Poll: If you've ever downloaded something illegally, YOU are to blame for SOPA/PIPA.

[Rasmus Emilsson]

Burnie Burns made a great point on the Rooster Teeth podcast this week about what actually caused SOPA. It's not congressmen who don't understand the internet, nor is it greedy publishers trying to get as much money as they can. It's you, the people who download things without paying for them. Piracy caused SOPA, and it's what will cause the next SOPA and the one after that. As long as people keep downloading things illegally, congress will be forced to make bills like SOPA.

I'm not asking anyone to admit they've downloaded illegally, nor am I referring to any specific person when I say "you." It is true that Congress is dumb when it comes to the internet, but it is also true that they wouldn't be making these bills if people would just pay for the things they want like they should. We shouldn't be blaming congress for these bills (at least not fully), we should be blaming media pirates and demanding THEM to stop.

Sure, just like DRM and every other damn stupid thing that's come out of the business the past years.

I'm wondering how MPAA,RIAA and ESA counts, okay, four million people downloaded Crysis 2, however, who said that 3 million of these people didn't go buy the game after they tried it?
Not to mention some studies that say that heavy pirates buy more media, from music to film to games.

The problem is NOT the pirates. The problem is lackluster products and a mindset that "the customer is the enemy"

 

[MadBlueWinnie]

Piracy caused the idea of laws to prevent piracy!? My god you're right! I never though of it that way before!!!! /( O.O)\

However, that's really NOT what you (or Burnie Burns) really is trying to say here is it?

 

[kebab4you]

Nope, 99% false. Piracy is only a scapegoat, the real reason is that artists can now make money without the publishers taking 90% of the profit, and the publishers hate that idea.

Even if not a single person pirated these laws would still be pushed because they are loosing money.

 

[Reggie Rock]

Burnie Burns made a great point on the Rooster Teeth podcast this week about what actually caused SOPA. It's not congressmen who don't understand the internet, nor is it greedy publishers trying to get as much money as they can. It's you, the people who download things without paying for them. Piracy caused SOPA, and it's what will cause the next SOPA and the one after that. As long as people keep downloading things illegally, congress will be forced to make bills like SOPA.

I'm not asking anyone to admit they've downloaded illegally, nor am I referring to any specific person when I say "you." It is true that Congress is dumb when it comes to the internet, but it is also true that they wouldn't be making these bills if people would just pay for the things they want like they should. We shouldn't be blaming congress for these bills (at least not fully), we should be blaming media pirates and demanding THEM to stop.

Sure, just like DRM and every other damn stupid thing that's come out of the business the past years.

I'm wondering how MPAA,RIAA and ESA counts, okay, four million people downloaded Crysis 2, however, who said that 3 million of these people didn't go buy the game after they tried it?
Not to mention some studies that say that heavy pirates buy more media, from music to film to games.

The problem is NOT the pirates. The problem is lackluster products and a mindset that "the customer is the enemy"

because that would be fucking stupid. I really find it hard to believe that some pirates something, they have the full thing right there and then decide "I'm going to go buy it legally for shits and giggles."

If 4 million people commit crime, then serve the sentence, they all still commited fucking crimes. Also stop blaming big greedy corporations for everything. There's already a superhero stopping them. It's called the invisible hand of the free market. The man playing his Xbox cannot complain about the greed of microsoft.

Damn corporations, becoming successful through faults of the consumer!

 

[Snotnarok]

Um, that's honestly just silly because it's not true.

Why is it anyones fault besides the industry and bribed politicians for SOPA/PIPA? These guys were basically trying to take over the internet, regulating piracy? They're already doing that without the bill making the United States Federal Government to do their dirty work. Despite this they're still making sickening amounts of money despite high piracy numbers. (Because many pirates actually BUY the stuff they download)

They decided to make insane things to tack onto a bill. They decided to claim that every pirate at full MSRP was a lost sale, they were trying to sneak this past the public and get it passed. EVERYTHING about this bill was shady, messed up and just targeted to get control of the internet.

They didn't just overreact they just used piracy as an excuse to try to get around everyones rights on the internet. And SOPA wouldn't have done a damn thing to piracy, it would be just as bad.

Companies aren't hurting when the most pirated movie will also made several billion dollars, and will continue to make money years on. Avatar was CRAZY pirated but it still made more money than ANY movie ever made, why? Because people still bought the move even after pirating it. There's people who pirate because they're too fucking lazy to go to the rental store, the next week the disc is sitting on their shelf.

It's the companies fault, you can't tell me a bill designed to ignore peoples rights was made strictly because of piracy their objective was clear, to get control over the net and make MORE money.

 

[SageRuffin]

Burnie Burns made a great point on the Rooster Teeth podcast this week about what actually caused SOPA. It's not congressmen who don't understand the internet, nor is it greedy publishers trying to get as much money as they can. It's you, the people who download things without paying for them. Piracy caused SOPA, and it's what will cause the next SOPA and the one after that. As long as people keep downloading things illegally, congress will be forced to make bills like SOPA.

Wow... I love Red vs Blue (Dexter Grif forever), but I think Burnie (and Church for that matter... don't get me started on that shit) is fill of shit here.

Okay, that's a little extreme, but he's only partly right. The bill was proposed to Congress by the MP and RIAA, and that in and of itself is reason enough to take all this with more than a few salt crystals. If you or anyone else follow this handle little link here [http://www.cracked.com/article_18513_5-insane-file-sharing-panics-from-before-internet.html], you'll notice that these mega-corps have been tripping for so long that it's fair to say their collective dementia is a danger to themselves and others. Now, the article's a little tongue-in-cheek given the nature of the site itself, but most of the info is accurate and some of you may even recall such fiascoes yourselves.

Here's another link for you all to giggle at. [http://www.cracked.com/funny-4003-the-pirate-bay/]

Now, I'm not even gonna try and paint myself as a saint, and this is part of the reason why I say that Burnie is only partly right. Now, sure, I could go out and outright buy, say, Manyuu [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many%C5%AB_Hiken-ch%C5%8D] Hiken-chou [http://i-a.animepaper.net/thumbnails/preview/205374/1/%5Banimepaper.net%5Dpicture-standard-anime-manyuu-hikenchou-manyuu-hikenchou-picture-205374-suemura-preview-3cd3a0ae.jpg], but there have been more than a few times where I've been assed out of a few dollars buying something I've come to hate (mostly music, but the fact remains). So, I'll slide to a torrent site and preview something to test the waters. Flawed thinking, I know, but it works for me.

And Church gets too much air time. At this point, Red vs Blue should instead be named "The Misadventures of L.L. Church and Them".

 

[SageRuffin]

Oh, I forgot something: people are tripping about Hollywood and whatnot losing money over pirates? Read this shit [http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/243439/will_pixar_regret_making_up.html].

Not to spoil anything, but have you any idea how many video game and PC accessories I can buy with that amount of money?! HAVE YOU?!

And these fuckers are whining about "lost profits"...

 

[ablac]

Whether stopping piracy was the real motive or simply the reason given to seem like a legitimate bill it was used as justification for this crap and it is also the justification for the existence of DRM. This is indefensible whether or not they are the real reasons (companies would desire such a level of control so i think that might be the main reason or an equal reason for the bill) piracy is the justification. Pirates ruin things for the rest of us without paying a penny back. They are leaches, the parasites of the entertainment industry and consumers.

 

[SageRuffin]

I really find it hard to believe that some pirates something, they have the full thing right there and then decide "I'm going to go buy it legally for shits and giggles."

This is incredibly short-sighted, and I'll tell you why: I remember a time where a person introduced me to who is now one of my favorite rappers. How, you may ask? File-sharing (or pirating, I'm not gonna argue what term you wanna use). I grabbed some files, made a CD, and listened the shit out it I liked it so much.

Now? I'll physically buy a new album from that person every chance I get. Why, you may be wondering when I "have the full thing right there"? Because I like his products, so I'm gonna support him in hopes that he'll make more products that I may like and purchase. And I'm just one out of gods know how many like-minded people.

It's not as alien a concept as you may think.

 

[Rasmus Emilsson]

Burnie Burns made a great point on the Rooster Teeth podcast this week about what actually caused SOPA. It's not congressmen who don't understand the internet, nor is it greedy publishers trying to get as much money as they can. It's you, the people who download things without paying for them. Piracy caused SOPA, and it's what will cause the next SOPA and the one after that. As long as people keep downloading things illegally, congress will be forced to make bills like SOPA.

I'm not asking anyone to admit they've downloaded illegally, nor am I referring to any specific person when I say "you." It is true that Congress is dumb when it comes to the internet, but it is also true that they wouldn't be making these bills if people would just pay for the things they want like they should. We shouldn't be blaming congress for these bills (at least not fully), we should be blaming media pirates and demanding THEM to stop.

Sure, just like DRM and every other damn stupid thing that's come out of the business the past years.

I'm wondering how MPAA,RIAA and ESA counts, okay, four million people downloaded Crysis 2, however, who said that 3 million of these people didn't go buy the game after they tried it?
Not to mention some studies that say that heavy pirates buy more media, from music to film to games.

The problem is NOT the pirates. The problem is lackluster products and a mindset that "the customer is the enemy"

because that would be fucking stupid. I really find it hard to believe that some pirates something, they have the full thing right there and then decide "I'm going to go buy it legally for shits and giggles."

If 4 million people commit crime, then serve the sentence, they all still commited fucking crimes. Also stop blaming big greedy corporations for everything. There's already a superhero stopping them. It's called the invisible hand of the free market. The man playing his Xbox cannot complain about the greed of microsoft.

Damn corporations, becoming successful through faults of the consumer!

I don't know about you, but me and my friends do this, if there isn't any other way to test out a game, how am I supposed to test it? I want to pay for what I enjoy, therefore, I download a game if it doesn't have a demo (which 95% of the games don't have, because so many games today are so lackluster it's not even funny)

When you want to buy a sweater, do you just go into a random store with your eyes closed and pick one? no, you search for one you like and get into a booth and test it. This is no problem for ANY other business than the media-industry where they think you should just pump your money into something completely unknown that you might even not like. Therefore my quote "The customer is the enemy"

 

[Reggie Rock]

I really find it hard to believe that some pirates something, they have the full thing right there and then decide "I'm going to go buy it legally for shits and giggles."

This is incredibly short-sighted, and I'll tell you why: I remember a time where a person introduced me to who is now one of my favorite rappers. How, you may ask? File-sharing (or pirating, I'm not gonna argue what term you wanna use). I grabbed some files, made a CD, and listened the shit out it I liked it so much.

Now? I'll physically buy a new album from that person every chance I get. Why, you may be wondering when I "have the full thing right there"? Because I like his products, so I'm gonna support him in hopes that he'll make more products that I may like and purchase. And I'm just one out of gods know how many like-minded people.

It's not as alien a concept as you may think.

Well assuming what you say is true, then i stand corrected, some people will buy things simply to support developers. But did you buy the album you had already pirated? But your friend could have also bought the album could he have not? You also go on to say that you buy to support the developers, which is the problem alot of us have with piracy. It gives nothing to the developers, but reaps all the benefits of buying legally.

Saying you were introduced through piracy isn't an arguement for it. You could have been introduced any number of ways. But the fact remains that you shouldn't have done it regardless of outcome.

 

[Reggie Rock]

Burnie Burns made a great point on the Rooster Teeth podcast this week about what actually caused SOPA. It's not congressmen who don't understand the internet, nor is it greedy publishers trying to get as much money as they can. It's you, the people who download things without paying for them. Piracy caused SOPA, and it's what will cause the next SOPA and the one after that. As long as people keep downloading things illegally, congress will be forced to make bills like SOPA.

I'm not asking anyone to admit they've downloaded illegally, nor am I referring to any specific person when I say "you." It is true that Congress is dumb when it comes to the internet, but it is also true that they wouldn't be making these bills if people would just pay for the things they want like they should. We shouldn't be blaming congress for these bills (at least not fully), we should be blaming media pirates and demanding THEM to stop.

Sure, just like DRM and every other damn stupid thing that's come out of the business the past years.

I'm wondering how MPAA,RIAA and ESA counts, okay, four million people downloaded Crysis 2, however, who said that 3 million of these people didn't go buy the game after they tried it?
Not to mention some studies that say that heavy pirates buy more media, from music to film to games.

The problem is NOT the pirates. The problem is lackluster products and a mindset that "the customer is the enemy"

because that would be fucking stupid. I really find it hard to believe that some pirates something, they have the full thing right there and then decide "I'm going to go buy it legally for shits and giggles."

If 4 million people commit crime, then serve the sentence, they all still commited fucking crimes. Also stop blaming big greedy corporations for everything. There's already a superhero stopping them. It's called the invisible hand of the free market. The man playing his Xbox cannot complain about the greed of microsoft.

Damn corporations, becoming successful through faults of the consumer!

I don't know about you, but me and my friends do this, if there isn't any other way to test out a game, how am I supposed to test it? I want to pay for what I enjoy, therefore, I download a game if it doesn't have a demo (which 95% of the games don't have, because so many games today are so lackluster it's not even funny)

When you want to buy a sweater, do you just go into a random store with your eyes closed and pick one? no, you search for one you like and get into a booth and test it. This is no problem for ANY other business than the media-industry where they think you should just pump your money into something completely unknown that you might even not like. Therefore my quote "The customer is the enemy"

Games have gameplay trailers and a lot of other things to help you decide if it's something you want. I don't go into a store looking for a sweater with my eyes closed. I go to my size, which i know will fit based on previous experience, find one that looks appetizing and then buy.

Also, Every EB games in australia has a 7 day return policy, where if you don't like it you can return it for a full refund. There is no excuse to pirate an available game with this in place.

 

[Neonit]

ehhh..... no. just no.

you think its only about piracy? they want to control internet. they always did. and now they have a good "reason"

without piracy, it would be called "stop internet terrorism act" or something like that.

 

[Rylingo]

SOPA is about allowing rich companies to sue other rich companies with consumers getting obliterated in the crossfire.

It would have happened with or without people pirating materials.

 

[6unn3r]

No. Whoever Burnie Burns is, I hope many people told him how fucking retarded he is.

When a soccer mom comes out and calls for normal footballs to be banned in schools because her kid got hit in the head with one and has a concussion, we call her stupid. When an athiest comes out and says religion is a bad thing because of the crusades, we point to all the good things religion and religious people have achieved. And when someone comes out and says we should cripple the internet because a few people use it as means of doing something illegal, thats perfectly fine and reasonable?

Im not going to suffer through DRM because someone once downloaded a game illegally. Im not going to stop driving a car because there are drunk drivers out there. Im not going to throw all my knifes away because some people use them as a tool for murder. Why would I be fine with SOPA?

And pirates caused it? Dont make me laugh. SOPA would not stop anyone with half a brain from downloading games or movies illegally. The people who thought it up know that, congress knows that, antipiracy outfits know it. Piracy is nothing but a scapegoat for this. In real life, they use terrorism to justify violating your privacy and harassing you. On the internet, they use copyright infringement. So fuck Burnie Burns and his naive ass for believing this is about piracy and nothing else.

tl;dr: It is apparent that even without the problem of piracy, we would still have something like SOPA coming up. Piracy is and always has been nothing more than a scapegoat.

I love you and want to have your babies. Nail on the head.