A comment from an earlier thread of software piracy. He raised a good issue and my response exceeded what I like for comments so it gets it’s own article.
Phileosophos wrote:
So in other words, a software "distro" system is crappy if it (1) takes any amount of time to get a game to you, and/or (2) is simply inconvenient in your eyes, and this justifies your stealing things? What a jerk. Grow up and buy something if you want it.
Actually I didn't justify squat. I do what I do. If I have to work hard to get your software I will likely not get it or I will pirate it as it is *much* easier. Your "grow up" drivel can just as easily be applied to the business models of the companies in question. Work for my business or don't get it. *I* am the customer and you are the company. I won't be thanking you for the opportunity to pay for something. I certainly won't be struggling to get the opportunity to pay you for it. Put the damn thing in Babbages or Wal-mart or Electronics Boutique. It ain’t hard. If that is too pricey then provide pay-for-download services like Stardock does.
The analogy works for any service industry. If I got to eat at a restaurant and your waiters can not be bothered to bring me a check or to take my money I will be walking out with a free meal. I will not body-tackle the manager and force my cash into his hands. My responsibility for payment ends with my attempt to pay. If that attempt is rebuffed I am leaving. The same thing applies to software. Either provide the damn software somewhere I can pay for it or I will get it from Supernova or Mirc.
Nowadays I do not pirate software due to availability issues any more as I have a car. As a kid I had the choice of playing the game through piracy or not playing it at all. Easy choice for me. As an adult I have shifted the reason I have pirated. If I have bought a game from say... JoWood studios for $60 and it is buggy, unplayable , and totally misrepresented by it's ad copy (Soldner) I am stuck with it and have zero recourse while JoWood has my $60! Read a modern EULA. The damn things state that by installing their software you agree that they guarantee it to be suitable for no purposes whatsoever. The only thing you can get a refund or more likely just an exchange for is defective media.
After being burned like this by a company I will almost certainly pirate their next game to see if they are selling me another fucking beta. On the other hand I never pirate anything from EA because they have made me a loyal customer and have yet to shit all over me by giving me a completely retarded game.
Piracy is basically vigilante customer service. Software companies operate with carte blanche as far as quality assurance goes and so I take the law into my own hands to redress my balance. When they produce a worthwhile product they invariably get my software dollar. When they produce ridiculous crap in a game box then I will only allow myself to fund their efforts once. If their successive games are any good when I pirate them then they will get my cash again because I like having registered copies of my stuff and I am a sucker for manuals and goodies that come in the box. I also feel that paying for good products tends to support development of further good products via positive capitalist feedback.
Am I a criminal? You bet. Are the software companies unethical for putting out crap products with a straight face? Damn skippy they are. Whenever someone catches me stealing and manages to prove that in a court of law then I will pay the penalty any citizen would. I do not justify piracy legally but I do defend it morally. Until software quality has some sort of legal standard piracy will be the control mechanism . Your mileage may vary.