I don't even call it piracy, because piracy has a definition that this doesn't meet. I call it what it is: unauthorized reproduction. That's it. That's all "piracy" is, it's literally just unauthorized reproduction. Doesn't sound nearly as scary and dramatic when you call it what it actual is, does it?

There is no ‘high horse’ here.

Says the person actively judging others for their perceived moral failings, from their high horse.

People need to quit with their bullshit justifications.

You may not agree with it or understand it, and that's fine. I'm saying don't act like we all think that it's wrong like you do and are going against our own belief systems. You are the one doing that, not me.

The fuck are you on about Christianity? There is literally no connection to religion/beliefs here.

Oh but there absolutely is, and you put literally zero effort into putting any thought into whether it did or not, your knee jerked and you went right back to defaulting your YOUR belief system and insisting everyone else follow it. Sounds exactly like some groups I could think of, I'll let you puzzle that one out for yourself.

People can’t afford to pay for it? Cool. It’s still piracy.

You cant' afford to eat? Cool, it's still stealing when you nick a loaf or bread.

One is still depriving the creator/studio/publisher/whatever of a sale.

OH NO! You mean to tell me that I've deprived a billionaire of a couple of pennies?! I deserve to rot in hell.

Ridiculous

I agree. It's ridiculous that you are only able to look at it from one very specific, capitalist boot licking pov and not even consider other peoples point of view. Must feel good to be so righteous and holy.

Depends what you download but mostly true.

Great meme

Again, the point is you were saying (or agreeing) that copies being available for free decrease the value. You then later say it has intrinsic value.

I'm not arguing that they don't have intrinsic value. I'm arguing that you undermined the point of value decreasing if it exists for free by admitting this. It doesn't. It's worth something no matter what someone else paid, and no matter what you paid.

A game decreasing in price over time isn't doing so because it's worth less (usually, with the exception of online games). They're decreasing the price to capture customers who don't agree with the original valuation. It doesn't change value to the consumer based on the price changing. The object is not suddenly less valuable when there's a sale and more valuable again after. It has a degree of "goodness" no matter what. The price doesn't effect this.

Oh my lord you are so dense. I don’t give a fuck why people do the things that they do. But these justifications are garbage. Again, just say “I don’t feel like paying for it”. That is it.

Steal bread because one can’t afford it? That really sucks. It is still stealing. Does it make people right or wrong? Well, in this case I think most people would understand.

And no, stealing bread for sustenance is in no way shape or form remotely comparable to downloading a movie or song. Are we all entitled to the all of the things in life that help us get through the monotony of existence? How about independent documentaries, where every dollar counts to the creators? Are you entitled to those?

At the end of the day, someone/studio spent hours/days/years working on the art that you feel like you deserve to have because you cannot afford it or whatever bullshit reason you want to conjure. It’s still piracy, and is still wrong.

If someone were to download my music, that I’ve spent multiple hours and days creating and editing, without paying, I’d be justifiably upset. If I release my music on a site like Bandcamp, it is because I’d like to enjoy some sort of benefit for my hard work. I don’t care what someone’s excuse is for pirating my work. It is not theirs, they do not get to decide that I don’t deserve to be paid. If I wanted the world to hear it for free, I’d release it on a platform where it is free. That is my, as the creator of the art, prerogative. It just so happens that I put it on platforms where people can hear it, with ads or subscription, which I deem to be fair. But outright downloading it deprives me of streams and ad revenue. I don’t fucking care what the excuse is. My art is not free. I understand why some artists get upset.

Does this make me a hypocrite? I suppose it does. I am doing wrong as well. I just don’t try to hide behind some sort of bullshit excuse. Just own up to it.

Perceived moral failings

Fuck off. I’m not judging anyone. Just merely stating facts. Piracy is piracy, no matter what way someone wants to spin it. Is it wrong? Yes. Am I wrong when I do it? Absolutely. I choose not to justify it.

Unauthorized reproduction or copyright infringements is more scary and dramatic than theft in some ways. Just look at the punishment for copyright infringement vs theft. One is waaaaaay more severe. It's almost akin to saying "You stole his life!" Instead of "you killed him!" Since severity of punishment for copyright infringements is pretty much up there with murder.

YoU WoUlDn'T dOwNlOaD A Car!?!?!

You're damn right I would; get me a 3D printer big enough...

Yeah but I'm talking about common parlance here, not in terms of weaponized legal language.

Eventually, yes. If everyone's needs are provided for, there is no requirement anymore to extract value from art, one can just make it and share it freely.

Copyright should be abolished.

They didn’t license the font that they used…

Real pirates steal stuff. So-called digital "piracy" isn't piracy at all. This is just propaganda for the business model that the establishment is trying to hold onto.

It doesn't hurt IP holders to "pirate" their data. It is no difference to them whether you were to pirate it or to have never been born at all in the first place. Their profit is the exact same either way. Their business model is imaginary and they want to force it on everyone else.

I think we're all familiar with weaponized legal language. Unauthorized reproduction sounds scarier to most of us than piracy.

I have seen plenty of police bodycam videos where the unofficial penalty for shoplifting was state sanctioned death penalty via police violence that was deemed "justified."

It's not my fault if somebody makes content at a loss and isn't able to recuperate their losses. It happens all the time, sucks for them. I mean that earnestly by the way, though it sounds callous -- it really does suck for them, and I feel bad for artists who can't turn a profit.

However, I just don't agree with you that "objective harm" is done when one pirates media. If this were true, you must admit that it's equally objectively harmful to the IP holder for one to not consume media at all. I just don't see how you can square that.

I only started pirating movies/tv because the streaming companies were selling my info and watch history. I've mentioned it on Lemmy before, but I pay for all the subscriptions and don't use any of them, I just pirate stuff and watch through Jellyfin. (Used to use Plex, but they started selling your info/watch history as well, so they get the axe)
It's not a money thing for me, it's a lack of consumer respect, and I can't stand it. If I pay for a product, don't try to squeeze every last drop of profit you can off of me by selling my activity. It's why I use a paid Android TV launcher that doesn't have ads on the homepage, and I don't let it connect to the internet. It's why I buy all my music and stream it on Symfonium, another paid app, instead of a Spotify subscription. I'm just tired of having to set up all these self-hosted services just to get big corporations off my back.

Piracy is when you board a ship, kill or kidnap its crew and steal the cargo. Copying a file is nothing like that.

Well, can I still give you a fuck? In the case you not have any left?

Idk... Storage, upkeep, anti-theft... Seems like a lot of work.