Poll: Is it okay for a student with limited financial resources to pirate software?
Poll Options
Is it okay for a student with limited financial resources to pirate software?

Reply
Thread Tools
sachin007's Avatar
Posts: 2,041 | Thanked: 1,066 times | Joined on Mar 2006 @ Houston
#1
I just wanted to know what you guys think...
 
ysss's Avatar
Posts: 4,384 | Thanked: 5,524 times | Joined on Jul 2007 @ ˙ǝɹǝɥʍou
#2
If you overlook the legal/practical risks (apps that phone home, bugged torrents, trojan lined rars, legal prosecution if caught, etc)... then I guess it all goes back to your own ethic/moral compass.

Asking for input to shape your own opinion is fine, but I hope it's not just to gather enough 'votes' to justify doing something that you think is 'wrong'.
__________________
Class .. : Power User
Humor .. : [#####-----] | Alignment: Pragmatist
Patience : [###-------] | Weapon(s): Galaxy Note + BB Bold Touch 9900
Agro ... : [###-------] | Relic(s) : iPhone 4S, Atrix, Milestone, N900, N800, N95, HTC G1, Treos, Zauri, BB 9000, BB 9700, etc

Follow the MeeGo Coding Competition!

Last edited by ysss; 2010-09-19 at 17:09.
 
mr_xzibit's Avatar
Posts: 220 | Thanked: 49 times | Joined on Aug 2010 @ england
#3
Originally Posted by ysss View Post
If you overlook the legal/practical risks (apps that phone home, bugged torrents, trojan lined rars, etc)... then I guess it all goes back to your own belief.

Asking for input is fine, but you've to process what you hear and come to your own conclusions.

The worst is if one asks for 'input' only to look for justification to do something that goes against their own belief.


+1 if you only have a dollar or a pound in your pocket. is it ok to steal your lunch? NO theft is theft.
__________________
Fav band.SyLOSiS
Playstation® 3 n900 Trophy viewer click here
want a more responsive n900? Click here
 
Benson's Avatar
Posts: 4,930 | Thanked: 2,272 times | Joined on Oct 2007
#4
Originally Posted by mr_xzibit View Post
+1 if you only have a dollar or a pound in your pocket. is it ok to steal your lunch? NO theft is theft.
While I don't see any reason the right or wrong of copyright violation should depend on how much money you have either, that doesn't justify bs arguments equating two dramatically different things.

Theft is theft, copyright infringement is not theft.

Theft is unambiguously morally wrong, because you deprive someone else of their property by force -- now you have, and they don't. (Note that this argument does not depend on the vagaries of government; should a law be passed making it legal for me to steal your lunch, I'd still be a thief, and still be morally wrong if I proceeded to do so.)

Copying information is <i>not</i> unambiguously wrong, because when you make a copy, the original is undisturbed; you have, and they also have. If copying information were equivalent to theft, then it would make no difference that the law sets a definite limit to copyright -- it would be just as wrong for me to copy Gulliver's Travels as a Koontz novel, even though the legal situation is completely different. Copyright is purely a construnct of government, and so is only morally binding because and to the extent that disobeying government is inherently morally wrong (the modern version of divine right; since this is widely disputed, it's unsurprising that copyright infringement is broadly considered morally acceptable.

(Rule of thumb: if it's alright to violate speed limits, it's alright to violate copyright -- they both cause no direct harm to others, they both are violations of a concept created and maintained by government fiat, and "everybody" does them, but is afraid to say they're OK, because that sounds too much like scary anarchism.)
 
Posts: 55 | Thanked: 6 times | Joined on Feb 2008
#5
Piracy != Theft

When will people get this straight??? The current IP law in the US is hopelessly broken. The USPTO, time and again, has proven to be incompetent. The rise of corporations has reduced individual rights. The governments and corporations view ordinary citizens as mere gullets that consume products and **** out money. Please feel free to pirate as much as you can. Civil disobedience has a rightful place in a contemporary society.
__________________
**************************************

My N800: OS2008, Fanoush's initfs, SanDisk 4Gig x 2 SDHC, BoxWave FlexSkin and Sync Charger, Homebrew External Power Pack (4xAA NiMH Rechargeable 2400 mA)

Greetings from Sunny San Diego, California!
 
Posts: 838 | Thanked: 292 times | Joined on Apr 2010
#6
Yes it is. Especially Microsoft.
 
silvermountain's Avatar
Posts: 1,359 | Thanked: 717 times | Joined on May 2009 @ ...standing right behind you...
#7
It would be interesting to have a poll asking people if they had ever downloaded, used or helped to share a downloaded song or software that would be considered 'pirated'.

Anyone who answers yes would have no right to be all high and mighty about others actions.
__________________
.N810 experience: Since 6/2009
My Twenty Favorite OS2008 Applications:
AutoScan, Diablo5 Theme, Dialcentral, DragLock, EmelFM2, FlipClock, gPodder, Headphoned, Knots 2, Maemo Mapper, mPlayer, openNTPD, OpenSSH, Panucci, Personal Launcher, QuickNote, Seqretary, SlideLock, Telescope, YellowNotes
 
Posts: 490 | Thanked: 191 times | Joined on May 2010
#8
The way I see it: if you are using software to learn then it's ok.. If it's for professional use then you should buy it.
 
Posts: 1,048 | Thanked: 979 times | Joined on Mar 2008 @ SF Bay Area
#9
For me, using a product in a manner that would prevent a revenue stream from reaching the creators is a strict no. I'm not saying I've never done it. But for the last 10 years, I have not and henceforth I never intend nor expect to.

For students and others who may not be able to afford it: Have you searched for a free / cheaper alternative? Have you asked about Linux?

If after all your research you find that your needs (or your Professor's needs) can be satisfied only by using a paid software, have you asked for student discounts? Have you asked your Professor to provide a license for classroom usage?

If that is still too pricey for you, perhaps its time to pirate... or re-evaluate your options.

Also: Do you really need that product in the first place? Do you HAVE to have the latest Avatar movie before it hits Netflix?
__________________
qgvdial: Google Voice client. All downloads
qgvtp: Phone integration for the n900 that dials out and sends texts using qgvdial.
mosquitto: message broker that implements the MQ Telemetry Transport protocol version 3.
qgvnotify: Google voice and contacts notifier for diablo and maemo.

If you want to thank me, click the Thanks button.
If you'd like to thank my applications, vote to move them to extras.
 
juise-'s Avatar
Posts: 186 | Thanked: 192 times | Joined on Jan 2010 @ Finland
#10
Originally Posted by sachin007 View Post
I just wanted to know what you guys think...
Depends. The simple yes/no won't make justice to the question.

My personal guidelines:

(1) If there's a FOSS alternative, use that.
(2) If the copy is for educational purposes (non-profit, not for keeping), it's ok to try it before spending disproportional amount of my income.
(3) If I have the money, buy it.
(4) If I'm making money with it, buy it.

Disclaimer: I'm not encouraging anyone to pirate software.

For several years now, most of the stuff has been covered by (1) for me.
__________________
Trout have underwater weapons.
 
Reply

Tags
bollocks!, here be pirates, pirateparty ftw

Thread Tools

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 14:17.