The ability to change features, prices, and availability of things you’ve already paid for is a powerful temptation to corporations.

  • merc@sh.itjust.works
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    11 months ago

    Piracy was never stealing, it was only copyright infringement.

    Stealing is a crime that goes back to the 10 commandments, it’s old. When you steal something you take it from someone else, depriving them of it.

    Copyright infringement is a newish crime where the government has granted a megacorporation a 120 year monopoly on the expression of an idea. If you infringe that copyright, they still have the original, and can keep selling copies of that original to everyone else, but they might miss out on the opportunity to make a sale to you. Obviously, that’s very different from stealing something.

    • blusterydayve26@midwest.social
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      11 months ago

      Stealing is a crime that goes back to the 10 commandments, it’s old.

      https://youtu.be/Qi5GXwY7W_0?t=165

      Not exactly. The original translation from Hebrew was closer to “thou shall not kidnap,” arresting control of a person’s personal boundaries and will, not a violation of personal property, which didn’t really exist as a concept at the time.

    • abuttifulpigeon@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      An associate of mine defines stealing as, “taking (either by cloning or removing) something (either digital or physical) of which is not of your original possession”

      If anyone has a rebuttal, please help.

      Edit: What’s with the downvotes? I’m on your side.

      • OmegaPillar@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        It’s not really a rebuttal, but by that assessment, a person may not view a webpage, as the browser copies files from a distant server for viewing.

      • TheDezzick@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        It’s not so much a rebuttal, but ask if they think stealing has any relation to depriving another person of something. Imo, they have a correct, though extremely narrow, definition of stealing that doesn’t leave any nuance for comparing different kinds of stealing. Piracy, or as they would say ‘stealing digital media’ is not a kind of stealing that deprives another person of that thing, so clearly it’s somewhat different than stealing money or physical property.

        If they aren’t willing to entertain that there are different kinds of stealing then they’re ignorant of reality and it might not be worth your time to try to change their mind.

      • Phrodo_00@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        It’s because that’s not a common definition and it’s not even a good one. No normal person would call cloning stealing. Also, this completely misses lending, gifting, downloading a webpage or even renting. All of those would be stealing under this definition.

      • poopkins@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Hi, welcome to the Technology community here on Lemmy! Discourse is not tolerated here, so please just tack on your endorsement of piracy and leave your civility at the door.

          • poopkins@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Whoa whoa, we don’t take kindly to people telling us that. Only a boot-licking, brain-dead, corporate shill wouldn’t outright endorse piracy. Take your nuance somewhere else, pal!

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        Who cares what your associate uses as a definition, stealing / theft has long established definitions. You can just point and laugh and say that your associate doesn’t actually understand the words he/she is using.

        You could say that you define agreeing as “thinking someone is completely wrong”, and that you agree with your associate.

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The war of semantics is about as intelligent as the tweet that went viral where someone criticized trains requiring tickets. “Why are you charging me to get on? You’re going that way anyway.”