One simple way to fight Piracy / Warez - everybody helps !

[herodotus]

so -- theft isnt involved in drug use?

Not if you buy your drugs in a liquor store.

[GypsyJazz]

I dont think warez can be compared to drug use. Drug use harms the user and may cause a bit of violence down the line, but it is not direct stealing like warez using is.

True.
I wasn't meaning to make a direct
comparison....just pointing out that many
seemingly law abiding people break the law
every time they take a toke on a joint or

swallow an Extasy tablet,but I don't see
many people jumping on them for that behaviour.

But I think the crack teams who dont get money for it are kind of like stealing items from a store and giving them away for free - they arent making any money, but play a key role in the theft. They are hosting wide-open, global black markets.

well yes , of course they are,
that's obvious isn't it?

Personally, If i was a developer, I would buy a cheap-ass $300 computer, install all the p2p programs i could find, and search for the software, gathering the I.P.'s I need and sending them to the right places, just like the RIAA does...

P2P progs and web sellers are just the tip
of the iceberg.

Would you also search the thousands of IRC
channels?
What about DC++?.....Thousands, if not
millions, of users.

If you did you wouldn't have much time
left for developing.

[The Chase]

so -- theft isnt involved in drug use?

Most drugs are illegally grown/made by someone/somewhere, and then transported via many middle-men to be sold where the demand is highest. IN the typical drug chain, there is no theft at all..

[GypsyJazz]

Well... if you're talking about heroin and other
hard drugs... they are probably the number one
cause of theft on the planet.

[The Chase]

Personally, If i was a developer, I would buy a cheap-ass $300 computer, install all the p2p programs i could find, and search for the software, gathering the I.P.'s I need and sending them to the right places, just like the RIAA does...

P2P progs and web sellers are just the tip
of the iceberg.

Would you also search the thousands of IRC
channels?
That about DCC++?.....Thousands of users.

If you did you wouldn't have much time
left for developing.

Anti-theft is a serious part of business. It costs money. It's tough, but needed.

small/single man software companies should do a little bit themselves. Larger ones should hire a person or 2 to do so.

[The Chase]

Well... if you're talking about heroin and other
hard drugs... they are probably the number one
cause of theft on the planet.

Yes, addictions can lead to poverty, and poverty leads to crime.

You're right: I didnt consider that correlation (though neither did the one who originally brought up drugs - he meant so form a moral point of view). Lets close this path for this thread to avoid OT/flaming as it is going pretty well.

[GypsyJazz]

Anti-theft is a serious part of business. It costs money. It's tough, but needed.

small/single man software companies should do a little bit themselves. Larger ones should hire a person or 2 to do so.

They do.
I don't know if he still is, but at one
stage Steve Wozniak was in charge of
anti-piracy at Macromedia.

But then some other companies are not
so sure it's all black and white.
As I said in another post here this
morning.......

Cakewalk are the biggest selling Audio
Software company on the planet, yet they
don't use anything more than a simple
serial number and registration to protect
their programs.

Microsoft are the most succesful software
company of all time and yet most of their
software is the same (serial number only).
How did they become so succesful if their
software is so freely crackable?

It's just not as black and white as many
people make out.

I'd even suggest that for some software,
warez is a prime driver of sales and
one of the main channels through which
people discover new programs.

[The Chase]

Microsoft are the most succesful software
company of all time and yet most of their
software is the same (serial number only).
How did they become so succesful if their
software is so freely crackable?

It's just not as black and white as many
people make out.

Microsoft's products require activation either over the internet ot phone. If you dont do either after a while the software stops working

I'd even suggest that for some software,
warez is a prime driver of sales and
one of the main channels through which
people discover new programs.

I really wouldn't think so. I would asuume communities like KvR drive sales far more than warez.

[RoyNoahJones]

so -- theft isnt involved in drug use?

Most drugs are illegally grown/made by someone/somewhere, and then transported via many middle-men to be sold where the demand is highest. IN the typical drug chain, there is no theft at all..

The Drug user is part of the criminal chain and all forms of criminality around it as he's/she's the goal. No buyers , no business.

And as far as i know the Drug Mafias and cartels are known to be involved into the most extreme forms of violence. The Drug addicts who can't afford their dosis are involved into several cases of criminality (Theft/Murders/Prostitution etc ).

So the guy smoking pot or whatever shouldn't give himself good conscience by saying that he has nothing to do with criminals as he didn't have to get involved into a killing to get his stuff.

Now to focus on William's Subject, i totally agree.

The dev made the product HE's/SHe's the one who deserves the money. and has the right to protect her/his rights and there's nothing to negotiate about that.

Same goes for Music/Books/Movies/Games etc ...

Hypocricy has a big role into that , and some people wants to find shades in 'Wrong' , just to make themselves feel better with a clean conscience.

"Let the one without sin cast the first stone"

[The Chase]

so -- theft isnt involved in drug use?

Most drugs are illegally grown/made by someone/somewhere, and then transported via many middle-men to be sold where the demand is highest. IN the typical drug chain, there is no theft at all..

The Drug user is part of the criminal chain and all forms of criminality around it as he's/she's the goal. No buyers , no business.

And as far as i know the Drug Mafias and cartels are known to be involved into the most extreme forms of violence. The Drug addicts who can't afford their dosis are involved into several cases of criminality (Theft/Murders/Prostitution etc ).

So the guy smoking pot or whatever shouldn't give himself good conscience by saying that he has nothing to do with criminals as he didn't have to get involved into a killing to get his stuff.

Now to focus on William's Subject, i totally agree.

The dev made the product HE's/SHe's the one who deserves the money. and has the right to protect her/his rights and there's nothing to negotiate about that.

Same goes for Music/Books/Movies/Games etc ...

Hypocricy has a big role into that , and some people wants to find shades in 'Wrong' , just to make themselves feel better with a clean conscience.

"Let the one without sin cast the first stone"

I came to such correlations after my post. Read above. Back to subject.

[munchkin]

Expecting people to bother searching for warez to report it is completely unrealistic.

If my local supermarket or cornershop is robbed I'm not going to hunt down the criminals. That's the job of the police.

Quite frankly I don't care if there are warez out there. Just as I don't care if shops are being robbed. I don't condone it but it's not my problem to sort out. Theft is a fact of life and has been going on since the year dot. That's why my home and contents are insured. I'd expect businesses to do the same.

[james0tucson]

so -- theft isnt involved in drug use?

Not if you buy your drugs in a liquor store.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that.

I've even had a close friend steal stuff from me, to sell it, to buy booze which he hid to consume, while living in my house.

Experiences like this make me doubt that alcohol is really distinct from any other addictive drug.

[RoyNoahJones]

Didn't see it as i was typing

[james0tucson]

Well... if you're talking about heroin and other
hard drugs... they are probably the number one
cause of theft on the planet.

Do you have peer-reviewed, falsifiable data on that, or are you simply parroting the party line of the prohibitioists?

[GypsyJazz]

Microsoft's products require activation either over the internet ot phone. If you dont do either after a while the software stops working

What? Even Office and Word?
I know XP requires that,
but it's an extremely lax form of
activation.
I know one person who has activated
XP Home on at least 2 PCs in their
houshold...using the same setup CD.
Conclusion?
It's not really copy protection at all.
Maybe a form of monitoring?

I wouldn't know about word or office.
I have no MS software apart from XP
on my PC. Not even Internet Explorer
or outlook Express.

I really wouldn't think so. I would asuume communities like KvR drive sales far more than warez.

No offence, but I think you'er underestimating the ubiquity of warez
and it's influence on the average user.