force you to buy something, then doing something unethical to not pay for it is an exception in my opinion. The person would not be buying the software if they weren’t forced to and purchases should not be forced.
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Access for the poor is another issue where I don’t see this as an issue. The poor will never be able to afford the software, so no one is losing money on the sale and it only benefits the company to have people using it if it’s a locally running application. There may be some concerns if there are essential services involved that require servers or other systems that have to be maintained by the vendor, but otherwise, Windows having been pirated for decades made it ubiquitous. Without that, poor people likely would never have touched Windows and would have learned Linux or Mac or something else instead and Windows wouldn’t have as many people locked in as it does now. So, for the poor, assuming it’s software that runs locally, I see no issues from an ethical standpoint in general.
These are just my opinions, but I’m not alone. And this is not to be used as justification for specific actions, just very general points about the ethics of software piracy. For reference, I’ve done a lot of research on software ethics from both the user and vendor side and used to run a nonprofit on this subject.
Further to your point about Adobe: their market position is such that they’d probably rather you pirate their software than not use it at all
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Ethically? If you would’ve bought it if you couldn’t pirate it, you should probably buy it.
With how shit my countries consumer protection laws are, 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
I’m just here because I got scurvy a couple times. Stay in school, ye’ landlubbers n’ doan’t farget to eat yarself a fruit or vegetable, least once n’ a fortnight. ccccccc.
I only pirate adult cinema, because in the end it’s not piracy if it’s not racy.
