Hello I am TSD and I am currently writing a paper about Internet Piracy in my college writing course. Part of my paper is supposed to involve a survey and I feel that asking this forum is one of the best ways to do this. If you would like to participate please give me your input.



Do you pirate anything?
Do you feel that this is wrong?
Why do you feel that way?
Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
Do you think that is too much/little?
Does piracy have positive benefits?
What about the negative effect?
What do you pirate?
Is it really considered stealing?

And any thoughts about this topic?


If you do not feel comfortable with posting this information on the forums you may contact me via email or messenger at Ancientsecretart@hotmail.com.

Do you pirate anything?
Yes.

Do you feel that this is wrong?
Not really.

Why do you feel that way?
It's hardly inconvenient.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
A little, but the commercials are so lame.

Do you think that is too much/little?
Indifferent.

Does piracy have positive benefits?
Yes, free stuff.

What about the negative effect?
If you get caught, I'm sure it's a big deal.

What do you pirate?
Movies and music.

Is it really considered stealing?
Yes.

And any thoughts about this topic?
LOL not really

I replied VIA e-mail. Let me know if you got it!

Do you pirate anything?
Yes and no, depending on your definition of "pirate". I download but never upload.

Do you feel that this is wrong?
Nope.

Why do you feel that way?
I'm taking what's available at the lowest cost to me. Pirating is such a big problem these days because to buy these things normally costs more than alot of people are willing to pay. I'm not paying 20-30 bucks for a movie I'll watch once, I'm not paying 20-30 bucks for a CD with one song I like on it, and I'm certainly not paying upwards of 100 bucks for one season of a tv show.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
Of course there is. But it's easily ignorable.

Do you think that is too much/little?
Considering my answer to the last question, I'd say there's too little.

Does piracy have positive benefits?
Yes. People are kept entertained at a much lower cost to themselves.

What about the negative effect?
Celebrities lose some money and might have to start living like normal people (god forbid). Some of these people have three or four mansions that they're never in. It's wasted money. ...and I suppose there are the people dumb enough to get caught recording in a movie theater. They've got some negative things coming their way too.

What do you pirate?
I download music, movies and tv shows, but I don't upload, burn cds/dvds or share. I also delete the movies/tv shows after I watch them. Music I keep for personal use. :P
EDIT: SNES games, too. I forgot about those. But to be fair, I owned the majority of them at one point so I already paid for them.

Is it really considered stealing?
If you're the one doing the uploading and making all this stuff available, yes. That is stealing. Those are the people causing this issue. If all you're doing is making use of what's available, no. You are not stealing. Someone is giving you something. Where they got it is no fault of yours. Short version: Upload = bad, Download = Not saintly but not bad either.

And any thoughts about this topic?
I heard something about them adding a small tax to internet service that will go to performers and whatnot. Kind of like the recordable media tax we have in Canada. I say they just go ahead and do that so we can stop hearing people whine about this all the time. They'll never stop pirating no matter how hard they try. ...short of getting rid of the internet alltogether. But good luck with that. ^_^

Do you pirate anything?
- Yes

Do you feel that this is wrong?
- Not in particular

Why do you feel that way?
- If I didn't download it, I'd most likely not buy it anyway. In fact, I've bought stuff because I learnt about it after downloading. So thanks to piracy I bought stuff I wouldn't have bought otherwise.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
- Yes

Do you think that is too much/little?
- Too much, according to the commercials it's as bad as stealing a car, I don't think it's even half as bad

Does piracy have positive benefits?
- Of course, if it's done on large scale, but on the other side, people also learn about new stuff which they might buy.

What about the negative effect?
- It's overrated

What do you pirate?
- Mostly music and nintendo DS games

Is it really considered stealing?
- According to the record labels, yes. However, I don't think so since I don't actually take something from them.

And any thoughts about this topic?
- They should quit the crap about it and stop using DRM and junk like that.

Do you pirate anything?
->Used to, but I no longer do so.

Do you feel that this is wrong?
->A bit, as pay for the project developers is divvied from sales and determines if a company goes under. Yet I don't as I'm a supporter of "pay for support, not software".

Why do you feel that way?
->See Above

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
->A false pressure, as no one around me that has pirated has ever been charged.

Do you think that is too much/little?
->N/A

Does piracy have positive benefits?
->Plenty, as you get powerful software that is originally over your personal budget in price (yes, I'm looking at you, Maya).

What about the negative effect?
->Government Intervention, Creation of Criminal Record

What do you pirate?
->I used to pirate Software and Music.

Is it really considered stealing?
->Yes, Lawfully. No, ethically.

And any thoughts about this topic?
->Regardless of what happens, there will always be honorable and dishonorable persons. They need to come up with a different way to protect media which is more open for free distribution, and satisfactory to the producer. Though this whole situation seems too much like a Catch 22

1) Do you pirate anything?
Yes.

2) Do you feel that this is wrong?
No.

3) Why do you feel that way?
Everyone is doing it; that was the big driving force for me since everyone is getting their music/movies for free. Obviously it is not good for bands who get alot of their money from their albums being sold, but after the RIAA and MPAA tried to lock down on this without analysizing it on how it could be used beneficially I lost hope in the morality of their actions and now declare in my mind that this isnt wrong anymore.

4) Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
Of course. With the attempts of the MPAA and RIAA they always scare you into not pirating anymore through lawsuits and criminal charges.

5) Do you think that is too much/little?
Too much, I would say. RIAA and MPAA have done nothing but accuse people to get money, and they dont even give the money to the artists and instead keep the money to themselves. At this point I believe the companies are the "Pirators".

6) Does piracy have positive benefits?
Alot of people participate in the Piracy scene, and that of course could be used to a businessman's advantage. In our point of view, our benefits are that we get what we want without paying, and we get it without having to get out of our chairs! (Most of the time)

7) What about the negative effect?
Pirating of course lessens the sales of an artist's cds, which isnt good for them. There are always negatives out of a positive, but people will still buy their cd's/clothes/etc for collection sake. I would also buy such items if it were something I would really like to cherish.

8) What do you pirate?
I used to pirate movies, not anymore after the MPAA located me and tried to force my internet offline. I now only pirate music.

9) Is it really considered stealing?
At a economist's point of view, yes. Artists and producers lose revenue from our actions. However, at a pirator's point of view, we're glorifying the artists and more people will get to hear the songs/watch the movies and it might bring out positive effects. In addition, look at the RIAA and MPAA. They're taking the money they recieved from court cases and they havent handed the money back to the artists/producers where it belongs. In our sense, they would be "stealing" and would be guilty as well.

10) And any thoughts about this topic?
Nope. All my ideas were conveyed throughout this survey.

Haha... If FBI show up at my doorsteps a few days from now I'll feel terribly betrayed.

Do you pirate anything?
Yes.

Do you feel that this is wrong?
Meh, sort of.

Why do you feel that way?
The producers aren't making money off their products. But then again, they probably wouldn't be making money off me either way, since I more important things to spend money on.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
No.

Do you think that is too much/little?
It's fine.

Does piracy have positive benefits?
For the user, it's free merchandise, for the producers, it might serve as free word-of-mouth advertisement (eg. If there's something I really like, I'd recommend my friends to check it out, and they may not necessarily pirate it). I think as long as those pirating the stuff don't distribute it or encourage others to do the same, it's rather harmless.

What about the negative effect?
No money is made for those deserving of it. Over-pirating could lead to all sorts of problematic consequences with the law.

What do you pirate?
Music (where do you think I go to find and listen to songs from transcription requests?)
Video games - mostly just emulator and rom stuff for handhelds, but that's also been a thing of the past. Haven't played much since then.
Movies and shows - Mostly anime. Majority of the stuff I watch aren't licensed yet anyways, but the remaining bit that I watch could be considered 'piracy' i guess.

Is it really considered stealing?
That completely depends on how you define stealing. Often, this form of 'stealing' doesn't really hurt anyone. The poor get some stuff, which they would otherwise not be able to afford anyways.

And any thoughts about this topic?
I'm actually a little concerned about the increasing demand for action against piracy. As I see it, without piracy, my life wouldn't be a third as interesting, filled only with lots of forum trolling and sleeping...

Porsche, are you a lawyer or something?

Anyways. I'm hoping I may be able to use your opinions in my paper. If you would feel okay with me using them let me know. And as a safety precaution I will only use your user names.

Do you pirate anything?

Yes

Do you feel that this is wrong?

Not really.

Why do you feel that way?

If I couldn't pirate it, I wouldn't spend money on it to begin with.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?

Some, but it's easily ignored and overlooked.

Do you think that is too much/little?

People would ignore it if they didn't want to hear it, no matter how much there was.

Does piracy have positive benefits?

Yes, sometimes it actually turns people onto buying the actual product they pirated, for example, I downloaded the movie Labyrinth, and I loved it so much I wanted a legit copy so I promptly ordered it.

What about the negative effect?

negative effects.... hmmm... Well, there aren't really any negative effects unless you get caught.

What do you pirate?

Anime
Movies
Music
Games

Is it really considered stealing?

Not in my opinion, if it is out there, why not take advantage of it, if you don't then someone else will, why not take advantage of the situation?

And any thoughts about this topic?

it's an interesting topic that I've thought about a few times - it's kind of a touchy subject because of the way it's looked at by the law.

Anyways. I'm hoping I may be able to use your opinions in my paper. If you would feel okay with me using them let me know. And as a safety precaution I will only use your user names.

I'm okay with it

Do you pirate anything?
yes

Do you feel that this is wrong?
somtimes

Why do you feel that way?
As what most people have said because the developers and etc don't make money but then again I don't think they would make a lot off me since I'm not exactly the richest guy.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
no

Do you think that is too much/little?
N/a

Does piracy have positive benefits?
Well it could introduce other people to new stuff as some one else already mentioned and also it helps the poor.

What about the negative effect?
Maybe one or two companies might die from it just maybe.

What do you pirate?
music
used to pirate games and anime but now only music.

Is it really considered stealing?
Erm this part would be in a grey area since it depends what you pirate. It's not exactly split between black and white.

And any thoughts about this topic?
interesting to see who would answer to this topic.

Do you pirate anything?
+ Why yes, yes I do

Do you feel that this is wrong?
+ Not particularly

Why do you feel that way?
+ I buy loads of stuff anyway, in fact, I prefer to buy cds and dvds (though, only my favourites :D). Usually I download something to check it out, or it's not available to buy. And also because it's mostly friends who do the downloading, and I leech of them.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
+ A small amount

Do you think that is too much/little?
+ People don't really take notice of it anyway. With or without warnings, it's still hapenning.

Does piracy have positive benefits?
+ If it's something not available to readily buy (I swear, Australia gets nothing!), it's a source. It can introduce me to things I wouldn't have listened to or watched because it's just not sold here. Plus it's free. As a poor uni student, one has to be....stingy.

What about the negative effect?
+ The people who put hard effort and money into making these things (be it music, movies or games), they don't get the profit they should be.

What do you pirate?
+ Mostly anime, because American dubs and edits have totally messed with the original, and also because it's not available. Plus, some fansubs are better than actual subs, and they provide background information! Some music, if I only like one song and don't want to buy an entire album for that one song. Nintendo DS games too, particularly ones not out in Australia yet.

Is it really considered stealing?
+ Sort of. If something's not licensed then... It starts to shift into a grey area.

And any thoughts about this topic?
+ Nope

Do you pirate anything?
Maybe. Unless internal recording is considered or games?

Do you feel that this is wrong?
Depends on the volume. If it is large scale downloading and for the purpose of illegal distribution and not self use.

Why do you feel that way?
Violation of copyrights laws even if you don't acknowledge.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
Some. Apparently when courts can order ISPs to disclose subscriber info. Wikipedia ODEX.

Do you think that is too much/little?
Depends on your location. A little too much sometimes. Can teenagers pay the fine?

Does piracy have positive benefits?
Yes. It stimulates innovation and forces companies to take new approaches towards the rapid changes of technology. Such as tie up between YOUTUBE and various music industries.

What about the negative effect?
It might discourage some producers, especially small companies which losses may amount to a big percentage compared to Mega Media companies.

What do you pirate?
As above.

Is it really considered stealing?
Yes, by law.

And any thoughts about this topic?

Maybe more people will be willing to pay rather than illegally download if it is through direct payment to the creators of the softwares/ music, reducing the cost of the middlemen marketing. Refer to article on Radiohead:http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html

Do you pirate anything?
no

Do you feel that this is wrong?
doing the right thing is wrong? 0_o;

Why do you feel that way?
Honestly, music is only a dollar a song on itunes. If people really want to risk a huge fine over saving a buck, be they can be the morons that they are and do it. But they better not come cryin to me when they get bagged.

Do you think that there is pressure not to pirate?
Not really. Think about it. There is so much crime in our country that the law enforcement is so focused on big criminals to ever catch a few teens downloading illegal music or games.

Do you think that is too much/little?
too little, I say they should make a seperate organization to take care of piracy

Does piracy have positive benefits?
Of course. Video games are $40-50 a pop, with PS3 games costing as much as $70 dollars a pop. If someone pirates a game, they just saved themselves alot of money!

What about the negative effect?
The rightful copyright owner doesen't get the money or credit they deserve

What do you pirate?
nothing

Is it really considered stealing?
yeah

First off, thanks to this survey I received a 4.0 on my paper. nobody else in the class received the mark so I would like to thank everyone to posted in this thread.

Where's the second off? O:
And congrats!

Yay!

Man I wish I helped.

Woot! That rocks. Glad to be of service.