ESA targeting elementary schools with anti-piracy message

by Justin McElroy { Oct 4th 2007 at 8:50AM }

Listen, the ESA knows that they can't reach you on this whole piracy thing. No matter what they say, you're just too addicted to stealing. But, they know the whole thing could have worked out differently if they had access to a flux capacitor and some plutonium. If they could just go back in time, reach you when you were young, they could have stopped you before you fell in love with hot warez.

Well, they won't be making the same mistake twice. Cnet is reporting on the group's attempts to integrate their curriculum into everyday class time at the elementary school level. The ESA has even made a website for kids with all the tot-pleasing charm of the back of a Shoney's placemat and chock-full of info that the group is trying to get teachers to integrate into their classroom lesson plans. It's like we've always said: The main problem with America is that people know too much about math and science and reading and just not enough about the dangers of burning discs.

[Via GamePolitics]

Tags: esa, mikegallagher, theesa

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Exbzurg @ Oct 4th 2007 8:58AM

Because that "Don't Copy That Floppy" campaign they forced on us at school(middle school 199?) totally worked.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Xfqkdh5Js4
ARRRRRRR!

Xiath @ Oct 4th 2007 9:16AM

I came to this thread to make a comment about that.

MAN I HATED THAT VIDEO (It was soo bad)

Jerk Face @ Oct 4th 2007 10:10AM

I hate you for exposing me to that video.

Cellien @ Oct 4th 2007 11:44AM

So it's been about 17 years since I was in 4th grade and watched this video. Didn't make an impact as by the time I was in 9th grade I thought Napster was the best thing since sliced bread.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 4th 2007 12:01PM

Napster was the best thing since sliced bread. You could find so much obscure music on napster, it wasn't funny. For me, specifically, FF game soundtracks (that never got released stateside), zelda remixes, foreign bands, rare bands, out of print music. Things you can't find today.

It was a sad day when the recording industry decided to bring the hammer down. Free exchange of music and ideas have nearly ended thanks to them.

Cellien @ Oct 4th 2007 12:17PM

I agree Crono.. Napster exposed me to lots of music that wasn't even for sale. Like you, I downloaded tons of videogame music from games lots of people didn't even care about..like Xtreme-G. :P

Savok @ Oct 4th 2007 9:00AM

So they're teaching kids they can pirate games basically?

Zertoss @ Oct 4th 2007 9:27AM

Yeah. Kids are whispering to each other during these sessions "You can download games off the Internet?! Cool!"

gamernewz.net @ Oct 4th 2007 9:48AM

yeah lil bros sweat the DS hard! but they've got no idea what a supercard is. So yeah! thats a great idea! tell them all about it, then say don't do it. That always works with kids! Good Call ESA!

Cabcru @ Oct 4th 2007 9:01AM

"Listen Timmy, if you pirate games, you're funding the criminals and they'll kill your Mummy and Daddy. You don't want to kill your Mummy and Daddy, do you? No? Super, then back away from the internet, son, there's a good boy."

HineyWipe @ Oct 4th 2007 9:07AM

"Following on the success of D.A.R.E,... we now introduce A.R.G.H"

HotShotX @ Oct 4th 2007 9:07AM

Why is it that everytime someone wants to change the behavior of society as a whole, they try to force it on the schools? Granted, it's the best way to reach people as a whole, but people need to wise up (ESA & JT) that children are raised by the people who brought them into this world (I.E. Parental Units/Test Tubes), not the schools.

I wonder if this curriculum will require a parental signature for the child to attend, kinda like Sex-Ed. Sure, it's not exactly the same thing, but it's still a moral issue. When it comes to morals, I should be the one teaching them to my kids. Not the schools.

~HotShotX

Yourself @ Oct 4th 2007 10:29AM

In all fairness that doesn't make that much sense. This is indeed a moral issue, but not of the ambiguity of sexuality. I mean, warez is illegal and it's stealing. As a parent, it seems kind of retarded to say "you can't teach my kids that stealing is bad! Next thing you know, you'll be teaching them that the North won the civil war!!!"

Hello @ Oct 4th 2007 9:09AM

"Join the ©Team!"

You know copyrights are getting out of hand when they start copyrighting the word "team".

Exbzurg @ Oct 4th 2007 9:13AM

Actually I think they copyrighted the word "the". It also might be the space in between the words depending on how you look at it.

yakapo @ Oct 4th 2007 9:44AM

Greedy bastards.

James @ Oct 4th 2007 10:03AM

You wouldn't steal a car.
You wouldn't steal a baby.
You wouldn't kill a policeman.
You wouldn't steal his helmet.
You wouldn't go to the toilet in his helmet.
You wouldn't mail the helmet to the grieving widow...
... and then steal it again!

Z @ Oct 4th 2007 12:32PM

IT Crowd, ftw. Now that's the kind of anti-piracy video we need!!!

captainawesome @ Oct 5th 2007 1:36AM

I might.

Dyslexic Chaos @ Oct 4th 2007 10:07AM

I just have to say, Justin, that in an amazing pic. Very well done.

Justin McElroy @ Oct 4th 2007 10:59AM

Thanks fella. Now lets hope this campaign continues so we can trot it out again.

Warlord @ Oct 4th 2007 10:23AM

Give us a REASON to want the game and it's CD-key. Battlefield 2? Able to get online, and account advancement. Hellgate London? Able to play online, patches of content (for paying subscribers). WOW? playing online.

All games that seem worth paying for annd having a real copy have more than just the game itself. They have more content, or multiplayer, etc.

Justin McElroy @ Oct 4th 2007 9:22AM

So, what about the whole ... game part?

Warlord @ Oct 4th 2007 9:54AM

Look, there's little worse than plopping down 60 bucks on a console game, finishing it in 5 hours or so, and going: "Now what?"

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 4th 2007 10:39AM

heavenly sword?

Nate @ Oct 4th 2007 10:43AM

"In all fairness that doesn't make that much sense. This is indeed a moral issue, but not of the ambiguity of sexuality. I mean, warez is illegal and it's stealing."

*lol* Umm.. ambiguity of sexuality? Where's the ambiguity in "condoms prevent pregnancy"? That as opposed to "enjoying something without paying its creator for the right to enjoy it is wrong"? Copyright is MUCH more ambiguous than sex-ed. Most sex ed classes don't teach right and wrong about sex, they teach facts about sexual activity. The moral question is whether or not you believe the facts should be taught (and in my mind, anything that is a fact should not be prevented from being taught).

Should appropriately aged kids be taught the facts about sex? Yes. Should appropriately aged kids be taught the facts about copyright law? Yes. Should either one be brainwashed while they're still too young to have any clue about what they're learning? No.

Actually, thank you for bringing up sex-ed as a comparison, it makes for a very good discussion.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 4th 2007 10:47AM

I think ninja mascots might work better.. :x

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 4th 2007 10:56AM

this ad stuff would've never worked on me

i justified my (mostly music) piracy because i had no money, and I could either download and enjoy it, or not. The maker wasn't getting money either way. So I figured that would be lame for me. And because of my piracy in past years I've gone out and bought some cd's of artists I found I liked. Can you believe that? Piracy made me buy more cd's than I otherwise would have.

Sean @ Oct 4th 2007 11:54AM

Hey kid, I'm uh computah. Stop all the downloadin'.

Jason @ Oct 4th 2007 1:02PM

Wow.... As if school teachers didn't have their hands filled enough with all the BS thats gone on with No Child Left Behind.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 4th 2007 2:58PM

You're left behind.

OTAM @ Oct 4th 2007 3:40PM

Maybe if people didnt plunk down $59.99 for a 5 hour game they would be a little less inclined to pirate stuff.

Price the games accordingly. Rockstar's Table Tennis for example.

SGT Grumbles @ Oct 4th 2007 3:42PM

Uhg. Things like this only make me want to do the opposite of what they say, just to spit in their face. I mean, look at that face: http://www.jointhecteam.com/images/homepage_kid.jpg

It's terrifying. Also, his GBA has no d-pad.

PiratePete @ Oct 4th 2007 3:57PM

AAAArrrrggg! We grow um young!

dillpunk @ Oct 4th 2007 4:18PM

I am a student at california state university san marcos. Before we graduate, we must pass a computer competency test... one of the sections?

5) Define software piracy?

6) Why is software piracy an important issue?

7) What are some possible penalties associated with software piracy?

8) What rights are provided to you when you purchase a single user software title?

9) What are the differences between a single user license, a multi-machine license, and a site license for software?

10) You are an employee of a large corporation. You boss has just given you a major project for a very important client. You have a particular program you use while at the office. Your spouse has been at you about spending so much time at the office, but you have a deadline. Is it OK for you to take the software from the office and load it onto your computer at home so you can meet your deadline?

11) How do copyright laws apply in the instance of educational institutions and their students?

12) AARRRrrrrrrr!

BananaBoat @ Oct 4th 2007 5:42PM

Napster truly exposed us Americans to new genre's of music and games, from countries that we previously couldn't have imported from.

I remember getting both a "Don't copy that floppy" video, and a "Don't copy that CD!" Video which both don't make any sense to me. I pay 10-15 bucks for a CD so that I can own it, and then they want to tell me that I can't do whatever the hell I want with it? Once they figure it out that we want all the rights, leaving them with none, or nothing, they'll make some money. Until then, I can listen to any song I want to on youtube, free, and very quickly, and there is no restriction on where/when/how I listen to that song (or video).