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

[gostchiken]

Is it wrong to steal an apple to stave off starvation? Not an appropriate analogy at all, but you get my point(I hope). The ever expanding game of cat and mouse between criminals(not trying to imply anything here) and the law has existed for as long as legal systems have. This is just the latest move on the systems part; whatever caused the game to start in the first place could be considered the true root of SOPA.
In any case I apologize for nothing!

 

[The Pinray]

You're asking the right question in the extremely wrong place, OP. I expect to see far more "no" answers than "yes."

 

[Darkmantle]

I once illegally downloaded WC3.

But I did it because I lost the CD, but still had the CD key, so i needed a new file toput my CD key in.

I doubt SOPA is my fault.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

As much as I like Rooster Teeth and Burnie, he is wrong. Piracy will always exist, and there's nothing that any company or RIAA, MPAA, or ESA corporate scum can say or do that will stop it. It's far too prevalent to stop, and I don't see it decreasing unless these companies find a way to adapt and survive to the internet and piracy in general. SOPA was more about corporations buying out old, naive, easily corrupted Congressmen to vote for a bill that benefits corporate interests and fuck all else.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Apparently 73% of the Escapist's forum-goers are living in denial.

REALLY? We're going to start the Youtube thing with polls?

window licking retard.

........But the windows are tasty!

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

window licking retard.

........But the windows are tasty!

Do they taste like Snozberries?

 

[Smiley Face]

It really comes down to how you define blame. If you want to definitively put all of the blame in one place, you can't, multiple parties hold some share of responsibility. The lion's share though, doesn't lie with pirates. The most important thing about SOPA/PIPA is how it manages to be an enormous overreaction in the wrong direction with the potential for and perhaps intent of serious collateral damage and miscarriages of justice, not that it is nominally an anti-pirating legislation - and that has nothing to do with pirates.`

So who's responsible for anti-piracy legislation? Well, pirates, that's sort of a given, although there is some argument to be made for those responsible for designing/amending copyright law and procedure.

But who's responsible for monstrous overreactions aimed vaguely in that direction, specific instances like SOPA/PIPA? It's not the pirates.


EDIT:

Or, let's have an analogy.

Ten orphans steal food to keep themselves from starving. The government tries to pass legislation legalizing the execution of anyone with a shifty look in their eye.

Who's fault is it?

 

[Autumnflame]

Sopa and Pipa are simply Big business trying to get back the market control they had in the days of cassette tapes for music. and movies only being at the cinema and theater.

back in those days we had no choice but to play their game.

Lets say an example. A television show is never aired in a country outside of the Usa. becasue of cooperative deals and exclusiveness.

if the only way someone can watch that show is to download or stream it online
all this does is show that people are not getting the services they want. and if companies refuse to provide services though legal channels people will pirate and share content online.

and no we are not stealing money from everyday people. they have already been paid.
the ones losing out are the distribution and marketing companies . that make vastly more per unit sold than an artist or actor would.

for example an album sells 100 million copies do you think that all going to the artists?

a small percentage certainly but the remaining 80%-90% of the funds go to the stores and publishing companies.

this is also shown in the ebook industry. a book can be reproduced in an unlimited quantity for virtually no cost. but large book publishers don't like cut to the price becasue it cuts in their margins. and want ebooks wide spread. but the full cost of a paper back while their company has to spend no money on paper, printing and vastly reduce their labour force only needing minimal people for Internet distribution.

these bills are designed to protect the pockets of big business not to provide a safer or better place for artists to express their medium

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

window licking retard.

........But the windows are tasty!

Do they taste like Snozberries?

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...... They totally do.... Though I think I taste a bit of fox tongue...

Must have been this guy:

 

[ph0b0s123]

Yes and no. Blaming piracy for SOPA, is the same as blaming a woman for being raped because she dressed sexily, rather than blaming the rapist.

 

[Vivi22]

I agree, but that doesn't make pirating okay. My point was that while SOPA was stupid, piracy made Congress think it was a good idea, so we should probably focus less of our attention on how stupid congress is (because at this point that's just beating a dead horse) and focus more on how media pirates almost fucked up the internet for all of us. They are the criminals here, and I'd rather persecute criminals than idiots.

No, piracy made congress think taking action was a good idea. And had SOPA been a well written law that would actually do something to help prevent piracy without the potential to destroy the internet as everyone in the entire world knows it people probably wouldn't have been as up in arms about it.

You say we should focus less attention on how stupid congress is, but that's possibly the most inherently absurd statement I've ever heard. Pirates aren't going anywhere so focusing attention on making them feel bad is silly. Congress, on the other hand, are the people being elected to represent the country in government, and write your very laws. When they aren't doing a good job of it, they not only need to be told, but need to be made to answer for it when they simply charge ahead despite being made aware of how bad a job they're doing.

Why in the hell should people focus less attention on the bumbling fools who could literally bring your country to it's knees and sell out it's citizens with their stupidity, than a group of people who, though what they do is illegal, we can't even prove they have a significant negative impact on media industries (hello record, and for the most part, growing profits in the game, film, and music industries)?

 

[putowtin]

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.

And once again you've hit the nail on the head, you get my vote for president of the world!