Day 44 Moral/ Ethical question
Jul. 4th, 2012 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tripperfunsterFirst off, HAPPY AMERICA DAY! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE ROGERS! :D
I hope all you Yanks are whooping it up with bbq and fireworks and family and friends. <3
Okay, now the question: DO YOU ILLEGALLY DOWNLOAD STUFF? Like, movies, music etc.
I do, and I don't. ;)
As a former musician, I have no problem paying a buck (or two) for a song that I like. In fact, I think it's a bargain. I used to buy the whole freakin' album, sometimes for just one song that I liked. To be able to pick and choose for frankly, less than a cup of tea is something I'm happy to do. Now, that said, there are certain artists that are not available for me to download. If I try, and cannot get a song/artist that I like, with money that I am willing to spend, then I have no problem gaining a copy elsewhere. I don't ...'rip' stuff. I am a total luddite and it is just not worth it to me to FIND my copy of whatever album and somehow, with the help of magical enchantments, pull a copy off of it and with more spells and potions get it to the right file on my computer and then to iTunes and then to my phone. No.
I'm kind of the same with movies. I have an illegal copy of Megamind (that someone else downloaded, because hey ... see above.) I also have a purchased copy of Megamind. I got my illegal one first, because the movie was not available for me to buy when I wanted to buy it and I did not want to wait five months. I also paid to see it in the theatre an embarassing amount of times, so I didn't feel like they were losing any money with me getting a 'preview' copy.
Do I judge people who download stuff illegally? Sort of, not really. I guess i judge people like my brother-in-law, who is a regular church-going Christian, but also a cheap bastard, who had illegal satilite when it was available, and also downloads stuff for free, because OMG FREE!
Disclaimer: I spent a good part of my youth shoplifting. I never 'robbed' anyone or stole cash (well, except from my parents ...) but yeah, still illegal, and I did it a fair amount. For the thrill, I guess. Of course, as karma would have it, now I own a retail store, and people rip me off all the time. :D
I'm probably 70/30 on my morality now. I usually let the clerk know if they've given me the wrong change (happens more often than you think) and the odd time that I've walked out of a store clutching something forgotten in my hand, I generally go back and return or buy the item. Except not always. ???? Sometimes I'm tired, or busy or just in a rotten mood. (or sometimes the store in question is a huge conglomerate that I think won't even notice.) But really, it's more about me than them, isn't it?
What about you? You can comment anon for obviuos reasons....
I hope all you Yanks are whooping it up with bbq and fireworks and family and friends. <3
Okay, now the question: DO YOU ILLEGALLY DOWNLOAD STUFF? Like, movies, music etc.
I do, and I don't. ;)
As a former musician, I have no problem paying a buck (or two) for a song that I like. In fact, I think it's a bargain. I used to buy the whole freakin' album, sometimes for just one song that I liked. To be able to pick and choose for frankly, less than a cup of tea is something I'm happy to do. Now, that said, there are certain artists that are not available for me to download. If I try, and cannot get a song/artist that I like, with money that I am willing to spend, then I have no problem gaining a copy elsewhere. I don't ...'rip' stuff. I am a total luddite and it is just not worth it to me to FIND my copy of whatever album and somehow, with the help of magical enchantments, pull a copy off of it and with more spells and potions get it to the right file on my computer and then to iTunes and then to my phone. No.
I'm kind of the same with movies. I have an illegal copy of Megamind (that someone else downloaded, because hey ... see above.) I also have a purchased copy of Megamind. I got my illegal one first, because the movie was not available for me to buy when I wanted to buy it and I did not want to wait five months. I also paid to see it in the theatre an embarassing amount of times, so I didn't feel like they were losing any money with me getting a 'preview' copy.
Do I judge people who download stuff illegally? Sort of, not really. I guess i judge people like my brother-in-law, who is a regular church-going Christian, but also a cheap bastard, who had illegal satilite when it was available, and also downloads stuff for free, because OMG FREE!
Disclaimer: I spent a good part of my youth shoplifting. I never 'robbed' anyone or stole cash (well, except from my parents ...) but yeah, still illegal, and I did it a fair amount. For the thrill, I guess. Of course, as karma would have it, now I own a retail store, and people rip me off all the time. :D
I'm probably 70/30 on my morality now. I usually let the clerk know if they've given me the wrong change (happens more often than you think) and the odd time that I've walked out of a store clutching something forgotten in my hand, I generally go back and return or buy the item. Except not always. ???? Sometimes I'm tired, or busy or just in a rotten mood. (or sometimes the store in question is a huge conglomerate that I think won't even notice.) But really, it's more about me than them, isn't it?
What about you? You can comment anon for obviuos reasons....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 06:56 pm (UTC)That said, I'm Canadian too, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we're consistently found to be at the head of the pack in both illegal downloading and legal digital purchases (i.e. we get a lot of shows late or never, and importing physical media usually burns us on the shipping). If I get interested in a show that doesn't air here, or only airs on a top-tier cable channel like BBC Canada, I'll stream it first to see if it's worth buying on DVD - or just watch it if it isn't available on DVD. If a U.S. or U.K. content owner is providing something free but region-locked, I'm not morally opposed to doing a little IP circumventing. If a movie is only playing in queasy-inducing 3D for $15 a ticket, I'll probably download it to preview before deciding whether to buy it.
I'd definitely be paying for a lot more digital media if international licensing could sort itself out, and if we had the level of Amazon or Netflix services they get in the U.S. I'd have happily paid for a season-long subscription to Legend of Korra through iTunes, but first it wasn't available in Canada, and then as of yesterday only had three out of twelve episodes up.
I just want nice things. But in Canada it is not allowed.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-08 03:34 am (UTC)