I'll come out and say that yes, I have pirated software, music, and movies before.

I will also come out and say that at least 80% of what I've pirated I've eventually bought, or already owned (or in the case of movies/TV shows, brother had the DVDs but didn't want to borrow them). In my mind, this is responsible pirating, in that I'm not hurting anyone or taking money from anyone.

Where I take issue, is when people say "WOW, that CD is overpriced *rant about how little artists get without realizing that CD sales/radio exposure is what gets word about bands out, and thus sells concert tickets which is where the money is at*"... Then go download the music anyways with no intention of ever paying for it if they like it. This is theft, plain and simple, and indicative of what I see as a rising culture of expecting things for free.

I'm involved in the Starcraft II beta, and the sheer amount of WHINING from people, and threats to not buy/pirate the game due to minor issues like a lack of public chatrooms is just sick. If there's enough issue with a product to where it's not worth your money, don't steal it.

"Porforis" wrote: