I bought porn for the first time! :o

[trish]

Buy porn? I just look in the mirror and masturbate.

[LilyRox]

pirating IS stealing.

Pirating isn't always stealing. If someone pays to download a clip and then redistributes the clip, it isn't stealing. A closer description would be plagiarizing or reproduce illegally.

A lot of people use the word pirate wrong. Saying something like "I pirated X last night" does not mean you downloaded a copy of something illegally, it means you uploaded a copy of something illegally for redistribution.

[scroller]

Stealing strips the item from the original owner's possession. Unauthorized copying does not. For most of history this was called "sharing ideas" and in many cases was considered a virtue. Definitely different levels of offense.

[LilyRox]

Stealing strips the item from the original owner's possession. Unauthorized copying does not. For most of history this was called "sharing ideas" and in many cases was considered a virtue. Definitely different levels of offense.

Yeah. The way I view it is that stealing is connected to taking someones work illegally without paying for it while pirating is redistributing some else's work without permission.

The uploader is pirating

The downloader is stealing

Since the birth of the pirate you-know-what-site. There has been a confusion of people saying that anyone downloading content is "pirating", which isn't correct.

[RallyCola]

pirating is a crime but its still different to stealing tho

wtf? i can't wait to hear this one explained. if you are splitting hairs between what the uploader does and what the downloader does...that's one thing but the OP clearly stated he steals porn.

[RallyCola]

Strange how this argument never crops up on the, "What are you listening to now", thread.

i don't post in that thread because music is not important to me and i have very fickle tastes, but since you brought it up....i don't buy any music or download any music. between good ole FM, xm and pandora...i don't see the point of having music archives. i realize i am absolutely in the minority on that one but the last cd i ever bought was in the 2000 and it wasn't even for me and i have never bought any mp3s or aacs. what's on the "radio" is good enough for me

[Tapatio]

Stealing strips the item from the original owner's possession. Unauthorized copying does not. For most of history this was called "sharing ideas" and in many cases was considered a virtue. Definitely different levels of offense.

What a weak justification, if oft repeated.

[RallyCola]

Stealing strips the item from the original owner's possession. Unauthorized copying does not. For most of history this was called "sharing ideas" and in many cases was considered a virtue. Definitely different levels of offense.

would you go to barnes and noble and photocopy the entirety of a book?

[Instrumental]

Guess there's no hope of this topic staying on topic so I'll just embrace it.

What a weak justification, if oft repeated.

Actually it's an entirely valid justification that completely destroys the argument that downloading is equivalent to stealing. You simply saying it's weak doesn't make it so.

Stealing requires two things, that a person take possession of an item and that the owner of that item lose possession of it. Not only am I not taking possession of the item - I'm making a copy - but when an item is downloaded, no one has lost anything, only a copy has been made. People who only download stuff they would otherwise buy are reprehensible and I feel their actions unjustified, but scolding people for downloading stuff they wouldn't have bought anyway is just as ignorant as scolding them for not downloading or buying it at all.

People with this archaic view of anti-piracy are just dinosaurs. Almost all of the music albums I bought today I originally found out from downloading them. Same with film, same with the porn this topic is about. Downloading digital content is a very effective means of advertising your product to users. The music industry is figuring this out with all the free streaming services, other media industries need to follow suit.

would you go to barnes and noble and photocopy the entirety of a book?

No, because it's not practical. I would and have downloaded e-books though. I've also bought some of those e-books that I downloaded if they were good enough.

I also wonder when copying becomes a reprehensible crime to you all. If I burn a CD for a friend is that stealing? If I make a mixtape for a friend is that stealing? If I record tracks I like off the radio? If I rip a copy of an album and then give the physical copy to my friend is that stealing? What if they then do the same for his or herself and another friend? How many people do I have to share an item with before it is stealing? Just one? More?

[Instrumental]

my original point still stands though...downloading essentially stolen porn is not a good thing to admit to. put yourself in a producer's shoes and think about not receiving any benefit for your efforts. do you steal cheese in the supermarket to see what it tastes like? do you steal cars to see which one you will buy?

Your attempt at an analogy fails. No, I wouldn't steal cheese, that would deprive the store owner of their item. I would make a copy though. No I wouldn't steal cars to try them, that would deprive the owner of their item. I'd make a copy if I could though. Also most content that is uploaded comes from a person who bought it from a vendor. Not from hacking a website or some such nonsense to obtain it. Almost all the music that I share with others for example I bought on CD somewhere or from Amazon MP3 or iTunes.