Matt Young 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 This is just a random question that comes to mind every now and then, and I am interested to hear your thoughts. Some of you may disagree with me, but I want to be honest- I have no moral objection to obtaining copyrighted materials without paying. It may seem contradictory, but while I detest stealing in the traditional sense, I have never had a problem downloading or copying games or music, which some people do consider classifiable as theft. I would always try to get copies of games and especially CDs from friends or painstakingly download the music via my 56k modem. So now that I have broadband, you'd think I'd be doing this more than ever, right? Wrong. I am downloading CDs to replace mine that were stolen, but other than that, I have bought all my games (I even buy carts when I could easily get ROMs) and I started buying CDs again this year, although I won't spend more than $9.99 usually. For some reason, I enjoy having the actual design and packaging in my hands and/or on my shelf. I can't even explain why. I could likely print off a near perfect copy of the disc design, booklet, etc. but I choose to pay for the real thing when i could get it for free. Is this an extreme collector's mentality or simply insanity? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 Neither. Collector's mentality, but not extreme. You get satisfaction from having an actual material good instead of a fake. Nothing new. I buy CDs all the time. It makes me a better person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boon 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 That's the argument I've heard in favor of file-sharing. If the material is good enough, people will stay pay for it. Not uncommon- I still buy DVDs all the time, when I could easily copy my own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Young 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 I didn't even think to mention DVDs, probably because I haven't had a DVD player for long and I got 12 of my 15 DVDs at once from that DeepDiscountDVD sale that Downhome posted about several months ago which led to me discovering how awesome the original Star Wars Trilogy is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 Nah, what you do isn't a bad thing. Hell, if I had the money, I wouldn't be downloading half or most of the stuff I do/am, but I'd go out and buy the product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 I copied a bunch of albums years ago when money was tight. Now that I have a steady income coming in I'm gradually replacing them with the "real things," although a bunch of the CDs I'm getting are from the local used CD store, so I'm still sticking it to The Man, so to speak... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tominator89 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 I can relate to the DVD thing. I could easily buy a pack of DVDR's and built a collection reallly quick but a part of me enjoys having the original stuff. I'm not saying that I have them out on display or anything, but it reminds me of having hardcover novels, instead of paperbacks, on a bookshelf. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naked Snake 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 I usually download CDS, and if I like them I buy them. Some people don't get this mentality, but I like supporting the artists if they put out a product I deem is worth my money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2005 See, the thing is, so few new CDs are worth actually going out and paying for. I do buy an album if it's worth paying money for. But far too often, I've liked a song or two, downloaded the rest of the album, and it's turned out to be crap. File-sharing for me has been a way of getting a preview of what's worth my money and what isn't. Moreover, I use it to make compilations that wouldn't be possible in the legal sense without buying 15 albums. Not gonna happen, nor should it if one song is all I'm after. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pedro_mendes Report post Posted April 11, 2005 See, the thing is, so few new CDs are worth actually going out and paying for. I do buy an album if it's worth paying money for. But far too often, I've liked a song or two, downloaded the rest of the album, and it's turned out to be crap. File-sharing for me has been a way of getting a preview of what's worth my money and what isn't. Moreover, I use it to make compilations that wouldn't be possible in the legal sense without buying 15 albums. Not gonna happen, nor should it if one song is all I'm after. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shadow Report post Posted April 11, 2005 I just buy The DVD's i like showing off my large collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Young 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 So you register, wait 9 months to post, and your first post is only a picture that doesn't make any sense in the context of the thread. Hmm. Careful. I try to maintain a certain standard of suckiness around here. Don't set the bar too low for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 Third post actually And it was pretty funny Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bruiser Chong 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 Except it made no sense in regards to what he quoted. Oh, I get it. Not buying crappy CDs = gay. Took me a minute there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 What can I say? Sometimes I have a cheap sense of humor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 That's the argument I've heard in favor of file-sharing. If the material is good enough, people will stay pay for it. Record industry sales figures have shown that downloading music has had surprisingly minimal affects. It mostly affects that stuff that gets massive radio play, but even then it's negligible. The people who download tons of music and rarely buy CDs are the same people who copied tapes and recorded songs off the radio previously. Perhaps it's a bit more extreme than that, but the extent that it's affected the record companies and artists is beautifully demonstrated in that South Park episode... I'm an honest, copyright-respecting person. I don't want any of that fake BS. I have a bit of a collector's mentality about me, but another part of the reason is that I resell used DVDs/video games/cds all the time, and they have no resell value if they're illegal copies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pedro_mendes Report post Posted April 11, 2005 i download songs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Lushus 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 I waste tons of money on CDs and DVDs...guess I look at it more from a "collector" standpoint since I really don't have any real hobbies... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2005 I can't imagine not having actual physical albums. I don't download right now cos of a shitty connection, that will be changing in the next couple of weeks but I'll still sift through record shops and buy cds. Forever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Epic Reine 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2005 i don't really buy CD's anymore mostly because I'm broke as hell. Once I score a job I'll be buying albums again and DVD's. I don't download movies though because they take forever to download. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLAGIARISM! 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2005 i don't really buy CD's anymore mostly because I'm broke as hell. Once I score a job I'll be buying albums again and DVD's. I don't download movies though because they take forever to download. Aye, my monetary shitness will contribute to less purchases once my connection is sorted out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
