I am the very model of a Pirate Finder General
I hunt them down and bring them in and silence all their yo-ho-hos
I make them walk the plank and burn their little skulls and crossy bones
I keep the high seas safe and sound and eminently peace-a-ful.
I've knowledge of all knots and ropes and sailing apparatuses
I'll guide my ship through storm and gale and oe'r the ocean's crevasses
I've seen the arctic penguins being eaten by the walruses
And Equatorial pygmies with their cannibalic practices:
In short I am the model of a Pirate Finder General.

You wouldn't steal a handbag...
You wouldn't steal a car...
You wouldn't steal a baby...
You wouldn't shoot a policeman, then steal his helmet...
You wouldn't go to the toilet in his helmet...
and then send it to the policeman's grieving widow...
and then steal it again...


/downloading films is stealing
//bang

Oh, so this has nothing to do with an area near Somalia. I should've known.

They were successful at attaching the word "piracy" to something that is very unlike the traditional definition, and this is the result.

Are they still paying politicians off under the table in the UK, or has it been dragged into the open like in the US? Because seeing where the payola went for this stinking pile of an initiative would be interesting.

Think of them as privateers.

I'm sure this will sound Kazaa's death rattle. Wonder if they're even aware of Newsg░░░░

50mm: They were successful at attaching the word "piracy" to something that is very unlike the traditional definition, and this is the result.

One thing that annoys me about this whole issue is that it's often put in terms of "sharing" vs. "stealing," rather than fair use vs. copyright infringement.

yogaFLAME: I'm sure this will sound Kazaa's death rattle. Wonder if they're even aware of Newsg░░░░

you muthaflippah...
SSSSSSHHHHHH
say nothing.

Will they start sending out E-mails of Marque?

Yo-ho
haul together
hoist the colours high
heave-ho
thieves and beggars
never shall we die!

dletter:

/downloading films is stealing
//bang

And there is NOTHING you can do to stop it.

Nothing.

File trading is here to stay.

BKITU: Will they start sending out E-mails of Marque?

Relatively Obscure: Oh, so this has nothing to do with an area near Somalia. I should've known.

Oh, that's perfectly acceptable behavior. those folks can keep right on truckin'

but GOD help you if you want to sample some new music.

Oh, and this pretty much sums it all up.

Not only do I pirate digital files, but I also hold them for ransom. If Sony Pictures doesn't deliver $3M in unmarked bills, this DiVX rip of Spiderman3 will be deleted. With extreme prejudice.

Weaver95: dletter:

/downloading films is stealing
//bang

And there is NOTHING you can do to stop it.

Nothing.

File trading is here to stay.

Someone here hasn't watched The IT Crowd

CitizenTed: Not only do I pirate digital files, but I also hold them for ransom. If Sony Pictures doesn't deliver $3M in unmarked bills, this DiVX rip of Spiderman3 will be deleted posted online. With extreme prejudice.

FTFY. They'd be quite happy if you deleted it.

Avast ye scurvey dogs!!!

In a country where you have to have a license to own a TV, there are probably a lot of pirate radio stations.

Weaver95: Oh, that's perfectly acceptable behavior. those folks can keep right on truckin'

but GOD help you if you want to sample some new music.

Somalis are armed to the teeth. UK citizens, not so much.

cannon fodder

KarmicDisaster: In a country where you have to have a license to own a TV, there are probably a lot of pirate radio stations.

What about your bee license?

Quit pirating and distributing copyrighted materials.

I used to pirate music and movies but then I grew up. Plus I got Netflix and realized that if its not worth paying for, its not worth watching/listening.

You know who else hated pirates? (new window)

They crack down on piracy yet erode our privacy. How does spyware in our computers and CCTV cameras on every street corner protect us from the real corruption at the heart of our society?

You want to charge me $20 to give me the privilidge to sit in a crowded theatre that charges $10 for a soft drink since you gouge the theatre for the right to show you movie there. Then you bombard me with 20 minutes of commercials for cellphones and cars and milk.(seriously if i see one more roaring cow) all to see a movie that cost almost a billion dollars to make because you couldn't get it made unless you had the name of some over-the- hill hollywood actor playing the lead part which realistically should belong to someone 20 years younger and talented. Then you skimp on a decent script for the sake of shakey-cams, bright flashes and tacked on money shots of some centerfold model.

And then you wonder why I might just want to download it for free?
hell, if i could download it the day it came out for a reasonable fee and have it as a permanent thing, i'd pay for it! but no. i might watch it with friends, and you need every penny from them for your ivory backscratchers and coffee enemas.

Oh noes! Someone is going to try to enforce their laws against piracy and theft! Damn their oily hides!

KarmicDisaster: In a country where you have to have a license to own a TV, there are probably a lot of pirate radio stations.

I think - and I'm willing to be corrected - that Radio isn't licensed. You just have soo many adverts on them unless they are BBC in which case they are already paid for.

As long as you can prove that you have no way of recieving terrestial TV then you don't have to have a license. A friend recently had the inspectors round but as soon as they saw he didn't have a aerial point or rabbit ears for the TV they went away satisfied.

caperbear: They crack down on piracy yet erode our privacy. How does spyware in our computers and CCTV cameras on every street corner protect us from the real corruption at the heart of our society?

You want to charge me $20 to give me the privilidge to sit in a crowded theatre that charges $10 for a soft drink since you gouge the theatre for the right to show you movie there. Then you bombard me with 20 minutes of commercials for cellphones and cars and milk.(seriously if i see one more roaring cow) all to see a movie that cost almost a billion dollars to make because you couldn't get it made unless you had the name of some over-the- hill hollywood actor playing the lead part which realistically should belong to someone 20 years younger and talented. Then you skimp on a decent script for the sake of shakey-cams, bright flashes and tacked on money shots of some centerfold model.

And then you wonder why I might just want to download it for free?
hell, if i could download it the day it came out for a reasonable fee and have it as a permanent thing, i'd pay for it! but no. i might watch it with friends, and you need every penny from them for your ivory backscratchers and coffee enemas.

Pretty much all of this and then some.

Evilmogwai: As long as you can prove that you have no way of recieving terrestial TV then you don't have to have a license.

It's actually easier than that. They have to prove that you're watching live TV. I don't watch live broadcasts on my TV and when the inspectors turned up, (Apparently they get your address from a register when you purchase a TV) I told them I don't watch TV, when they needed to come in and "verify" that, as if I was lying, I said no and they left. They have no legal backing until they have proof. This is why they try to make the TV License adverts as scary as possible as fear is the best tool they have.

Pixelvision: www.creepygif.com

Hello, 911, I'm here to report a stolen image, please ban Pixelvision from the Internets. Thanks!

BKITU: Will they start sending out E-mails of Marque?

Winner.

caperbear:
You want to charge me $20 to give me the privilidge to sit in a crowded theatre that charges $10 for a soft drink since you gouge the theatre for the right to show you movie there. Then you bombard me with 20 minutes of commercials for cellphones and cars and milk.(seriously if i see one more roaring cow) all to see a movie that cost almost a billion dollars to make because you couldn't get it made unless you had the name of some over-the- hill hollywood actor playing the lead part which realistically should belong to someone 20 years younger and talented. Then you skimp on a decent script for the sake of shakey-cams, bright flashes and tacked on money shots of some centerfold model.


How about you just not watch it then? If the movies suck that much, why waste your time? Speak with your money, legally, if you disapprove of it, but why sink down to doing something illegal? What gives you the right to watch a movie for free (one that, no doubt, probably costs tens of millions to make, edit, promote, etc.) when everyone else pays their share to watch it?

If you don't like XYZ Restaurant for whatever reason, you don't sneak in there late at night to steal it, nor do you rob the truck that carries the food to the restaurant, do you? No, you probably just don't eat there. Yeah, you may enjoy their food at times, but your reasons for not dining there (terrible services, etc) overwhelm the benefit you feel from eating their food, so you eat elsewhere.

I just don't get the mentality that you have the right to watch a flick for free illegally. If you feel that strongly about not paying for it, then don't watch the damn thing. If you want to watch it, then pay like everyone else. Just man up and stop farking complaining about it.

/ People seem to be able to justify everything

WxGuy1: People seem to be able to justify everything

Like totally farked up copyright law.

well, they're going after these pirates, instead of the somali pirates, because the music industry pays them shaitloads of cash to do so. The "other" kind of pirate might involve some personal risk to stand up to them.

Really, what can be expected from a nation known as the "nanny state", who's ems staff refuses to rescue people in 6" of water, and dispatchers won't call an emergency crew for backup because they're on their break.

And you people ruled the world at one time?

It's amazing that the Irish can't kick your ass, even with the advantage of being drunk, crazy religious fanatics.

there's a difference between stealing something tangible, and getting a copy of something.

If I "steal" a dvd from a store, the store is 'missing' some inventory. Nothing is missing when someone copies a disk. No extra work was performed, so there's not a theft of service, either.

Yes, the owner of the work is deprived of his right to demand payment.

But, hey, like Detroit, they keep coming up with overpriced pieces of crap, and blame a convenient scapegoat for their "losses", which are due more to unrealistic pricing and production costs than it is any theft. Unlike Detroit, these "losses" are purely fictional.

If you don't like XYZ Restaurant for whatever reason, you don't sneak in there late at night to steal it, nor do you rob the truck that carries the food to the restaurant, do you? No, you probably just don't eat there.

Not because I don't want their food, but because by taking their food someone that would have paid for it can't pay for it anymore.

If I download a movie then I'm not keeping paying customers from paying for it.

Either I don't watch it or I download it and watch it. Either way they don't get my money, but if I do the former then I'm the one that loses out. I'm not a loser. You might be, but I'm not.

good luck with that, Brits...grab a teaspoon and drain the ocean with it. That'll be a helluva lot easier than curbing copyright infringement.

KarmicDisaster: In a country where you have to have a license to own a TV, there are probably a lot of pirate radio stations.

Yeah, I can't stand paying for a license to watch the radio on the TV. I much prefer listening to pirates on the radio for free instead.

/your point
//I don't get it

In the US, if you call your local police and tell them that someone you know is pirating movies and music, does anything happen?

I mean after they laugh at you.

Orgasmatron138: In the US, if you call your local police and tell them that someone you know is pirating movies and music, does anything happen?

yes, the police come to your home and arrest you for misuse of emergency services and criminal stupidity.

I fear this is mighto hamper my some people's access to torrents of Doctor Who and Ashes to Ashes (and Torchwood if it ever comes back).

I wish these nanny staters the same luck they've had with gatso speed cameras.

YARR.

Sorry, Janey, your brother was caught sharing the new X-Men movie on bittorrent. Our family is no longer allowed on the internet. Yes yes, we know, you'd been learning a lot of programming lately and even did a very nice job on your school's website recently, but Fox Studios takes their bottom line very seriously... cross that and whole families have to pay the consequences. There there, Janey, I picked up this nice Dickens book for you to read instead.

When the product you sell for dozens of dollars becomes so trivial that complete strangers grant it as a small favor, you should look for a new revenue stream. Instead of doing that, the music industry bribes enough politicians to make sure no right is left untrampled in an attempt to keep their shattered monopolies intact.
This is purely a matter of industry giants looking after their profits. Music as an art and a hobby will live on, and even turn a profit. Record sales may have been a huge thing in terms of dollars earned, but a recording contract followed by a successful career has always been a rare thing. Musicians, with or without a recording contract, can still play music and compose it. These are the skills that put bread on the table for many musicians, and these are two services that can't be digitized and copied.

Can he live up to the Paedo Finder General?

Link (new window)