FBI Pirates at War With the Web

[arty-fishL]

OK, I don't think piracy is acceptable, but this has gone too far.
PIPA/SOPA/ACTA, they don't even need to pass, the FBI have already succeeded.

After shutting down Megaupload the FBI has managed to scare almost every other file sharing website into either completely shutting down or deleting most of their files.

This is really annoying.

There have been many things I have wanted to download legitimately that, where I could have easily before, I cannot now due to the links now being invalid or unavailable. There has also been some things (movies mainly) that I have wanted to sample in low pirated quality (as it is), so as to judge whether or not they are worth buying to experience them fully. Unfortunately I have not been able to try them, so the result has been that I have just not bought them.

I think this is stupid.

The big corporations are complaining about lost profit due to pirated downloads. They then show vast figures of "lost" money that make pirating seem terrible. The fact is, though, that most of the people are pirating because they would not or could not otherwise pay for the item. So it obviously apparent here, that these lost profit figures are vastly incorrect. The figures are usually calculated by sticking the maximum possible price onto every measurable pirated download; this is ridiculous because most of those "pirates" would not have made purchases anyway, had the item been unavailable for pirating.

They also don't seem to show profits due to piracy. Many smaller companies/bands/groups (not big corporations) have accredited piracy to an increase in sales. Sometimes it isn't all negative.

Its a real shame that legitimate websites are being scared into blocking out innocent users, as they are scared that the FBI will shut them down or likewise.
This is a sad year for the internet.

[x2495iiii]

I haven't run into any downed sites yet, and I know of at least two major sites featuring content of questionable legality that are still running.

[arty-fishL]

Seriously? There are loads of sites going down or deleting loads of content.
Here's an extract from my blacklist on the AODb that I had to update last month:

# sites no longer live
        "filechimp.",
        "duckload.com",
        "enterupload.com",
        "filesonic.com",
        "megaupload.com",
        "mukki.org",
        "uploadbox.com",
        "x7.to",

That was last month, there must be lots more now. That doesn't include all the video sharing sites, they have definitely panicked.

I wonder how long these two sites you speak of will survive.

[x2495iiii]

Filechimp died way before SOPA.

And I'd heard about megaupload, I've just never used it.

As for surviving, we shall see.

[InsertName]

The recent turn of events with this is intereresting I must say, but I am still worried about where this is going.

[DensetsuNoKaboom]

The best part is that right now I can type in a URL that leads to a still-operating site containing almost nothing but copyright infringement.

[arty-fishL]

Sorry, I meant to remove filechimp from the list when I copypasted.

I know there are still sites, the issue is there are so many sites taking drastic measures and so many more continuing to follow suit. The places I usually use are almost useless now as they provide links to filesharing sites that have taken those drastic measures.

The FBI wasn't targeting just Megaupload when they took them out. This was a strategically planned attack on all sites. Take out the big guy and let the others surrender in fear.

[Mr Kidnapper]

Originally Posted by Arty-FishL

most of those "pirates" would not have made purchases anyway

Has been Mr. Kidnapper's adage for a long time. The conversion rate for pirates is nearly zero. The media essentially bitches and lies in your face about these things, including "lost profits" that they never gained because a pirate would never pay for the things he stole even if he could afford it. Even if pirating wasn't an option, he just wouldn't buy it.

However, Mr. Kidnapper has the moral to only take what you need. I don't download frivolous things like movies or music, only programs that are essential to learn. Many big-name companies give student editions and massive student discounts of their programs, such as Autodesk who doesn't even really care and gives you a free student license and their entire program as long as you don't do commercial work. Adobe gives massive discounts of their products to students, CS5 Master Collection sometimes has a 90% drop making their price somewhere between $300 and $800 dollars instead of $5000. Rage gives its users the UE edition of their proprietary UDK engine, an essentially powered down version.

[DensetsuNoKaboom]

I've found at least one file sharing site that's still up...

[x2495iiii]

Originally Posted by Mr Kidnapper

However, Mr. Kidnapper has the moral to only take what you need.

I do this for out-of-circulation shows (ie, not on tv, not on dvd, not streaming, usually old).