Ripping & Piracy Double standard?
Sunday, May 5, 2002 by Istari | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
I was check'n out the ripping melodrama on deviantart http://forum.deviantart.com/?tid=302966. Some girl uploaded a wallpaper that had a beautiful woman on it and the girl claimed it was her. When caught she denied it at first but the evidence mounted and she finally confessed to the rip. The thread mainly has people condemning her as a thief and worse.
All these people on their high horses got me thinkin, what % of them are using pirated software to make their artwork? How many of them are downloading pirated MP3's in the background while berating her? It seems like some of the people who prosecute rippers with the most venom are ones who proudly pirate stuff. Seems like a double standard to me.
All these people on their high horses got me thinkin, what % of them are using pirated software to make their artwork? How many of them are downloading pirated MP3's in the background while berating her? It seems like some of the people who prosecute rippers with the most venom are ones who proudly pirate stuff. Seems like a double standard to me.
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Nite77
Reply #42 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 2:26 AM
Reply #42 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 2:26 AM
Ramsey has a point. If one has used a freeware app, say something called Painter-X (which could be pretty good) for more than two years. Then S/he'd get a job as an artist. Would he more probably choose some "photoshop" that he has but heard before, or the same freeware "Painter-X" (which might cost something to be used commerically) that he has used for years.
I think that Microsoft actually _gained_ more money a few years back when they had the policy that users that used "Office" at work could bring a copy home. Then, when they moved to another job and if that place didn't have Office, their bosses are more willing to buy a piece of software that the employee can actually use and be productive, than to resort to some cheaper option which would require training.
just my opininon.
\Nite - "can't rain all the time"
(btw, hopefully WC2.0 has the option to store a signature in the userprofile, its tiresome to write it every time
I think that Microsoft actually _gained_ more money a few years back when they had the policy that users that used "Office" at work could bring a copy home. Then, when they moved to another job and if that place didn't have Office, their bosses are more willing to buy a piece of software that the employee can actually use and be productive, than to resort to some cheaper option which would require training.
just my opininon.
\Nite - "can't rain all the time"
(btw, hopefully WC2.0 has the option to store a signature in the userprofile, its tiresome to write it every time
paxx
Reply #43 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 6:42 AM
Reply #43 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 6:42 AM
Hum... It is food for thoughts indeed.
Because it is proven that there is such a thing as sheep behaviors: the more people have something, the more they talk about it and get still more people to use it too. That's how Windows got to be so popular.
So, lets think... Since programs such as Office or Photoshop are so expensive, isn't warez actually helping Adobe and Microsoft since it makes their software even more widespread for everybody to use...
Lets think so more... I use my copy of Photoshop from work. Now that I know how to use Photoshop I could not even consider using anything else. I tried Corel and Fireworks, and although they seem nice, I just can't get use to it. Now, every time I am asked to refer a program, I always recommend Photoshop, and if I was to start my company and needed to buy a software, I would buy Photoshop, not Fireworks or Corel.
But if I would not have been able to get a copy of Photoshop, I would have had to use something I can afford, such as Corel or Fireworks. And maybe now I would be used to those software and they would be the ones I recommend and the ones I would buy when I get my company started...
Hum... alright. I was just thinking aloud.
Because it is proven that there is such a thing as sheep behaviors: the more people have something, the more they talk about it and get still more people to use it too. That's how Windows got to be so popular.
So, lets think... Since programs such as Office or Photoshop are so expensive, isn't warez actually helping Adobe and Microsoft since it makes their software even more widespread for everybody to use...
Lets think so more... I use my copy of Photoshop from work. Now that I know how to use Photoshop I could not even consider using anything else. I tried Corel and Fireworks, and although they seem nice, I just can't get use to it. Now, every time I am asked to refer a program, I always recommend Photoshop, and if I was to start my company and needed to buy a software, I would buy Photoshop, not Fireworks or Corel.
But if I would not have been able to get a copy of Photoshop, I would have had to use something I can afford, such as Corel or Fireworks. And maybe now I would be used to those software and they would be the ones I recommend and the ones I would buy when I get my company started...
Hum... alright. I was just thinking aloud.
craeonics
Reply #44 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 8:12 AM
Reply #44 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 8:12 AM
"Everybody uses it, so it has to be good, right?"
Thing with these graphic apps is that they are highly specialised. It takes time to master them, so you're not too inclined to switch --> so you recommend the app you use yourself.
Thing with these graphic apps is that they are highly specialised. It takes time to master them, so you're not too inclined to switch --> so you recommend the app you use yourself.
Griffinme
Reply #45 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 9:51 AM
Reply #45 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 9:51 AM
The problem with copies of WB is that you are not likely to use it in a professional way that you would with Office or Photoshop. While it might help with sheep mentality of "everybody on this newsgroup uses it, I should too". Which might help to boast sales it is also a possible way to get a bad name. Copied versions don't get updates and bug fixes that people complain about. This could lead to "I tried it and it sucked!" when they used version 1.5 and the current version is 3.4 and most of the issues that were seen in 1.5 have been fixed.
Moral of the story..... never fix all the bugs so users always will need an update.
Moral of the story..... never fix all the bugs so users always will need an update.
Griffinme
Reply #46 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 10:21 AM
Reply #46 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 10:21 AM
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1500&a=25817,00.asp
A related article I thought might be interesting.
It seems that music sales have dropped by 40% since the death of Napster.
A related article I thought might be interesting.
It seems that music sales have dropped by 40% since the death of Napster.
Frogboy
Reply #47 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 10:25 AM
Reply #47 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 10:25 AM
Guys, bear in mind that to many people, ripping seems a lot more petty of a thing to get upset about than piracy. When someone pirates WindowBlinds, what's their excuse? It's $20.
The people who get hysterical about ripping in that thread are probably (some of them) pirating music and software and see that as no big deal. To artists, ripping is a pretty big deal. To us developers, ripping off our software is a big deal. Hence the double standard Eric was referring to.
The people who get hysterical about ripping in that thread are probably (some of them) pirating music and software and see that as no big deal. To artists, ripping is a pretty big deal. To us developers, ripping off our software is a big deal. Hence the double standard Eric was referring to.
craeonics
Reply #48 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 11:45 AM
Reply #48 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 11:45 AM
Yeah, but you usually don't run into the dev and the dev doesn't see you pirating. In that sense this little niche of ours is a bit strange.
Frogboy
Reply #49 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 4:03 PM
Reply #49 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 4:03 PM
Deep down you know that everything is monitored by the NSA anyway...
migellito
Reply #52 Wednesday, May 8, 2002 11:00 AM
Reply #52 Wednesday, May 8, 2002 11:00 AM
right.. what's all this then? you lot! clear off!
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Reply #41 Tuesday, May 7, 2002 12:05 AM
For professionally priced software like Photoshop, things gets dicey and weird. Most of those who pirate Photoshop can't afford it, so a pirated copy can't necessarily translate into a lost sale for Adobe. There is possible harm to Adobe even in such a case, because the presence of successful piraters of Adobe's stuff might encourage someone who can afford the asking price to freeload off Adobe. More likely, though, this sort of piracy is benign, since someone moving from hobby into professional work would move from using illegit copies to legit ones. To compound the strangeness, such copying of Photoshop is only benign so long as it's illegal, since without the law, there would be little incentive to eventually buy a legal copy.
This is why calling piracy stealing is a strained metaphor. Better to call it freeloading: just as unflattering, but more accurate.