The warming up of this week’s MeetUP SpeakUP get-together is on the cover of Yázigi’s trimestrial magazine—the Ypsilon. Its second issue has given us some room to discuss the ethical implications of sharing, downloading and copying copyrighted materials from the Internet, such as songs, movies, software and games. After all, this is something almost everybody, most of the times, can’t help doing it. So may those who have never downloaded something from the web cast the first stone and leave the room: we, petty criminals, are about to confess our crimes. XD
But mind, we are not all that bad. We have our own rules—our ethics, if you prefer. I myself have a friend of a friend of a friend who downloads movies provided they are not released here in Brazil. Another friend of another friend of mine swears that he only burns audio cds when their cost is way beyond what he considers an acceptable price to pay (which is not much, truth be told). There's even some of us who are always trying to compensate our deeds by avoiding buying pirated DVDs and contributing to the big piracy industry (which is exactly my case).
Questions are: How far can we go unpunished? What precisely is piracy? When does the profitless pursuit for information end and the violation of authorship’s rights begin? To live without it: is it possible? What are the alternatives?
So, speak up!, brotherhood of downloaders, where do you stand?
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that's a complex thing! but let's go, i'm gonna talk about me.
ReplyDeletei have my own pros and cons about downloads. i'm completely addicted to music, i love new bands (that nobody knows) and old bands (that are forgotten). camon, the most complete source to find this kind of music is (undoubtedly) the internet.
yes! i download about 20 songs a week on the internet slow of my pc using emule. but i don't sell them. and you know, nowadays some bands prefer to put their new singles on the internet first (perhaps to know the reaction of the public, i don't know).
about movies, i usually buy pirated or download them. (yes, I do not deny). but as an "experience". i download, listen, watch... if i like: buy! yes, i spent $ 50.00 on a cd or R$120,00 if i like it.
that's the reason why i use dowloads: to taste, have an experience. and i really don't think this is illegal.
if other people use this mean to do illegal things, that's another story.
;)
I have done the same thing, Maísa. Sometimes, before buying a movie, I download it just to have a taste of it. If I like it, I always try to buy it. Problem is... most of the times there are other dvds or cds I also intend to buy, but that I actually don't have so I end up putting those in first place, and the pirated ones keep remaining untouched on my shelf. XD
ReplyDeleteI have to confess that I'm a member of the "brotherhood of downloaders". Downloading has been a part of my life since I know the internet. Yeah, it's a illegal act, but I don't agree with it, it shouldn't be as It's a nice way to spread your music, to get known ( and get fans , ALL OVER THE WORLD!)and also a way to make movies, books and music kindda "imortal". Nowadays, It's impossible to live without it :P
ReplyDeleterealy confessing i loooooove downloading everything from the web, from movies to games.
ReplyDeleteif you don´t belive is only ask to ju :P.
in my point of view, don't dowload "Paraguayan" things is so mutch easier than here, fist because you have to pay in dollars, and because you have to guive them your card's numbers. confessing one more thing, when i saw this post i was dowloading a music.;)
So...here I am! What a deep discussion, huh? It`s more of a moral decision than a political one, right? But well...I do have a fake Windows XP in my computer, so what am I saying here? hahaha :D JUliana
ReplyDeleteif you want to watch a serie lilke Gossip Girl, Heroes, Lost and you don't want to download.. you will have to wait weeks and even months for then on the tv..
ReplyDeleteif you want to listen a new song.. and don't want to downloa that you will have to spend to much money for only one song in a hole album...
if you want to watch a movie that you've been lost on the movies and you don't want to download .. you will have to wait months and spend more money to see it on a dvd.
so i'm not afraid of saying.. YES! I'm a member of the "brotherhood of downloaders" and i don't want to leave it. Because it not my fault about the prices or the time wasted.
hope see you all next