Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[The Legendary Shark]

The battery's gone flat so the boat engine won't start. This has somehow caused the broken heating system to fix itself (now that the sun's come out) and the water pump to stop working. I'm beginning to think this narrowboat may be haunted...

[Tiplodocus]

So I agree that it's not theft to go to a torrent site and download a copy of something. It's just copyright infringement. Is that right?

But surely it's wrong to use copyright infringement as a means to get things we want but either can't afford or can't be botherd to pay for?

In the 'fuck you' example, if you infringe copyright just now on Dept. Of Monsterology none of Jim, Grennie or PJ would get money that should be due to them for the work they have done. I can't think of a good reason why anyone would like to do that. Even if the law seems out of date.

So surely that just extends to all creatives and not just the ones we vaguely know.

Or if people do think copyright infringement is OK, what do they think of the various loopholes that big businesses or celebrities use to avoid paying tax. Are they just doing stuff that's OK because the law hasn't caught up with them yet?

[A.Cow]

As someone who works in the design sector I do understand why so many creators get touchy about copyright -- after all, it's their living and they've decanted bits of their soul into their creations.

However, copyright & IP laws are archaic and not fit for the digital age.  The law needs to change, and creators also need to get real about how things work (including the fact that work-for-hire is the norm in most industries -- you wouldn't pay an architect royalties for every year a building is occupied).

That's my ha'penn'orth, anyway.

[Professor Bear]

I can't think of a good reason why anyone would like to do that. Even if the law seems out of date.

I don't think torrenting should be seen as a deliberate attempt to destroy capitalism, thwart the law, or defraud the creative industries any more than kids swapping comics or watching a movie in a shop window is.  Convenience is most likely the main motivator, not criminal impulse.

[Tiplodocus]

But those things aren't done on an industrial scale.

Despite my bestvefforts, one of my boys pirates everything. Just like all of his mates. He doesn't see why he should pay for anything that can be found on the internet. Regardless of whose copyright it is.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Just to return to the thread topic: I hate when I buy what I believe are nice shirts off the Internet,  then am forced to accept that the dummy in the photo is based on a muscular 20-year-old,  and the shirts aren't quite so cool on a middle-aged skinny man with a beer belly.

[JamesC]

Maybe you should try wearing one of those aprons showing a ripped body underneath the shirt?

[I, Cosh]

Dinner last night. A nice bit of chili sauce wouldn't go wrong. Lid comes shooting off, sit-com style, and dumps have a pound of fiery goodness all over the plate!

Despite my bestvefforts, one of my boys pirates everything. Just like all of his mates. He doesn't see why he should pay for anything that can be found on the internet. Regardless of whose copyright it is.

Not any help, I'm sure, but this is the part I don't get.

You like the stuff; presumably you want more of the stuff at some point; people need money to make the stuff (or, at least, to compensate them for the time spent making the stuff when they could have been subsistence farming or bond trading or whatever); what's the obvious solution?

[Professor Bear]

I torrent stuff, and if I like it, I buy it.  Before torrenting, there were many things I didn't bother with because the investment was a roll of the dice (Sky tv was too expensive, VHS tapes ditto, why buy an album if you know you probably only want one song, etc), but I was considerably more liberal with my cash once I could sample anything I fancied up front - I know for a fact I wouldn't have given yet another cop show the time of day, no matter who was raving about the Shield or the Wire.
There's also the knock-on effect of torrenting to consider: without it changing how/why shows were made, there wouldn't have been a BSG series beyond the pilot episode, and stuff like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and the upcoming Daredevil series would never have happened.

But those things aren't done on an industrial scale.

Does it make something more or less dubious if a few people do it instead of a few million?

[Tiplodocus]

However, copyright & IP laws are archaic and not fit for the digital age. 

I'm sure that this is technically true.  But add a side order of "ethics" and the result, for me anyway, is "I can get that for free from a torrent site but somebody isn't going to get the money they deserve so I won't. I'll wait until it is freely broadcast or comes on a streaming service or I can afford it".

[Professor Bear]

What if the material is deliberately made available on torrenting sites, or the creators leak it to generate word of mouth, or the material is banned in your country?

[radiator]

I think that if they're honest, most people will admit to pirating the odd thing in their time (and I hold my hand up to that), and I'd say that the majority of those that do also spend a healthy amount of money on media too (again I'd point to myself - I spend far more money on legally-obtained books/games/comics/films etc than anyone else I know).

It's just those obnoxious, entitled leechers - that think it's their god-given right to have everything for free, and justify never paying for anything by self-righteously going on about the 'copyright mafia', or blame the cinema chains, or how if Hollywood made better films they'd be willing to pay for them (they wouldn't), or how if films/books/games were 'fairly' priced - ie if everything was 99p - then they'd pay for them (which they still wouldn't) - that really grind my gears.

[JayzusB.Christ]

The battery's gone flat so the boat engine won't start. This has somehow caused the broken heating system to fix itself (now that the sun's come out) and the water pump to stop working. I'm beginning to think this narrowboat may be haunted...

I want to buy and live on a narrowboat this year.  Expect relentless questioning re houseboat maintenence in a few months

[Dandontdare]

The battery's gone flat so the boat engine won't start. This has somehow caused the broken heating system to fix itself (now that the sun's come out) and the water pump to stop working. I'm beginning to think this narrowboat may be haunted...

I want to buy and live on a narrowboat this year.  Expect relentless questioning re houseboat maintenence in a few months

Always been a dream of mine, but as I've got a secure (cheapish) flat and mooring/purchase fees aren't cheap, not to mention a lifetime's accumulation of comics'n'shit, means it will always be a dream, but I wish you all the best in your aquatic reinvention.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

First Saturday night off in about 2 months and today my arse is hauted by the ghost of Arthur Guinness.