Do you torrent? (pun most definitely intended)

[Bunnymarn]

I can't torrent really as my download quota won't allow alot downloading...

But I don't know why there are all these measures to stop illegal downloads, the companies of the original product still get millions of dollars. - There is a South Park episode on torrenting, it's a funny episode with some of the things they say in it.

*The pun which perfectimo explained, is meant to be that uTorrent is a popular torrent site and it would be "Do uTorrent" which is supposed to be the pun, it's a very subtle pun.

 

[olicon]

I want to hear more from the anime enthusiast in this area. For music and games, the line is much more clearly defined. Most music and games are sold in every country, so you can actually get them if you have the money to pay for it. And if you are getting more music than you can pay for via torrent..well, then I would recommend you cancel your credit cards as soon as possible, or you will soon be bankrupt.
However, it is very different for some underground music/game, and in case of anime, the mainstream products. A lot of these cannot be obtained legally anyway. Most anime never officially leaves Japan, and those that do are plagued with horrible dubs, and about 5 years late. That's why for a lot of anime watcher, torrent is the ONLY distribution channel. Not much of a choice there, so I think everyone does it. But at least most fansub groups do take the series off the tracker once it becomes copyrighted in the region, so no biggy.

 

[maxusy3k]

If - somehow - the entire illegal downloading scene was destroyed overnight, with no way to resucitate or revive it, I wouldn't be able to pretend like it was a crime or the 'wrong' thing to have done. It's illegal whichever way you look at it, and shit, if I ever made it in a band, knowing that in any given crowd it could well be the minority of people who actually paid for the stuff I've had to work hard to produce would be pretty frustrating.

Putting personal music tastes aside for a moment, it's easy to justify downloading the new Metallica album... they're multi-millionaires already, right? They dont 'need' the money. But if everybody downloaded, say, their first ever album instead of buying it, they wouldn't have been around to produce the rest of their material. It does cause damage to the artists in the end.

 

[perfectimo]

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=puns

Maddox's page is full of some funny rants.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I want to hear more from the anime enthusiast in this area. For music and games, the line is much more clearly defined. Most music and games are sold in every country, so you can actually get them if you have the money to pay for it. And if you are getting more music than you can pay for via torrent..well, then I would recommend you cancel your credit cards as soon as possible, or you will soon be bankrupt.
However, it is very different for some underground music/game, and in case of anime, the mainstream products. A lot of these cannot be obtained legally anyway. Most anime never officially leaves Japan, and those that do are plagued with horrible dubs, and about 5 years late. That's why for a lot of anime watcher, torrent is the ONLY distribution channel. Not much of a choice there, so I think everyone does it. But at least most fansub groups do take the series off the tracker once it becomes copyrighted in the region, so no biggy.

And you forget the censoring and the actual prices of those DVDs. I once when i was visiting USA i wanted to buy some anime dvds ignorant to the situation, i thought "i can fit 30 24 minute episodes of one piece in one dvd...well a 26 episode series like .hack//sign should most certainly fit in one so i'll go buy it" i go to the store, buy the dvd for around $25 and come to find that it only contained 4 episodes...when there was space enough for 30 episodes...if that's not them being cheap and wanting to squeeze every penny out of their anime i don't know what it is. If i wanted to buy the whole series it would cost over $200.

That alone makes it prohibitive to be an anime fan if you're not filthy rich. (anime fans can go through 12-20 episodes per day...my personal record is 28 episodes...that would generally mean it's a $150-$250 a day habit/hobby...doing drugs is cheaper than that lmao)


As for the non-licensed anime, those are not illegal to download even in USA i think. There are no american companies making money off of em and the japanese folks never plan on selling em outside of japan anyways so downloading means free advertising for them and potential free fans for them too.


All i have to say is...thank God Greece has these laws allowing you to download stuff if you don't plan to make money off of it .

 

[Dommyboy]

Well for the people using Limewire, I advice you not to use it. It is filled with pr0n, every type of virus, malware and trojan and contains really bad quality files. For downloading (god forbid), I would suggest you get Ares, virus free and good community.
Strange how EA games are the most pirated games around. Also developers don't need everybody to buy their game to get it off the ground, Fallout games were done on a small budget and they produced a brilliant game. With that too, graphics are not amazingly difficult to implant, just the scripting and coding.

 

[Humbug]

I use Limewire for music every now and then (I've only bought about 10 CD's ever ...) but that's because most artists are stinking rich and they only get a small cut of the $25 dollars I'd pay for the CD, the record company gets the rest. I've bought hard copies of Aussie artists' CD's that I enjoyed and who aren't already stinking rich.

so, youre saying if i spend all my money on my 2004 honda, but im not satisfied with my possession its not stealing to go to the mercedes dealership and steal a few simply because i cant afford any more cars? interesting perspective

More like if you buy lot's of motor bikes and because your out of money you deny your local dealer a sale by magicing a copy of a bike they're selling. (You buy more then one CD every few years and no one's out of pocket if you download music). Not saying it's not stealing but unlike robbery, I don't mind doing it

I've also downloaded a few episodes of The Three Stooges (and bought a lot more).

I don't download games though.. too much effort and the industry needs my cash (though I'm such a tight arse I don't buy much anyway.)

 

[N.K]

I do torrent, mostly TV-shows that won't air where I live for a year or so, other than that I occasionally torrent older games, simply for the convenience of not even leaving my chair to get them, new games I always buy (if I want them, that is). I am much more inclined to torrent music, I don't know why, maybe because of my increased respect to games developers. Movies I torrent on occasion.

I would like to add that I am unemployed and do not have enough money to purchase whatever it is I download. (not meant as an excuse, I know it's illegal but I just can't feel bad for movie studios and platinum recording artists)

I don't get the pun.

The pun is a lie. LOLOLOLOLOL... dear god what have i become?!?!

HAHA! that was great fun, although I may still be drunk from last night

 

[darthsmily]

If you were going to sample music, you could just look on youtube for studio versions of their songs 'tis what I do.

 

[Humbug]

Of course i "torrent", why use download from one server and get crappy speeds when i can download from other users and get faster than light speeds?

Oh and if you think torrents are illegal well they aren't.

Some files are.

And i´ve noticed something in this tread...people say something like:

"oh boy yes i illegally download music/movies but i WOULD NEVER download games!!!!!!!!111".

What kind of double standard is that??
If you download something without buying it than you're a pirate, face it.

Edit: [snip]

Point is, piracy can be forgiven some times in my humble opinion...

And you pointed out double standards?
...
(I don't disagree with your closing statement by the way).

And I admit that I'm a pirate. I'm not denying it or saying that it should be legal but morally, I'm not going to get myself down on it. And hope to hell I don't get made an example of...

 

[zachatree]

I do and if I like the album I will go out and buy the real thing because that is just the right thing to do.

 

[Sir_Montague]

Though I do admit that I confront the "questionable legality" of my own personal uses of torrents all the time, I continue to use them... Just not ever frequently, in fact, its been months to a year since I've used one...

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

When it comes to music, I'm a torrent-fiend. I find that I seldom like an artist's entire CD-- only a handful of songs, so I'm not going to blow money on them.

The only games I've ever torrented were Fallout 1 & 2, and that's because I figured I'd save myself the hassle of finding an actual copy.

 

[GenHellspawn]

I do download games/music illigally, but only stuff that isn't sold anymore (inthe case of music, I've only downloaded albums that I couldn't find at 7 stores in my area) or don't justify the price.

 

[Snidenightshade]

Torrentz is good if you dont know how to get aa movie off a dvd, and music ive used it in the past it has proven ueful but takes a long time to download if you dont know how big the file is

 

[aaron552]

Since I started earning enough money to do so, I have been gradually buying all the pirated games (that I kept) and CDs that I have downloaded. For example, I have had a pirated copy of Sins of a Solar Empire since it came out, but I have no bought it, since I believe the developers deserve some money for their hard work. EA Games titles on the other hand (do you want DRM with that? Too Bad! You get it anyways) do not deserve my money, and hence, are either downloaded or not touched - Mass Effect :'(

 

[WlknCntrdiction]

I find it funny because all those who do pirate buy stuff anyway, in one form or another, they don't pirate 100% all the time. I can admit I don't pirate all the time, I'll buy the occasional dvd here and there if they're good and I'm looking forward to it(Iron Man and TDK here I come)but we do buy stuff so we are kinda still giving back to the industry, even if only a bit each time we(rarely)buy something legit.

 

[bue519]

blah blah blah piracy is wrong but theres no way im going to buy bad movies just to own them, or go see them in a theater. But if a movie is awesome i do buy, for example
The Big Lebowski, and Pineapple Express when it comes out

 

[scarbunny]

I dont torrent because there too slow, HTTP downloads are a different matter full speed all the way.

But I only download stuff I want.

When it comes to music, I'm a torrent-fiend. I find that I seldom like an artist's entire CD-- only a handful of songs, so I'm not going to blow money on them.

The only games I've ever torrented were Fallout 1 & 2, and that's because I figured I'd save myself the hassle of finding an actual copy.

gog.com

Good old Games DRM free for about $5, join the beta and it works fine.