I'm a thief? I'm a thief :(

from JoeUser Forums
Well yes I have to admit I steal :(

Actually I'm not sure if I'm stealing or not. I rent DVDs and copy them for my personal use. Someone told me it was bad and that I was a thief and that people like me were killing the cinema industry. Really???

Lets see, I go to the movies twice a month, sometimes more sometimes less. I've bought a few DVDs that cost me way too much for a dvd IMHO. And I rent DVDs regularly. So I'm a piggy bank for the cinema industry!! (Hehe, i like to exaggerate)

Seeing how much a DVD costs, I copy them. Sometimes I dont even watch them right away, on the weekend I just rent 5 dvds copy them, and then watch them during the week.

It's my personal use, I'm not making money out of it, I'm not creating a black market of copied DVDs.

Am I an outlaw?

Why the hell do they make DVD burners for then? Ok bad point. I know that even if there was a diamond ring on the desk next to mine I wouldnt take it cuz i know it's not right. And yeah I know DVD burners are supposed to be used for personal movies.


So I'm an outlaw?

I thought they meant the dowloading on the net was illegal, not the copy of rentals. I'm sure most of the DVDs I rent are copies anyway. okay, bad point again... So I'm a thief.

I'm not very sure.
entertainment
9,509 views 22 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
yer a wild woman and an outlaw... MM walks away singing "desperado"
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yeah, I do it too. We're often in the process of copying rentals.

Right now we're working on box sets of M*A*S*H and Friends. We've done Dora, Blue's Clues, Dragon Tales, etc for our son (who wants to pay full price for that crap? but we've got to feed my son's addiction somehow), and myriads of other movies over the past couple of years. Our library of Sharpie-labeled DVD's is huge, but it's mostly it's my husband's junk.

I really don't know if we should feel like criminals or not. I mean, they say not to copy them, but we're not stealing them, we're paying for them, then getting our own personal use out of them in our own personal way

I guess it's a matter of whether or not such practices make one feel guilty. I don't feel guilty. We're paying customers.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't do it. I would like to get on my high horse and act like I'm morally superior but actually I don't even have a DVD burner. I do download music and not feel bad about it. If it's wrong it shouldn't be so easy.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I've downloaded Good Night and Good Luck, Serenity and Goodfellas and I've burned them. I've downloaded lots of mp3s. I wish Stardock people who comment about this kind of thing and call those of us who do it theives would shove their self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitudes up their asses.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
The same thing used to be said about people who record movies with VCRs, but then the movie industry found a way to make money off it.



Exactly. What are the hardware and software for? Are the computer and software manufacturers accessories to crimes?

I don't know why the quote tags didn't work.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Another thing: Ripped DVDs don't have the special features, so if you want to see those, you have to buy the DVDs.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
MPAA and RIAA want to make you a criminal.  But they are the criminals, as they (at least here in the US) are violating the fair use law.  I dont know what it is over there, but for now, they are the criminals, and I hope they get caught!  They are worse than gestapo.  They are pure evil.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
This is a grey area as far as the law is concerned. File sharing is not illegal and as long as the copied DVDs are not rented out and are used for private purposes there is no harm.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have to say that I fit into the 'lazy thief' category. Most songs I've downloaded from iTunes, but if I want a song and they don't have it I'll get it off the net from one of the MP3 blogs or something.

Basically I'll be honest so far as it's an easy option. But most of the other services that use WMA don't work with my ipod, so I couldn't be bothered going through an extended process just so I can play a song I've legally bought. Better to get the MP3 off a google search than bugger around with complicated file format switching.

I've never burnt a DVD, but I've bought dodgy dvds in Asia; personally I'm against the idea of paying AUS$40 for a movie I might watch no more than 5 times in my life, or paying $5 to watch it once, particularly when I can get a reasonable copy for $2 off a street store.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
If you're renting a film for $5 when it sells for $15 or $20, making a copy of it and then returning the flick, what you're taking part in is copyright infringement, the closest thing you can get to theft in this electronic world. The reason is that there are terms to renting, or even buying things like movies or software. Duplication is only permissible under copyright laws (In the US at least, I believe the WIPO has something similar but can't recall right now) when it is of something you own, for the purposes of personal backup.

The argument that there is no harm done to copyright holders is a back-and-forth one. On the one hand most people will argue that they wouldn't have purchased something regardless, so to them the companies have not lost a sale. But the other side to the argument is that if you're not willing to pay the set price for whatever it is you downloaded or copied, that you have absolutely no right to it whatsoever. It is the creator and owner of the work that has the legal right to dictate the method and means by which to distribute their work.

There's this prevailing attitude in the world now that if something is easily accessable, that it should be free on principle. If it can be obtained online, then by-god it should be free! It's a bad argument on every front. It's easy to obtain a gun and shoot someone. It's easy to smother a baby. It's easy to hit someone with your car. It's easy to do a lot of things you're not allowed to do, the fact that it's easy doesn't make it right. And on top of all of this, those who claim that it's OK to pirate because it's so easy go ape-shit crazy when a company starts putting complex DRM on media to make it harder for the average person to copy something. So it's OK for people to pirate because it's easy, but it's wrong for companies to try to protect their works?

Now, don't get me wrong, I hate DRM because it never works, and the only people it blocks are honest customers who by bad fortune don't have properly "supported" hardware or something like that. But that doesn't change the fact that it is the company's right to try and do that. Don't like it? Don't buy/listen/view it. Not liking it doesn't give you the moral right to then pirate it.

Now, is it a crime that causes a great deal of harm? No, not really. But that doesn't change the fact that it remains a crime. A lot of people who download movies, music, software etc are aware of that. The thing is, some people in this thread are lieing to themselves, trying to convince themselves that it is somehow justified because they don't like the business practices of the media companies, when in reality there's no real moral justification to it at all. You have no right to the works at all... period. Now, most here are aware of that by and large and have the attitude of "Yeah, I know it's illegal, but I accept the basic consequences of the act" Of the attitudes held by those who pirate, the second is by far the better.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's funny, I'll download music, but downloading movies just doesnt' feel right lol. I've downloaded episodes of Freaks & Geeks and The Simpsons, but after me and the kids watched them I deleted them.... as if that made any difference one way or the other... lol

I do own a copied copy of "Song of the South" which I hear won't be re-released in the U.S. anyway. I do spend money on TV show DVDs.. for my birthday I got a 50th Anniversary Edition of Gunsmoke and the first season of The Muppet Show!!! (((SCORE))) ;~D
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
In case anyone's interested, here's where you can get movies and songs which are in the public domain.
Link
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Moderateman:
yer a wild woman and an outlaw..

Hell Yeah! lol

Angela:
I really don't know if we should feel like criminals or not. I mean, they say not to copy them, but we're not stealing them, we're paying for them, then getting our own personal use out of them in our own personal way

Yeah, that's how I feel too. But then when I read further down in the comments I just felt guilty again, heh!

Locamama,
Do you think if you had a DVD burner you would do like me? Burn DVDs and build your collection of movies? i know i couldnt wait to have a DVD burner!

Içonoçlast:
I dont download music from the net, i just copy from other people who download from the net (which is just as bad, i just save time mwahaha!)
Ripped DVDs don't have the special features, so if you want to see those, you have to buy the DVDs.

You mean if you dowload from the net right? Cuz when you burn DVDs you can if you want add the feature or bonuses or whatever.

Dr Guy,
MPAA and RIAA want to make you a criminal. But they are the criminals, as they (at least here in the US) are violating the fair use law.

They are? Goodie then, one point for us

Bahu,
I agree with you totally, that's how i used to see it until this person told me there was the copyright thing and that i could go to jail and pay a big ass fine for that, but like i said i thought it was only applicable to dowloading! Not that he scared me, after all you only get caught if someone turns you in... mmm... which means i have to get rid of that person, he knows too much.... lol
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
cactoblasta:
Hehe, i know what you mean! That's why i didnt get myself an ipod! My Mp3 player reads WMA as well so i dont do anywork
I've bought dodgy dvds too...i hate those, sometimes they record the thing from a cinema and you can see shadows of people getting up to go to the toilet or something lol! So i'm better off burning my own copies!!

Zoomba,
I know you're right, but i guess i'm now used to it! And I cant imagine renting a dvd without wanting a copy for when i'm too lazy to go to the dvd machine... I know it's bad, bad, bad! lol But just between us, no one is listening, do you copy music or videos for your private use?

Ted,
I've downloaded episodes of Freaks & Geeks and The Simpsons, but after me and the kids watched them I deleted them.... as if that made any difference one way or the other... lol

At least you got rid of evidence...
And i love the muppets!!! *addidng to my to burn list*

Thanks for the list Iço! I'm gonna check it out, just looking not touching
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh, I have a pile of music on my PC from my time in college where everyone had their entire collections up on network shares, but for the most part now I buy the music I want (yay iTunes). Only did the movie thing once or twice... I figure any movie I'm going to want to watch more than once I should own, and since there aren't that many out there I want to watch that much, it's not a huge hit to my budget.

I do however create copies of music and movies I purchase. Most of my iTunes songs have been burned to CD, and I've ripped a few of my own DVDs to my PC for backups. But I don't distribute and I haven't touched a P2P site since Napster really.

I don't condemn people for downloading stuff, so I'm sorry if I made you feel guilty It's people like Icon I rail against because they carry around the attitude that it's their god-given right to have free access to anything they like and that anyone who says otherwise is a jerk on a high-horse. My issue is more with the attitude that accompanies the act than the act itself.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hey Zoomba I posted a birthday comment on your last article dont know if you had a look at it yet. I think you mentionned somewhere that you were turning 24 today? So just wanted to say happy birthday!!!

Back to the topic, well i guess you're lucky to feel that way:
I figure any movie I'm going to want to watch more than once I should own, and since there aren't that many out there I want to watch that much, it's not a huge hit to my budget.

I know I'm a movie addict, i mean sometimes even if it's sunny and nice outside I wil go to the movies and watch a girls flick with some buttered popcorn instead of going to the beach and get sunburned, lol! So DVDs are a must!

I don't condemn people for downloading stuff, so I'm sorry if I made you feel guilty

It's ok, i was feeling guilty when i wrote this in the first place, lol!
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's people like Icon I rail against because they carry around the attitude that it's their god-given right to have free access to anything they like


Impossible. I don't believe in God.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have never downloaded music or movies but I know people who have.

I think fair use is fair enough but there has to be a line drawn somewhere when it comes to downloading movies or music. The basic fact is this is stealing from the person or people who created the art in question. Some justify this by saying the artists they 'rip off' are making so much money anyway, they won't miss the little bit of income they're stealing. This is patently wrong because it doesn't affect the artist, it affects the whole industry.

On the music side, I'm not a fan of corporate record companies. I think they're predictable, greedy and corrupt. They do, however, provide opportunities for creative people to continue to practice their art. By file sharing or illegally downloading music, the companies lose income and the direct result is they drop artists from their roster and only go for the 'safe' artists, in other words, those they can market to maximum dollar value. Real artists are left out in the cold to fend for themselves.

As I said earlier, I believe in fair use. If the technology available enables me to have an MP3 player that stores heaps of songs and I have paid for the CD, then I should be able to make a copy for my player. Making me pay twice or more times for the same music is as wrong as those who refuse to pay for the music at all.

Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to rant about this, but it is a subject I have strong feelings about.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to rant about this, but it is a subject I have strong feelings about.

No need to apologise mate, I know where you come from and I totally understand your point.
Technology can be good and bad at the same time. I think it's a case of conscience. I'm ashamed to say I'll probably will continue with my old bad ways, because I dont want to restrain myself from dvds even tho i cant afford the 'real' stuff
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
I completely understand, you baaaad girl
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
I completely edited this post.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
completely understand, you baaaad girl

*Bad girl strikes whip* LOL

Hey Iço, why did you edit the post, i didnt even read what you first posted