mrrooster

@ lots of people

Don't know about the US, but in the UK piracy IS NOT stealing, it's piracy. OK, I know the distinction is a subtle one, but it is important.

I personally have priated things in my life, but never stolen.

Also, the damage done through piracy is increadably subjective, the huge figures often reported in the media are very rarely, if ever, backed up, and no explanation is given as to how their generated. Also noone ever seems to mention the positive effect of piracy, in that it can often bring awareness of new artists that wouldn't otherwise be noticed. I personally have several CDs that I would never have bought had someone not passed me a tape (or nowadays an MP3), and the same with TV too, I've been a proud owner of the Family Guy series 1 DVD since the day of it's release. Why? Because I downloaded it off the internet. Had I just watched it on Sky 1 or Channel 4 where it was heavily cut I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Incidentally, the FG DVD, released first in the UK, was one of the fastest selling TV DVDs ever, now how many people bought it because they'd been downloading the episodes illegally off the internet? (I can't actually answer this because noone ever seems to actually research these things, so I might as well make up a number... it was 43 thousand.)

Mind you... people are starting to notice: http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20713160%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

@38

Google news may not, but google cache does.

@Grunge
"It is another to justify with complicated arguments why it is okay in this one particular case."

Yes, how dare you make reasoned and salient points, expressed with a degree of level headedness and absolutly no trace of rabid polarisation. We (the internet) demand you stop this forthwith, as all arguments are only ever black and white, there's no shades of grey, ever! ;)

This is quite interesting reading....

http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf

Oh... and @19

"I mean, what do we really do in retaliation? Occupy a country for a short while. Woopetidoo."

Wow!! I have never heard the invasion of a country, the deposition of it's governing body and what may potentially turn out to be one of the most damaging events in the middle east for years summed up so succinctly.