this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

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Ko-Fi Liberapay
Ko-fi Liberapay

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Hi guys, first of all, I fully support Piracy. But Im writing a piece on my blog about what I might considere as "Ethical Piracy" and I would like to hear your concepts of it.

Basically my line is if I have the capacity of paying for something and is more convinient that pirating, ill pay. It happens to me a lot when I wanna watch a movie with my boyfriend. I like original audio, but he likes dub, so instead of scrapping through the web looking for a dub, I just select the language on the streaming platform. That is convinient to me.

In what situations do you think is not OK to pirate something? And where is 100 justified and everybody should sail the seas instead?

I would like to hear you.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is to me. Most content is corporate generated consumerist garbage anyway so it doesn't matter. Our right to access content is more important than a creator's right to restrict access to it for profit. It's information and ideas. And we are entitled to all information and ideas. I am entitled to it simply because I say so, and if you want me to stop, you'll have to kill me.

It's as simple as that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

You are awfully reductive in your reasoning.

  • Most content is corporate generated consumerist garbage anyway so it doesn’t matter
  • Our right to access content is more important than a creator’s right to restrict access to it for profit
  • It’s information and ideas, and we are entitled to all information simply because I say so

I find none of these statements to be particularly accurate, and as such also your reasoning. I'm sure there are good arguments for it, but the solution and approach you've presented is flawed. I had hoped for something more enlightening. Now, I don't disagree with your ultimate goal or conclusion, it just needs different circumstances than reality currently allows. You either shoot yourself in the foot where creative work dies out, or we manage to create a society where such pursuits are motivated by the art itself and not the gain. But to me, you have not argued that piracy is "ethical", you just make a point of not really caring about the ethical component of it, because the end goal of you getting access to it without making an effort towards the contribution and the sustainability of creating it, is what matters to you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's reductive because it's not meant to convince you. It's simply what is. You asked me why I thought it is moral and those are my reasons why, and they're gonna stay that way whether you like it or not. They don't have to be reasonable or sensible or in line with your worldview. You don't have to agree with them. They don't even have to make sense to you. They're MY reasons, and they are valid simply because I hold them, because I say they are, because I decide what's ethical to me and what's not. That's all.

And you have to put up with that whether you want to or not.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I get what you're saying. But, do you get what I'm saying? If someone asks "why is X Y to you", the answer "because it is Y to me", doesn't add much. Now, the OP asked for a reasoning for why it was ethical. You have pretty much said "fuck ethics, I do what I want". And, as you very much point out, you do not care what anyone thinks. Which... I find weird to point out in a discussion forum. FYI, ethics tries to be a little bit more general than "anything I want is by definition ethical to me". I'm sure we're both happy to leave it at that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

No you don't get what I'm saying, because I am explicitly telling you I am not playing your game. My ethics are my personal boundaries, not trivialities up for debate. OP wanted to know what they were, so I shared them. That does not make it open for debate, nor is my refusal to allow it to be put up to debate, up for debate.

Take the hint and go away.