@santiago
It was similar for me. My parents really didn't know anything about computers. For them computers were "black magic". When I was at school, I had pirated everything. The "problem" was, after I had figured out how to get everything possible, especially in the age of the Internet, that although I really had almost everything I could possibly have, I hardly used any of it. And it was never enough. But now it's the exact opposite for me: everything is legal. @root42@stefanhoeltgen
@osz@root42@stefanhoeltgen Same . It’s been a long time since I pirated software. Most of the tools I really care about are open source or free now and I have a company to buy the rest. Certainly once you run a business the risk of installing random stuff on your computer doesn’t make piracy so appealing.
Now I see kids have a pirate Steam that downloads games over torrent. I am too old for this shit but it makes me smile.
I cheer for #piracy because I don't think the modern IP or patent laws were made to protect me.
I use art that might belong to a big company - I get suspended. OpenAI and others steal everyone's IP, and there's nothing done to them, besides maybe a slap on the wrist or a small fine they don't care for.
Someone patent an algorithm I published? There's not much I can do. I can't sue them in the US, not logically and not money-wise.
If purchase doesn't mean ownership, #piracy doesn't mean stealing.
Facing malicious actors (basically any big tech company) piracy, hacking/cracking and involuntary open-sourcing are acts of digital self-defense.
If you don't want people to act against you, don't act against them. A system that perpetuates malicious, exploitative behavior doesn't deserve your loyalty or trust. It is as simple as that.
I don't think I've ever pirated a game, but honestly considering it for Splinter Cell Blacklist. It won't run for shit on my Windows 11 machine, and it runs beautifully on my Linux machines... right until it crashes at random, and then I have to dig out my Ubisoft password to log in every time I launch the game.
Illustration for the Dutch ComputerTotaal magazine, for an article about Stichting BREIN, translating to "BRAIN Foundation", a foundation funded by publishers to battle digital piracy.
I don't remember the exact scope of the article, but I guess the foundation threatened legal action to kids who copied CD-ROM games.
The Motion Picture Association has announced it is working with Congress to block known piracy sites in the US, reports @engadget
Speaking at CinemaCon, chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said the plans will establish and enforce new legislation to ensure ISPs block websites that share stolen content – something 60 countries worldwide already do.
what kind of info would you like to see in a "how to pirate everything" class? what sort of things did you find out about later than you think you should have? what do help others with the most when showing them what you know about piracy?