torrents

[blitz576]

Do you guys use bittorrent or other p2p programs to dl music, movies, etc?
Coming from college it seems like everyone is/has/will. Honestly, I can say I'm guilty of harboring a couple seasons of 24 & scrubs on my hardrive right now.
But anyways, do you thinks it's right? wrong?

 

[Briseis]

I know it is illegal, and there are numerous reasons for following the law, but I have so much trouble considering it wrong. I guess illegal and wrong are two different things. So in that case, its not wrong, its just illegal. Oh, and I do use p2p programs.

 

[Citanul]

I'm not blessed with a particularly fast internet connection, so downloaded movies/TV shows is out for me. Having said that, I have recently started using torrents to download comics, although for the most part it's back issues which I can't get my hands on - I would buy them if I could find them.

I haven't ever used p2p to download music, although I have downloaded music from various websites. Most of these were official band/label sites, but a good number weren't. In a similar vein to comics, it's a case of me not being able to get hold of the CDs in South Africa - metal and prog aren't the best-supported genres here, and I don't have a credit card so ordering online isn't an option.

It's also saved me a bit a money, as there have been albums which have sounded like I would enjoy them from the reviews I've read, but when I've downloaded the songs I've found that I didn't like them and so there wouldn't be any point in me getting that album. I don't download entire albums, with two exceptions. One was an album from a band that had split up and had been made available for download by the guitarist, so there''s nothing wrong with that. The other was a old demo from a band that's not available commercially, so it's not as though I could buy it instead of downloading it.

 

[Blank123]

I know it is illegal, and there are numerous reasons for following the law, but I have so much trouble considering it wrong. I guess illegal and wrong are two different things. So in that case, its not wrong, its just illegal. Oh, and I do use p2p programs.

actually in Canada its not illegal to download music since they overcharge us on CD's to cover the costs of downloaded music. Its illegal to share though.

I use Limewire personally

 

[Counsil]

I'm a pirate, i support my hobbies by stealing copy righted information. As weak as it is, my justification is that they don't loose any money, because I can't afford the stuff anyway.

I find limewire doesn't have enough selection, plus alot of prgrams are virus shells. My favorite is DC++, once you get set up, you're golden. To bad it doesn't work from behind routers...

 

[Qyöt27]

Depending on what exactly it is, BitTorrent is often the better option, since it saves the host's bandwidth as opposed to downloading through HTTP (i.e., your internet browser).

For instance, I feel more secure getting Linux ISOs through BT since there are security measures in place to check it and the download doesn't simply depend on how long your connection stays active (admittedly not an immediate problem for me seeing as how I have DSL, but still HTTP downloads can be rather shaky if they're of particularly large size - as in, over 500MBs).

As to file-sharing in general, in spite of it's legal or illegal status, whether it's right or wrong is an ethical issue, and those aren't governed by law (although law does play a part in influencing an individual's ethics, but it's not the final authority there). There's a lot of corruption that's lead up to the restrictions on fair use we have now, and the consequences of this are not just limited to file-sharing nor felt only by those who attempt to pirate - it's hurting everybody, even if the general public is unaware of it or could care less. The technologically-minded are chomping at the proverbial bit here.

 

[Briseis]

Yeah, i have dial-up, so dl movies or TV shows is out of the question. I just download music. And I was so lost reading this, lol. I dont know what half you ppl are talking about.

 

[Nyssa]

I'm guilty of downloading music and Family Guy and Scrubs episodes, but I buy the real thing eventually to keep on the right side of the law and God. Plus I like to own the 'real thing'. I'm not perfect, though.

 

[Qyöt27]

The law permits you to have backup copies of DVD movies that you already own for instance, there are programs out there that allow you to back up your purchased movies.. And you can have copied of music you already own. This is so that you can have backup copies incase your originals bite the dust.

Technically, no, those programs (well, the DVD rippers) aren't permitted by law. Old copyright law did provide that right, but as far as the US goes, the DMCA killed it if there is any sort of copy protection involved - which for DVDs, means the vast majority of discs out there. The DMCA makes it illegal to break copy protection, even if you legitimately own the disc. This would also apply to the non-standards compliant audio CDs that contain different copy protection schemes. It also prohibits you from unlocking music you legally purchase from online services such as iTunes, the new Napster, or whatever other services are out there.

But when you take movies and music that you do not own from the net, or distribute the copies you have made to people who do not already own them.. it is stealing.. one of the big 10, folks. Thou shalt not steal. Pretty simple stuff..

From a legal standpoint, it's copyright infringement, a far lesser offense. When filesharers get prosecuted in court, they aren't charged with theft or grand theft - they're charged with copyright infringement (at least, in all the times I can remember hearing of these things going to court). Theft is the forceful depriving of the object in question; you aren't depriving anyone of the music by downloading it, if anything it's profits gained from the music, although the numbers to support the claim that money is being lost explicitly from filesharing are rather fuzzy for a few reasons. The music industries have had declining sales since long before Napster got popular, and if I recall correctly the average rate of loss per year hasn't substantially changed since the mid-90s.

However, as has been noted, there are countries that have ruled that downloaders aren't able to be prosecuted.

The ones using the theft allegations are the companies having their material infringed, because 'copyright infringement' doesn't elict an emotional response - 'theft' does. And at least in the US, this blow-up over filesharing isn't the first time media companies have tried to demonize customers that don't abide by their nonauthoritative rules, or on the broader scale of fair use, have tried to guilt trip people that the government holds to be completely innocent.

Forsaking God for the sake of personal entertainment.. the sign of an increasingly secularized world.

I'd blame the media companies for making music and other media so worthless that it's become a commodity that people have no deep attachment to. In a way, yes, that comes from secularization - moreover, capitalism, but that's beside the point. But I'd view this as an entirely legal issue here, since it revolves around copyright infringement. Those same laws, taken literally and without common sense, prohibit you from letting a family member borrow a VHS tape or DVD, or from having friends and family over to watch a movie, or...the cycle goes on and on. Where that line between fair use and copyright infringement starts and stops is up to the laws of the country one lives in. And like I said before, thus starts the ethics debate. Legal doesn't always equal ethical, and ethical doesn't always equal legal.


For the record, however, I'm still silent on this issue. I'll just say that there will have to be drastic measures (not lawsuits) taken to curb behaviour that the media companies obviously are failing at being able to control. Better selections, cheaper prices, fairer treatment of the artists by the companies that manage them, eradicating the media industries' leverage in government, breaking up the monopolies they hold, heavily promoting Creative Commons-style licensing, etc.

 

[Sketcher]

It is clearly illegal, and we need to submit to the authorities on this matter (Rom 13:1-7). It's retarded from the consumer's point of view, but those same laws protect whatever I create.

I'll use it sometimes if a CD of mine has been so badly scratched that even iTunes can't rip the song off it, but that is music I have already purchased.

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

No. I buy my music on i-tunes and I rent DVD's.

 

[Sketcher]

I rent DVD's.

At least as far as movies are concerned, if it's not worth paying to see then it's not worth seeing. Most of the pirated copies were taken in the theater with a Hi-8 camera and/or have sound problems, even scenes missing. I don't want to deal with that.

 

[Counsil]

Where is that line though, Really isn't recording a television show off your television with your VCR Pirating? The show isn't yours, but you still have to watch the advertising, which is what pays the television studios. So is it only wrong if you fast forward through the comercials? If that is the case, wouldnt you using Tivo be piracy? If you then edit out the comercials with Premier what then?, It resembels something you could download off the internet, correct? So is it only piracy if you don't have the option to record it? What if you don't have the option to purchase the product? Fansubbed Anime claims to be leagal until the material is able to purchased. And if it is all merely entertainment, what if you watch copyrighted material on something like "You Tube", you don't own the material, but you were entertained by it.
It's truly a perilous blury line between legal and illegal activity, yes?

 

[Qyöt27]

Fansubbed Anime claims to be leagal until the material is able to purchased.

Actually, no, it doesn't claim that. The only ones claiming that are fans acting off false ideas. Fansubs are still infringement, but the Japanese companies usually turn a blind eye toward the practice because it increases awareness of their property and could be linked to boosted sales in other countries where the shows get licensed (I think there's actually a quote from someone at ADV Films that said if it weren't for the popularity of Azumanga Daioh during its fansub run that they wouldn't have considered licensing it for American distribution, so sometimes it influences North American companies as well). The fansub groups only urge people to buy the legit product when it's actually released domestically and cease distribution once the show/movie is licensed (which usually occurs 6 months to a year before the domestic street date).

 

[Ronan]

Ive downloaded, a couple of movies that i can no longer find on DVDs and a couple of episodes of 24 that i missed. Id get the TV of itunes, but the don't have the TV shows on itunes Ireland.

 

[pineapplelesson]

this is a tricky subject.

I DO NOT download movies because I think it is wrong. This probably comes from the fact that I was an actor before meeting my sweetie, and plan to get back into it once our children are grown.

However, I do have a few downloaded songs on my computer. Examples of these are ancient Donny Osmond songs that you couldn't find anywhere else unless you owned the old vinyl albums. A few of which I do. Others are tv themes that are difficult to find, or live versions of songs I already own.

I suppose it's a little hypocritical. But that's where I stand.

..Pineapple..

 

[Cloudz]

I don't because I personally do not believe in doing it.Everyone seems to but me amongst co workers,friends,and family.