I'm trying to articulate my views on a topic.
My view is that it's wrong to take something without paying for it. That's stealing. Even if it's an ebook or a piece of software or a film. I'm not about to go about policing everyone on it, but if I want to have something, I'll buy it, rent it, or borrow it from the library.
People often use the justification that people who steal digital items buy more things than people who don't engage in this behaviour. I hate that argument.
I'm sure it's nice for the economy/industry as a whole, but it's likely pretty irrelevant to the person whose work fell into your category of "don't bother to pay."
Using that argument reminds me of a moment in the episode Boom Town, in series 1 of the new Doctor Who. When the Doctor is having dinner with Margaret, she tries to convince him to let her go, or better yet, help her relocate. She finally resorts to telling the Doctor that she's not as bad as she was. That she had mercy on a woman earlier that day, that she let her live even if she could ruin her plan. The Doctor's not having that bullshit excuse.
You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind.
And while it's more extreme, that's what I think of people who use the excuse that they buy plenty of things, even if they also steal. It's like a rationalisation to make them feel better. If they buy some things, they can erase the wrongness of stealing from others.
Yes, this may come across as really heavy-handed. But you know what? Something is available for a price, and there's an expectation that you pay for it. If you can't afford it, you can go to the library, or wait for a sale. People who are taking the stuff aren't internet heroes or anything like that. They're thieves. And funnily enough, the ones who argue over semantics of what legally constitutes theft will at other times complain about other things, because they don't conform to the social contract. Guess what? One way to conform to the social contract is to not steal other people's work, whether or not it fits to a rigid legal definition of what is property that is capable of being stolen.
Ug. And if you're going to steal, don't brag to others about it, or help them do it.
Also, it doesn't just apply to indie creators. Successful people aren't working free, unless they specify that they are. Having a price attached to their work is an indication that they're not working for nothing.
Rant over. For now.
