Do you admit to filesharing?

[megabyteme]

I imagine disclosure of "illegal" activity depends on your surroundings. At school (graduate level), the topic is seldom mentioned. Certainly, many of the professors I have come across in the past few years have had at least articles published (if not more), and may have issues with copyrights being stepped on.

Many of the students I encounter have decent to good, professional jobs and they would not want anything to jeopardize what they have worked so hard to achieve. If they are downloading stuff, they aren't talking.

Personally, I find all of this to be a VAST library. I have written about that concept in the past, but believe those posts have been deleted by now. I wish people could be more open about their access to filesharing. I know prior to Napster getting shut down there was less fear of prosecution, and people spoke more openly about grabbing music, books, movies, etc. The good old days when reading a digital book, or listening to a song was not a crime against humanity...

So, how open are you with real-world people you encounter. Do people talk to you about movies, BT, etc. Or is all of this a dirty little secret you do in your alternate life online?

[zot]

How are you defining "filesharing"?

You mention "illegal activity" so should we assume that this does not include downloading from one-click hosting sites, Usenet, music download sites like MP3skull, video streaming sites, or even the old standby methods like FTP and IRC? -- since all of these methods are (in most countries other than Japan) 100% legal to the end user because no uploading takes place. Unlike the situation a half-dozen years ago, there are many ways to get illicit files to your heart's content without exposing yourself to any legal risks.

As for me, word has gotten around over the years among people I know that I can usually find just about anything, so I often seem to get a full plate of requests, even if it's of the "friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend" kind. It used to freak people out whenever I'd play a movie on TV that was not even in cinema yet, but sadly, those pre-releases are now almost extinct.

But no, I never told anyone when I was involved in the 0-day scene, which was before the big busts.

[megabyteme]

How are you defining "filesharing"?

You mention "illegal activity" so should we assume that this does not include downloading from one-click hosting sites, Usenet, music download sites like MP3skull, video streaming sites, or even the old standby methods like FTP and IRC? -- since all of these methods are (in most countries other than Japan) 100% legal to the end user because no uploading takes place. Unlike the situation a half-dozen years ago, there are many ways to get illicit files to your heart's content without exposing yourself to any legal risks.

As for me, word has gotten around over the years among people I know that I can usually find just about anything, so I often seem to get a full plate of requests, even if it's of the "friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend" kind. It used to freak people out whenever I'd play a movie on TV that was not even in cinema yet, but sadly, those pre-releases are now almost extinct.

But no, I never told anyone when I was involved in the 0-day scene, which was before the big busts.

All of the methods you mentioned would count, IMO, as filesharing since someone initially uploaded the file, and everyone else is downloading it. I'm no champion of copyright laws (they are a barrier in the free-flow of information in the information age). However, I believe there is a stigma attached to filesharing- at least in the US. There is a strong campaign to get the message out that downloading=stealing. And if someone steals, then it follows that they are a thief.

I am not so much interested in arguing over legality, but would like to know if most people tend to do this in private (kinda like downloading filthy, raunchy porn ), or do so openly. I can certainly see how various countries would have substantially varied social views.

Anyone from an outside country happy with the US cramming its laws down your throats? And, of the countries that have cracked down on "piracy" has the propaganda mentioned regarding "theft" made a difference in how downloading is perceived socially?

[Funkin']

I never hide the fact that I do when asked.

[megabyteme]

I never hide the fact that I do when asked.

Yeah, but most people you talk to sell crack.

[Funkin']

True. And I think they know that if they ever were to snitch on me that I would turn around and snitch on them and let the authorities where their stash houses are. So this is why I have no doubts when letting the people around me know what I do.

[zot]

Rather than being somehow ashamed, downloaders were often, I'd assume, proud of the fact that they could amaze and impress people.

I'm thinking back to the early internet days when the computer 'geeks' got a reputation for having tons of cool music that was not (legally) available anywhere in the country. This was long before iTunes, back when the record industry flatly refused to offer digital music and sued manufacturers of MP3 players. These people could hardly be considered "stealing" music because there was simply no way to buy it back then.

It was much the same way with Japanese Anime. Only the 'geeks' even knew it existed back then. The only (legal) alternative was to fly to Japan - obviously not a feasible alternative. Ironically, copyright "piracy" of their products has made the Anime industry a fortune by spearheading the expansion into new markets such as the USA and Europe where they never even intended to offer their products, ever. "Piracy" also provided these companies with valuable market research as well as word-of-mouth promotion -- completely free.

[IdolEyes787]

.
The good old days when reading a digital book...

In the "good old days" the Feds didn't raid my house because my paperback copy of I, the Jury didn't somehow find it's way into 425,000 other libraries.
As always abuse of a system leads to it's collapse.

Other than that if you can figure out a way that everyone can have everything they want without having to fairly compensate the people who produce it then please let me know.

[teflon05]

I've never tried to fool myself into believing that downloading copyrighted materials isn't stealing, but do I feel guilty about it?

When it comes to music, yes...Sometimes I feel a bit of guilt because I know so little of the profits go to the musicians themselves. But I do occasionally buy direct from certain artists websites, where I know most of the profits go to them.
Also, a bit of guilt with software, because the majority of software developers make trial versions of their product for evaluation. My only excuse for downloading software is the simple fact that I couldn't afford it otherwise.

Now when it comes to movies, I don't really feel a bit of guilt. 98% of the movies I download, I would never have went to see in a theater, & most likely would never even have rented. Hollywood pumps out too much worthless crap for me to just take it on faith that any movie is going to be good enough to pay for. For the other 2%, there's a good chance that I will eventually end up buying them anyway (mostly)


Anyone that uses the sharing excuse when they download copyrighted things are just fooling themselves. It's theft, plain & simple. About the same as theft of services, like climbing the pole outside your house & tapping into the local cable TV line & getting it for free. You're not depriving anyone of anything, but it's still stealing.

Back on topic, yes, everyone that I work with knows I DL music , movies, software, books, etc., & most put in requests from time to time for these things. I have even taught a few of them how to do it themselves & even invited a few to certain trackers.

Do I think it's wrong? Yes. Will I stop? No...Not until prices become fair (unlikely) or I get busted (more likely)

[anon]

Here, it's like built-in to our culture. You want something, you download it. I remember my school used to run pirated Windows. One of my teachers even asked me how to download from file hosters once

Some people actually buy music or DVDs when they want to "support the artist", but for the most part, admitting to downloading isn't going to achieve any negative reaction.