Pirate Bay

[the_b1ues]

So does anyone agree that the owners should have gone to prison or do you think they shouldnt have?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

[Rolyatkcinmai]

Is there an ongoing story you can fill us in on?

And no they shouldn't go to prison. What they do is technically legal. Didn't they buy their own oil rig country anyways?

[ApochWeiss]

Oil rig company? I thought you meant the people who own that torrent site Pirate Bay I hear so damn much about. Wtf is going on? Story please.

[the_b1ues]

I ment the guys who run the torrent site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

[Pez]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

One of a few stories there. :)

EDIT: Damn, beat me to it. We were reading the same story. :p

Although I'm disappointed they've been sent down, what they were doing was illegal and illegal = bad.

They were breaking the law and were caught for it, they get what they deserve.

[the_b1ues]

The thing is they will never stop it anther site will just pop to the top now.

[ApochWeiss]

Well, for metal bands you can google the album and find blog sites from other countries that host albums. I've come across them looking for bigger album photos for the site I run. I'm glad they got shut down, but the problem is were they hosting the files? or linking to files hosted by other individuals? It's not illegal to host a web site that tells you WHERE to obtain illegal things, it's only illegal if you actually HOST the illegal stuff. At least, last time I checked the copyright laws, that's what it was about. And yeah, there's MANY other torrent sites out there, that one was just more popular, it was one of the first I believe.

[Contrah]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

One of a few stories there. :)

EDIT: Damn, beat me to it. We were reading the same story. :p

Although I'm disappointed they've been sent down, but what they were doing was illegal and illegal = bad.

They were breaking the law and were caught for it, they get what they deserve.

True that!

[Tenacious]

I don't think they should have been sent to jail.

[ApochWeiss]

I don't think they should have been sent to jail.

Dude, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. And they did it on an EPIC scale. Going to jail is the LEAST of their worries haha.

[skull3k3]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

One of a few stories there. :)

EDIT: Damn, beat me to it. We were reading the same story. :p

Although I'm disappointed they've been sent down, what they were doing was illegal and illegal = bad.

They were breaking the law and were caught for it, they get what they deserve.

illegal = not bad = sharing is caring ;)

But hey the scale it was done at was large so at some point they were going to get caught i suppose

[Pez]

illegal = not bad = sharing is caring ;)

Becomes a crime once you're caught. ;)

[Tenacious]

Dude, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. And they did it on an EPIC scale. Going to jail is the LEAST of their worries haha.
Again, I don't think they should have gone to jail, but I really don't have a good argument for them because their law breaking was on such an epic scale, like you said. :(

But, in their defense, they weren't actually doing any of the hosting of the files and sharing them, so they weren't doing anything wrong than hosting a site with the means to share the files.

[ApochWeiss]

Again, I don't think they should have gone to jail, but I really don't have a good argument for them because their law breaking was on such an epic scale, like you said. :(

But, in their defense, they weren't actually doing any of the hosting of the files and sharing them, so they weren't doing anything wrong than hosting a site with the means to share the files.

If they weren't hosting then they can probably get away with a technicality. Need a good lawyer though.

[she haunts me]

Dude, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. And they did it on an EPIC scale. Going to jail is the LEAST of their worries haha.

Gotta disagree with that. There are far worse things than copyright infringement. And the individuals going to jail didn't infringe any copyrights. I doubt TPB will be shut down even now. And if it is, then Mininova will just become more popular and so on.

The owners shouldn't have made a mockery of the whole situation though. That didn't help at all. If anything TPB will probably become more popular like the last time they were all over the news.

[the_b1ues]

They tried to use that excuse but it didnt work.

[ApochWeiss]

Gotta disagree with that. There are far worse things than copyright infringement. And the individuals going to jail didn't infringe any copyrights. I doubt TPB will be shut down even now. And if it is, then Mininova will just become more popular and so on.

The owners shouldn't have made a mockery of the whole situation though. That didn't help at all. If anything TPB will probably become more popular like the last time they were all over the news.

I think I'd rather the death penalty over copyright infringement, man. You lose EVERYTHING, and may have to pay well past what you can afford, especially with the scale they did it. Like I said, if they didn't host, they won't be at fault or found guilty. No clue how the site works, never visited it.

[the_b1ues]

I think I'd rather the death penalty over copyright infringement, man. You lose EVERYTHING, and may have to pay well past what you can afford, especially with the scale they did it. Like I said, if they didn't host, they won't be at fault or found guilty. No clue how the site works, never visited it.

They said they werent hosting but still got sent to jail.

[phobzy85]

So will this happen to all the other torrent sites... I think they are going about it wrong anyway. Take out the programs IE. Bit Torrent / Vuze etc. They just doing it for some banging buckage...

[Lordvader178]

No, they shouldn't have gone to jail.

"They were also ordered to pay $4.5m (£3m) in damages."

DAMAGES? DAMAGES TO WHAT? EGO'S? FEELINGS? I mean come on.

Complete bullshit, they technically didn't do anything wrong.

[Bluntman428]

Instead of sending kids to fucking JAIL and suing them for millions of dollars in efforts to stop a problem that cannot be stopped by locking up 4 people out of hundreds of millions, perhaps the music industry should take a different approach.

Like making a fucking effort to do something to keep it from happening in the first place. How god damned hard would it be to make CDs with encryption that prevents people from copying songs? Really, how god damn hard?

Sure people would find a workaround, but it'd be a hell of a lot harder than it is to copy CDs right now.

Either way, with CDs costing $20+ now, and usually being shorter and less filled with content than they were 10 years ago, I'm not buying them anymore regardless of whether I can download them illegally or not. I only buy CDs from artists I love and want to support, like Tool and The Fray.

[XPL1C1T GAM3R]

this soo stupid they have never uploaded the vids etc soo therefore arent infringing

[Skillet]

No, they shouldn't have gone to jail.

"They were also ordered to pay $4.5m (£3m) in damages."

DAMAGES? DAMAGES TO WHAT? EGO'S? FEELINGS? I mean come on.

Complete bullshit, they technically didn't do anything wrong.

Lordvader and (can't believe I'm saying this) Bluntman... :p are right.

Since they weren't hosting the files themselves, simply providing the torrents with which you can obtain the files, they weren't doing anything illegal.

One could argue that providing the means to download the files is bad enough... but I don't understand how it's even possible to convict someone for illegally copying copyrighted material when they... didn't.

It's one of those thing where if you're going to arrest the owners of this site... you better be hunting down the owners of every other torrent site. Not to mention every person who has ever used torrents to download copyrighted material.

Oh... and all of the people who simply download the files straight from sites like the blogs Apoch mentioned. Might as well throw in people that copy cds for their friends.

Where does it end?

[ApochWeiss]

Lordvader and (can't believe I'm saying this) Bluntman... :p are right.

Since they weren't hosting the files themselves, simply providing the torrents with which you can obtain the files, they weren't doing anything illegal.

One could argue that providing the means to download the files is bad enough... but I don't understand how it's even possible to convict someone for illegally copying copyrighted material when they... didn't.

It's one of those thing where if you're going to arrest the owners of this site... you better be hunting down the owners of every other torrent site. Not to mention every person who has ever used torrents to download copyrighted material.

Oh... and all of the people who simply download the files straight from sites like the blogs Apoch mentioned. Might as well throw in people that copy cds for their friends.

Where does it end?

Hey! Did I not say that it's not illegal to link to the stuff, only to host?! Thanks for leaving my ass out of there. But, yeah, if they hosted, I agree, jail. But they didn't, so I'm not agreeing wiht the jail thing. I could see taking the site down, but that's it.

[Skillet]

Hey! Did I not say that it's not illegal to link to the stuff, only to host?! Thanks for leaving my ass out of there. But, yeah, if they hosted, I agree, jail. But they didn't, so I'm not agreeing wiht the jail thing. I could see taking the site down, but that's it.

lol calm down. You started out on the other side of the fence. ;)

[ApochWeiss]

When I started I was unaware if they hosted or not. And damnit, I work third shift and I'mt ired, leave me alone!

*runs to corner and laughs maniacally*

Eh, I probably just put the wrong shit down due to exhaustion. Ignore what I said then and don't include me in there ;)

[Boggled]

Well good luck to TPB guys and TPB site....

Support! :)
TPB <3

[Kunduz]

Dude, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. And they did it on an EPIC scale. Going to jail is the LEAST of their worries haha. Yup, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. Here's a list of the top 5 of the worst crimes ever conceived by man:



Copyright infringement
Murder
Rape
Kidnapping
Robbery


Anyway, more to the point. I'm actually surprised by the court's decision hence "The Pirate Bay" did not technically break any copyright laws. They didn't store any copyrighted material on their servers, just loads of torrent files that might have linked to copyrighted material. The only people who actually broke the copyright law, was the people whom downloaded and uploaded the copyrighted material. By that being said, that would mean that a large portion of the humankind should been put in jail instead :P. Anyway, at the worst they should have been charge for accomplice, which was the crime they actually commited and got charge for.

But, I still think the whole thing is ridiculous...man, do I live in a f**ed up country...

[UCB Disco]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8003799.stm

One of a few stories there. :)

EDIT: Damn, beat me to it. We were reading the same story. :p

Although I'm disappointed they've been sent down, what they were doing was illegal and illegal = bad.

They were breaking the law and were caught for it, they get what they deserve.

Actually, what they did was not illegal. It's quasi-criminal, yes, but it's not illegal. There is a fine line of legality when it comes to hosting a file-sharing website, and one of those fine lines is that a Torrent-hosting site is not considered a "File-sharing" site. Technically, because the site doesn't actually have the files stored on its server. Instead, the files are shared from other people's computers.

What this does is takes away the blame of the website host, because they are not the ones sharing the content of the torrents... you are (The people). The only way the Pirate Bay people can truly be charged is if they were caught also using their site as a means of illegally downloading software, movies, or music. But for actually hosting the site, they have nothing against them.

[CyanideBreathMint]

Who's running the site now? I see it's still running...

For the record, I don't think they should have gone to jail either. Fix the fucking price of movies for a family of four first (well over $100 with popcorn and drinks). The industry cries foul over piracy. Wake the fuck up.

[YogiB]

Yup, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. Here's a list of the top 5 of the worst crimes ever conceived by man:



Copyright infringement
Murder
Rape
Kidnapping
Robbery

But, I still think the whole thing is ridiculous...man, do I live in a f**ed up country...

I agree with you Top 5 list.

I live in Norway and I feel sorry for you and the rest of Sweden that have the sick law that all traffic though internett shall be watched D:

On-t: TPB is just a search egine like Google/Yahoo/MSN Search and you can easy find torrentfiles on Google so why not sue all of them while there are on it.
Now I want less and less too buy music and DVD/Blu-Ray for the big company like WB :mad:

[Kunduz]

I agree with you Top 5 list.

I live in Norway and I feel sorry for you and the rest of Sweden that have the sick law that all traffic though internett shall be watched D:
yeah, the FRA and IPRED laws FTW :mad:, I'm barely downloading anything nowadays, 'cause you never know :(...they might even be watching me now... those sneaky bastards

[skull3k3]

but with this FRA law its not going to stop sharing. Also the idea of the company complaining is a bit annoying because although they lost a few millions in profits they still have profits which people wont even earn in a lifetime. File sharing is more or less the communism just on the internet taking stuff like music from the rich company's and giving it to the people who want it and that may not be able to afford it or dont want to pay silly amounts for it. Redistributing of wealth...

[Rolyatkcinmai]

Oil rig company? I thought you meant the people who own that torrent site Pirate Bay I hear so damn much about. Wtf is going on? Story please.

I said oil rig country, not company. And if you look here; http://www.thelocal.se/6076/20070112/ you'll see what I meant. It's a naval platform apparently though, not an oil rig. Obviously I know what the Pirate Bay is.

Also, I said what they're doing is not illegal first. Everyone just ignores me. :p

[X monkfish69 X]

I don't agree with the fact that they are going to jail. I also don't agree with the £3m fine that they are being served with. I mean how are they ever going to pay that ? Lol.

Anyway, the real subject here is why so many people are turning to illegal downloads now. The reason is money. CD's, DVD's, Blu-Rays (especially Blu-Rays), games, eating out, food shopping.... the list goes on. If these things are all going up in cost, people don't have any money left for the small pleasures in life, so they turn to piracy.

Piracy is free and it's very very accessable. Too accessable to be honest. You can close down a site like Pirate Bay, but there are hundreds if not thousands of sites like that one that have this stuff linked to or available to download from.

It's a never ending epidemic and one with no foreseeable cure.

[she haunts me]

On-t: TPB is just a search egine like Google/Yahoo/MSN Search and you can easy find torrentfiles on Google so why not sue all of them while there are on it.
Now I want less and less too buy music and DVD/Blu-Ray for the big company like WB :mad:I agree with this. Google "Dark Knight torrent" and see how many results come up (a shit load.) Technically TPB is doing the exact same thing that takes place in the Google search. What's next, are they going to shut down Google?

And what about Rapidshare, Megashares, etc? They are actually hosting the files unlike TPB. The files are on their servers. So what about the file hosting sites? I'm sorry but fighting piracy is like fighting the war on drugs. The corporations and governments won't/can't win. Never.

[Bolt]

I don't think that any of us here know Swedens copyright laws (unless your swedish). But from what I hear is that they're way more lax than the U.S. or England

[Slow2die]

I'm glad they got shut down


Huh? :P

The site has not been shut down.

[RedstaR]

Even if the site does get shut down.. nothing will stop people from pirating music, movies and other various stuff they like.. think of how many torrent sites there are currently..

IsoHunt
Mininova
Torrentz
Demonoid
Bitsoup
and these are just sites off the top of my head..

I understand that it is illegal.. but punishing people that are hosting a website for other people to upload content onto is not fair..

I mean.. 4.5mil? gtfo

[P I Staker30]

They tried to use that excuse but it didnt work.
Sorry to de-rail but is it just me or is there a giant pair of boobs in the background of your sig?

[SaintKnight]

And what about Rapidshare, Megashares, etc? They are actually hosting the files unlike TPB. The files are on their servers. So what about the file hosting sites? I'm sorry but fighting piracy is like fighting the war on drugs. The cooorperations and governments won't/can't win. Never.

Agreed. Sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare are doing it on the same scale as TPB, if not, even bigger. Honestly, if they were going to shut anything down for piracy and infringement, it would be the sites like Rapidshare where they host it. And, although I've been to TPB once or twice, it seems more like Google but for torrents only. The government would literally have to shut down the internet for all of the infringement coming to a hault, and even if they did that, it wouldn't hault it completely.

[Bluntman428]

Agreed. Sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare are doing it on the same scale as TPB, if not, even bigger.

I'd say sites like those are even more guilty, because they profit off selling memberships. So they're basically selling you copyrighted material, whereas Pirate Bay only made money off advertising revenue (which Megaupload also makes a killing off of).

Although I'd hate to see Megaupload and Rapidshare die because I'd have nowhere else to download all that wonderful free pornography.

[Kunduz]

I'd say sites like those are even more guilty, because they profit off selling memberships. So they're basically selling you copyrighted material, whereas Pirate Bay only made money off advertising revenue (which Megaupload also makes a killing off of).

Although I'd hate to see Megaupload and Rapidshare die because I'd have nowhere else to download all that wonderful free pornography. Just use google ;)

[Tsaako]

Hmm, i myself have downloaded stuff from pirate bay. Though there are so many torrent sites around these days. I dont have a problem, they've saved me a few quid.

But take a look on other side of things. Say you and a group of skilled people made some great software that costed. They'd want to try and make money back from it.

I'd be pretty pissed if it was me..mehh

[CyanideBreathMint]

Who's running the site now? I see it's still running...
So, anyone know? If they're charged now officially, why's the site still up? Phishing for more victims?

[ShaL oH]

ya this is pretty crazy

[exo-apollo]

I liked what one of the runners of pirate bay said,
"We can't pay and we wouldn't pay. Even if I had the money I would rather burn everything I owned, and I wouldn't even give them the ashes."
That's hardcore.

[Illution]

That's just ridiculous. Do they really think they can do this to the owners of 1 of many torrent sites, and be taken seriously? I'm kind of glad that TPB owners made a mockery of it, even though it would have been to their benefit not to. Oh well, just means people will find different means of obtaining the same things. But it's not even shut down so nevermind. haha

[dakisbac]

Lol, this isn't going to accomplish anything at all. Not going to stop me from uploading/downloading (currently got 7 torrents running) nor will it others. Other people have said it right, the prices of buying a CD (for less content) or going to the movies as a family is just ridiculous, and then the makers are surprised people are giving them a big "fuck off" and getting their content free.

Even if all torrent sites magically disappeared, piracy would still happen. I would sooner by bootleg copies than pay full price.

[ApochWeiss]

Yup, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. Here's a list of the top 5 of the worst crimes ever conceived by man:



Copyright infringement
Murder
Rape
Kidnapping
Robbery




Have to disagree. It's one of them, yes, but I think I'd put Child Abuse/Statutory Rape under copyright infringement. You don't understand the severity of that. Kids can now just call a service and say "My [guardian] molested me!" or "...hit me!" and the child it aken out of the home, and the guardian taken to jail in cuffs. No real trial, either. And god help you if you're convicted on those charges. You'll not live to make it to your court date if put in with the other prisoners, as it's the most hated crime behind prison walls, and you will be eyed up by everyone in there as shank material. And GOD HELP YOU if you pull your child away from a toy he/she wants and it has a temper tantrum, an old lady can report you and you're fucked under child abuse suspicion!

Sorry, I'm at work and just got a really bad call, a 3 month dead, suspected child abuse...yeah, if it was that son of a bitch won't fucking last two weeks in jail if put in with the other convicts...

Lol, this isn't going to accomplish anything at all. Not going to stop me from uploading/downloading (currently got 7 torrents running) nor will it others. Other people have said it right, the prices of buying a CD (for less content) or going to the movies as a family is just ridiculous, and then the makers are surprised people are giving them a big "fuck off" and getting their content free.

Even if all torrent sites magically disappeared, piracy would still happen. I would sooner by bootleg copies than pay full price.

See now, it's people like you who cause me to flip apeshit at the movie theaters. Why do you think Faillywood is creating such shit movies? Why do you think the industry is amping up the costs and bands are pumping out halfassed albums? They found a niche. They comprimise themselves to make money because people who can't pay for something good cause industries to lose money, then fuck over their talent. I've said it before, I'll say it again, if you don't like it, don't buy it. If you do, save your pennies, splurge, and support the things YOU enjoy. That way, this endless stream of bullshit we all have been forcefed lately ends.

I'm tired of j-horror remakes, they make money over there on the films so they go all out. We don't so we're rehashing the films that made it big here years ago, and over seas. Our music is horrible because there's no originality. No band is going to want to experiment when people will rip it off, and if it isn't as successful as they hope, they'll sell out for that extra green and do something that there's a million copies of. I was a HUGE All That Remains fan, especially of The Fall Of Ideals. That was AMAZING! And then they sold out. Why? They didn't make that much because of people who obtain shit illegally, and the industries have no idea how to capitalize off this stuff, instead waste money by trying to stop an epidemic that won't.

I'm just tired of grabbing a "critically acclaimed film" and finding it's a rehashed piece of crap, or a watered down version of a story that I liked. I'm tired of buying CDs from my favorite artists, taking them home, and being greeted with the polar opposite of what made the band great. It all has to do with the support we, as people, give. And right now, there's NO support. It's not just a financial thing, these sites aren't killing off everything original, creative and good by having people download things for free and that's it. It's also a shot saying "Hey, I know you put a LOT of blood sweat and tears into your work, but, you know what? Fuck ya', I don't wanna pay you $10-$20 for all that hard work. Now leave me alone, I'm going to watchit before I put blood, sweat and tears into my job. Don't you try to rip me off, neither. I hate that!"

While I said before i don't agree with them going to jail for having a site that didn't host the material, but rather linked it, but I am happy to see it go. Other sites will come along, and it won't make much of a damn difference, I know. I'll just continue to do my part and support the kick ass bands I like, and sticking to the classic horror films until Faillywood pulls their heads out of their asses and comes up with something genuinely scary and kick ass without trashing the films I grew up on...

[Whistler]

I liked what one of the runners of pirate bay said,
"We can't pay and we wouldn't pay. Even if I had the money I would rather burn everything I owned, and I wouldn't even give them the ashes."
That's hardcore.

Well one of them (the fourth man that provided the Internet connection or something like that) is very rich, his father had some bread company I think. So he can pay!

[Whistler]

Seems like 90% of the people in Sweden are against this and think that you should be able to DL everything you want from the Internet (I'm not one of them).No one can understand how Pirate bay can be committed guilty.. Most think they will get free of charge after the complaint to the higher courts also.

I think it's a good signal that it's not ok to steal stuff from the net and the big people behind it should pay! But it does widen the gap between the media companies and the people and that's bad.

[Bieest Unit]

People download from piracy websites, ofcourse. But they still go to the movies and buy albums they really really want. I don't really see the problem. Bands keep existing, movies keep coming out having cost $100 million. If people didn't download illegally, they would just make too much money. I think it's in good balance, actually. People that keep trying to upload stuff and others trying to download. More everytime some government tries to go against it and ban it. Oh well, at least it's not me getting caught for anything, so ..:p

But I don't know about jail. Definately SOME punishment though.

[Whistler]

People download from piracy websites, ofcourse. But they still go to the movies and buy albums they really really want. I don't really see the problem. Bands keep existing, movies keep coming out having cost $100 million. If people didn't download illegally, they would just make too much money. I think it's in good balance, actually. People that keep trying to upload stuff and others trying to download. More everytime some government tries to go against it and ban it. Oh well, at least it's not me getting caught for anything, so ..:p

But I don't know about jail. Definately SOME punishment though.

There are lots of people that don't buy anything also! They download everything!

But as a Swedish reported wrote: (translated)
"On my way home the taxi driver said to me, I have bought lots of cds so I don't feel any guilt by file sharing.
-Ok and I have taken so many taxi rides in my life so I'm not going to pay for this one!"

[Kunduz]

Yup, copyright infringement is one of the worst laws to break. Here's a list of the top 5 of the worst crimes ever conceived by man:



Copyright infringement
Murder
Rape
Kidnapping
Robbery

Have to disagree. It's one of them, yes, but I think I'd put Child Abuse/Statutory Rape under copyright infringement. You don't understand the severity of that. Kids can now just call a service and say "My [guardian] molested me!" or "...hit me!" and the child it aken out of the home, and the guardian taken to jail in cuffs. No real trial, either. And god help you if you're convicted on those charges. You'll not live to make it to your court date if put in with the other prisoners, as it's the most hated crime behind prison walls, and you will be eyed up by everyone in there as shank material. And GOD HELP YOU if you pull your child away from a toy he/she wants and it has a temper tantrum, an old lady can report you and you're fucked under child abuse suspicion!

Sorry, I'm at work and just got a really bad call, a 3 month dead, suspected child abuse...yeah, if it was that son of a bitch won't fucking last two weeks in jail if put in with the other convicts...

M'kay...Firstly I myself included Child Abuse/Statutory Rape under the "Rape" category...Secondly, the list was intended as joke, because it's kind of ridiculous...Worst crime ever: Copyright infringement, "you don't want to get caught or you'll get the death penalty"...It became a ROLF moment in my little life, because people took the list seriously :D

[KFZ Scrubs]

Well just watched the daily fix on ign and they were just found guilty.
I don't know all the details, but they could serve jail time as well as pay up to 3.6 million dollars.
Lols

[Lordvader178]

People on this site take trivial issues way too seriously. It's not affecting any of us, the site is still running. You guys need to calm down, there's no argument here, nor should there be.

[master_shake_350]

Is there an ongoing story you can fill us in on?

And no they shouldn't go to prison. What they do is technically legal. Didn't they buy their own oil rig country anyways?

Yes they have a huge abandoned rig offshore so they can't get fucked for it and also their domain is an organization (.org).

But they should sort of go to jail for copy right infringement.

[Qavala]

M'kay...Firstly I myself included Child Abuse/Statutory Rape under the "Rape" category...Secondly, the list was intended as joke, because it's kind of ridiculous...Worst crime ever: Copyright infringement, "you don't want to get caught or you'll get the death penalty"...It became a ROLF moment in my little life, because people took the list seriously :D

I got your sarcasm, your post made me lol as when I read apoch's post I was planning on replying with something similiar to yours aha. but you got there first! :p

[Rugger X]

Who would have thought that so many gamers would also be experts in copyright law?

[ApochWeiss]

M'kay...Firstly I myself included Child Abuse/Statutory Rape under the "Rape" category...Secondly, the list was intended as joke, because it's kind of ridiculous...Worst crime ever: Copyright infringement, "you don't want to get caught or you'll get the death penalty"...It became a ROLF moment in my little life, because people took the list seriously :D

Haha yeah, but to be honest your list was actually close. ;)

People on this site take trivial issues way too seriously. It's not affecting any of us, the site is still running. You guys need to calm down, there's no argument here, nor should there be.

Actually yeah it does. With my time at WSFX FM, I saw a LOT of good bands sell out. I went to plenty of shows and did interviews and asked them their opinions on file sharing. Almost all were against it, and almost all of them said the same damn thing: "We discussed how the next album should sound, and we decided 'Fuck it, we gotta eat' and that's why this album is mainstream." So, yeah, it does affect it. And I, for one, being a vocalist myself, completely understand that statement.

Who would have thought that so many gamers would also be experts in copyright law?

I worked for a radio station, WSFX FM, which caused me to have to learn certain aspect of copyright laws, so I actually do have a little bit of a background as far as that law goes. One thing I always found funny was that, back when I researched it, I found that it was illegal to download any copyrighted material. HOWEVER, there was a loophole I noticed where it was perfectly legal to obtain copyrighted material that is not available for purchase. Not sure how far this would extend, but band demos, I have found, seem to fall into the loophole. Even record labels confirmed that one for me and encouraged our show to play them if we wanted. I was told once that it's ok to obtain copyrighted material via downloading if the album is not made available in thr country you live in. This, however, I find to be a bit too far fetched.

[Cav Clayton]

A year in jail, that's a little harsh.
Maybe a month or two.

Doesn't matter I use Mininova anyway :P