Where do you draw the line between freely appropriating information and calling it piracy or theft? How much or what kind of information is it okay to use?
As we’ve drawn upon a discussion in class it is clear to see that everyone has their own say as to “how far is too far”. We’ve discussed and concluded that pirating DVD’s and downloading music illegally happens more readily than not. It’s hard to decide, “how far is too far” due to all these sources that enable us to pirate and steal DVD’s, CD’s, songs, etc. These two topics are very important in this day in age because many people do download films, and songs illegally. However, one may argue to what extent is going too far? I think that people should be allowed to download songs on the Internet without charge because it publicizes the record company, artist, and song. It gives the listeners a chance to preview the song and if they like it they will indeed go out and purchase the CD. It has been said, “those who download the most illegally, are those who purchase the most CD’s” and to an extent this is true. When downloading songs off the Internet without having to purchase them, I am able to get a sense of if I like the song or not. It allows me grapple and listen to it a few times before I decide I really like this song and go out and purchase the full album. And I understand that in this day in age anything and everything that is produced, published, and purchased has a copyright law attached to it. It’s surprising how easy it is to download DVD’s, CD’s, etc. And I say this because theft is an important discussion that is brought up with pirating. If stealing from a company, artist, or author, is considered theft, pirating music, DVD’s, CD’s etc., is stealing. However, as we try to contain the rapid rise of pirating that occurs daily, we realize that people will go to such extremes to find ways to get around the system. It appears as though, no matter what these companies do, pirating will always occur. I think that downloading songs, books, and information used for educational purposes should be allowed. I understand that stealing is stealing and that ownership is very important to the person that has created, developed, or distributed the product however; when pirating and theft are thrown into the situation it is difficult to know who holds ownership over the initial product. With a discussion like this it is difficult to decide what is right and wrong. It’s hard to see one side of the story and even when we are able to see both sides, what side is indeed the correct side?
In my own personal opinion, I believe that privacy for each person depends on who they are. Some people may like to share more than others, but I believe sharing information such as your cell phone number, your address, your e-mail address and your house number is clearly a violation of privacy. If you only want certain people to know your cell phone number, then you give it to them, don't post it on Facebook or MySpace for the whole world to see, because then you might be getting unexpected and annoying phone calls. I believe that taking something that isn't yours such as taking information that is not yours without citing it. That is wrong, and that is theft, especially if you take the credit for it. There are certain forms of technology that you may need that require your private information such as online banking, and online shopping which these companies would need either your credit card or your bank account number. Now, these companies have to be professional and take only what they say they will take because if they take more, it is theft, and they could be sued. However, there could be points that I may not have thought about, but these are my beliefs on this particular subject.
The line between piracy and theft is very difficult to draw in this day and age because of how public everything is, just as Zuckerberg stated about Facebook. Hiding all of your information isn’t any easy thing to do when you are not sure of all of the access everyone has to it on the web. I believe people go to far when they make illegal copies of movies, songs, shows, etc. and make profit off of something that is not there own work. But I do believe in this day and age some things should be allowed to be viewed freely because it is promotion. Just as bands give out free copies or demos or their albums when starting out, the web should share music and movies that everyone has access to. Then, a lot of people will support these bands, either through album sales or concert sales. Most people have Internet now and it is very easy to listen to your favorite songs on Youtube and other sharing networks. Therefore, you are sharing something you most likely bought with someone else. This is the same as letting your friend borrow a CD or DVD. But when you aren’t supporting the music or television industry than I believe you are a thief. Every time one of those sharing networks is closed another opens so there should be some kind of agreement or contract that can help piracy and theft.
Personally, I've had my own encounter with piracy and theft. I am a photographer, and as a photographer, I have my own website (Flickr.com) that I use to get my name out there. Upon logging in one day, I noticed that my photos were gone, and someone else had posted them on their site, pretending they were there when I took the photos.
I don't think it's fair to see CD's, photos, art, movies, etc being made so easily available for the publics use. On a whim, a full movie can be downloaded, but at what cost? Sure, the movie industry makes way more money and is probably better off, but people forget about the people that contribute to making the movie as successful as it is. It's almost a smack in the face to see something that was worked on for months just being thrown to the public. This goes for the other forms of art aforementioned.
Yes there may be a fine line between appropriating information and stealing, but I think that is because society draws that line. Google is coming out with a new phone called Nexus One. This phone is supposed to allow you to use the internet, watch TV shows, listen to music, and talk on the phone, etc all for free. They can do this by allowing ads on your phone. This may not sound very user happy, but imagine a phone where everything you do is for free. Already at my house we hook up our computer to our TV and watch things that we downloaded. We barely ever actually watch the TV, and when we do it is for shows that we previously recorded. Same thing for music, many people are downloading music to listen to on their IPod. Most people “pirate”. They will never catch everyone that does it; they should just instead embrace it. Like the others have said, if you listen to the music and really like it, you go out and buy the CD. Same thing for movies. I will download a movie, and if I really like it go out and buy it. I have an E-book that I download books into, I really enjoyed one of the books I’ve read, so I am going to go out and buy it to add to my library. I really don’t believe that by pirating you are stealing anything. The artist should be making the music for the reason of wanting to make music and share it, not because they want money. Although if it is all about the money then they should be happy, because more people are listening to them, because it is free, and then more people may want to go buy their CD. Society needs to wake up.
I think the line between theft and what should be freely available on the web has become so blurred that a definite answer is nearly impossible to pin down. I've always believed the concept of regulating the sharing of movies and music was a little overly sensitive. Before the age of the internet, if i were to loan an album to a friend, would i be breaking some sort of terms of agreement? what if i had a party and played the music for my friends? These uses of the music were never considered violations of the agreement, but if I wanted to share the same music with a friend who lives halfway across the country, sending it through the web is unacceptable. Controlling who does and does not hear a song based on payment has become crazy. i understand that the men and women who work to create this music put a lot of effort forth and deserve some sort of compensation, but limiting their fan base's ability to hear and share the music with one another strikes me as counterproductive and incredibly greedy. When did it stop being about a relationship between a band and their listeners? An artist, whether he is an actor, singer or songwriter, is only considered an artist because of those who appreciate their work, I feel like limiting availability of the art alienates the artist from the people meant to enjoy it
As I sit here and listen to the music I have purchased off of iTunes, I cannot help but ask why people can listen to the same music for free? I have always been an avid supporter and consumer of iTunes and can honestly say I have never used a file sharing website in my entire life. However, I do not believe these “file sharers’” should be placed in the same category as thieves. The same person, who downloads Lady GaGa’s latest hit today, is not the same person who is going to rob your bank tomorrow. Thousands of people are downloading illegal movies, music and TV shows every day, it is a reality about the World Wide Web that cannot be erased. Why is it that so many people choose free and illegal over purchasing and authorized? It isn’t because people are too broke to spare $1.29 or $.99 cents a song, it’s simply because of how easy and available everything is made. Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, reiterated what we all ready know. He may have been blunt but he stated the truth, privacy is no longer an option. Instead of having the movie and music industry crack down on these so called “thieves”, they should focus all their energy on finding a better way to appreciate people who do not illegally download. How about a free song with every purchase off iTunes? Or maybe sneaking in a few scenes from the latest romantic comedy? Illegal downloading is never going to end as long as there is a website to support it. So it is time to accept that and move on because there really isn’t any other option.
I think our discussion in class the other day was very interesting because there are so many ways to think about what piracy is, and everyone has their own point of view. Of course I believe that plagiarism is wrong, and that you should not take someone else’s work and try to pass it off as your own. Meanwhile, I have been downloading music illegally for years. I didn’t think of it as theft at first. I was twelve years old, and there were programs out there that I could download all of the free music I wanted from. What could be so wrong about that? Now that I’m older, and there has been much controversy over it, of course I understand the implications. However, I still do it, even now. In my defense, I do purchase the CDs of artists I really like. That doesn’t make it right, but it shows how this line between what’s wrong and right on the internet has become blurred. It’s not okay to download music freely because it takes away royalties from the artist. At the same time, if you’re eventually purchasing the CD and just using it to preview the songs first, isn’t it kind of like hearing music on the radio? Everyone interprets this differently which is why many people illegally download from the internet. Since it’s been made available, people will continue to take advantage of it. It will be nearly impossible to get rid of this monster that’s been created by the availability of content through the internet.
I think it's pretty hard to draw a line between appropriating information and theft or piracy. I know a lot of people that have illegally downloaded music off of the internet but I also agree with Briana when she says that downloading songs online should be for free because it's free publicity.I can honestly say that I have downloaded songs online. I also agree that if people listen to the songs online and they like the music they are more likely to go out and buy the cd. I really liked Lady GaGa's song so instead of downloading her entire cd online I went out and bought the cd instead. I also agree with Ashley. Whats the difference between borrowing a CD or DVD from a friend? Some of the people who share files online have bought the CD. I think some people take the idea of pirating too far. They insist that these people are theives. However, not every person that illegally downloads a song is going to go out and steal a car the next day. There is a preview before many movies that make this conclusion. I think that's a little absurd. Illegal downloading is here to stay. I don't think everyone in the world is going to decide to stop downloading free entertainment. I think it's something that people need to accept.
I myself download free music. So how am I to judge people that do the same? I think that it only becomes theft when a person who has illegally downloaded music then burns it and sells it to people, and then it is theft. Everything that is put on the internet is basically going to be copied or pirated, and some people have to get used to it. I also agree with Ashley when she wants to know, what is the difference between downloading the CD and borrowing the CD from a friend. When someone borrows a CD they can rip the music into media and then they still have it for free. I think that the music industry should see this as good advertisement. I do not want to waste my hard earned money on a CD that I bought and only like one song on. I want to know when I buy that CD that I will like all the music on it. So honestly I do not know where to draw the line. That line is very fuzzy to me. Because I feel that some people download the whole album and then burn a bunch of copies, is wrong. But only listening to a few free songs is ok? The whole subject is so confusing on which side to take and I mean really the actually artist only make 2.00 dollars off each CD bought. I mean 2.00 dollars are not going to kill them. And isn't this the same price or around the same price a song on ITunes sells for? I mean then how much money does the artist get 2 cents. I think people have to accept that fact that people have become highly dependent on the internet and this new world that had opened up. They need to embrace the fact that free music is helping sell CD's maybe not there but other peoples CD's.
This is an interesting topic for me to respond on. This being because I can relate to both sides of this argument. On one hand, I have downloaded free music before. However, I also write a lot of music, and come March, I will have an album on iTunes. As for my free downloading habits, I don't anymore. I think it's a matter of seeing the situation from the other perspective. I think the best way would be to relate it to a situation a student might encounter. Say you wrote a paper for a class, and it took you quite a long time to write, and you spent a lot of work on it. How terribly unpleasant would it be to find your paper missing, and you have nothing to submit to your teachers. You now have the option of either re-writing the paper, or accepting that you will get no credit for it. I feel as if most students would find this frustrating, I know I would. Songs are not the easiest thing to write, especially when you want to make them good. I can sometimes go months without writing anything I enjoy. Everything just seems like it sounds the same, or it sounds too cheesy, or it's just not catchy. It can be difficult to combine poetic lyrics, with a catchy melody. Spending so much time to do this, and then not getting any compensation is terribly annoying. For some recording artists, that's their job. This is their way of making money. Imagine working 40 hours a week, and then having your boss decide that he/she doesn't want to give you any pay for it. That's very much illegal, and not "fair." So making the decision that the recording artist not get paid isn't very "fair" either. It may seem like losing $2.00 for each CD purchase isn't a lot, and they can afford that. It definitely builds up. I think if we were to survey our entire campus, to see if they download free music, there would quite a lot that admit that they do. I'm going to say that it's probably over 50%, but we'll just say 50%, just to be safe. If half of the money from your pay check was taken away, I think you'd be upset. There's a lot of people who can say that it's not a big deal, because they're not actually in that situation. However, when the situation switches around, and it then affects them, their opinion changes. That's not very "fair" either. On the other hand, it's debatable that $.99 is kind of a lot for a song. I think that if they started charging less, there would be less people downloading illegally. Also, some artists don't do that much work, but get a lot of money off of it. That doesn't really seem "fair" either. I think the best way, is to just lower the price, and not raise it to $1.29, because that is most definitely not solving any issues.
As we’ve drawn upon a discussion in class it is clear to see that everyone has their own say as to “how far is too far”. We’ve discussed and concluded that pirating DVD’s and downloading music illegally happens more readily than not. It’s hard to decide, “how far is too far” due to all these sources that enable us to pirate and steal DVD’s, CD’s, songs, etc. These two topics are very important in this day in age because many people do download films, and songs illegally. However, one may argue to what extent is going too far? I think that people should be allowed to download songs on the Internet without charge because it publicizes the record company, artist, and song. It gives the listeners a chance to preview the song and if they like it they will indeed go out and purchase the CD. It has been said, “those who download the most illegally, are those who purchase the most CD’s” and to an extent this is true. When downloading songs off the Internet without having to purchase them, I am able to get a sense of if I like the song or not. It allows me grapple and listen to it a few times before I decide I really like this song and go out and purchase the full album. And I understand that in this day in age anything and everything that is produced, published, and purchased has a copyright law attached to it. It’s surprising how easy it is to download DVD’s, CD’s, etc. And I say this because theft is an important discussion that is brought up with pirating. If stealing from a company, artist, or author, is considered theft, pirating music, DVD’s, CD’s etc., is stealing. However, as we try to contain the rapid rise of pirating that occurs daily, we realize that people will go to such extremes to find ways to get around the system. It appears as though, no matter what these companies do, pirating will always occur. I think that downloading songs, books, and information used for educational purposes should be allowed. I understand that stealing is stealing and that ownership is very important to the person that has created, developed, or distributed the product however; when pirating and theft are thrown into the situation it is difficult to know who holds ownership over the initial product. With a discussion like this it is difficult to decide what is right and wrong. It’s hard to see one side of the story and even when we are able to see both sides, what side is indeed the correct side?
ReplyDeleteIn my own personal opinion, I believe that privacy for each person depends on who they are. Some people may like to share more than others, but I believe sharing information such as your cell phone number, your address, your e-mail address and your house number is clearly a violation of privacy. If you only want certain people to know your cell phone number, then you give it to them, don't post it on Facebook or MySpace for the whole world to see, because then you might be getting unexpected and annoying phone calls. I believe that taking something that isn't yours such as taking information that is not yours without citing it. That is wrong, and that is theft, especially if you take the credit for it. There are certain forms of technology that you may need that require your private information such as online banking, and online shopping which these companies would need either your credit card or your bank account number. Now, these companies have to be professional and take only what they say they will take because if they take more, it is theft, and they could be sued. However, there could be points that I may not have thought about, but these are my beliefs on this particular subject.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe line between piracy and theft is very difficult to draw in this day and age because of how public everything is, just as Zuckerberg stated about Facebook. Hiding all of your information isn’t any easy thing to do when you are not sure of all of the access everyone has to it on the web. I believe people go to far when they make illegal copies of movies, songs, shows, etc. and make profit off of something that is not there own work. But I do believe in this day and age some things should be allowed to be viewed freely because it is promotion. Just as bands give out free copies or demos or their albums when starting out, the web should share music and movies that everyone has access to. Then, a lot of people will support these bands, either through album sales or concert sales. Most people have Internet now and it is very easy to listen to your favorite songs on Youtube and other sharing networks. Therefore, you are sharing something you most likely bought with someone else. This is the same as letting your friend borrow a CD or DVD. But when you aren’t supporting the music or television industry than I believe you are a thief. Every time one of those sharing networks is closed another opens so there should be some kind of agreement or contract that can help piracy and theft.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've had my own encounter with piracy and theft. I am a photographer, and as a photographer, I have my own website (Flickr.com) that I use to get my name out there. Upon logging in one day, I noticed that my photos were gone, and someone else had posted them on their site, pretending they were there when I took the photos.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's fair to see CD's, photos, art, movies, etc being made so easily available for the publics use. On a whim, a full movie can be downloaded, but at what cost? Sure, the movie industry makes way more money and is probably better off, but people forget about the people that contribute to making the movie as successful as it is. It's almost a smack in the face to see something that was worked on for months just being thrown to the public. This goes for the other forms of art aforementioned.
Yes there may be a fine line between appropriating information and stealing, but I think that is because society draws that line. Google is coming out with a new phone called Nexus One. This phone is supposed to allow you to use the internet, watch TV shows, listen to music, and talk on the phone, etc all for free. They can do this by allowing ads on your phone. This may not sound very user happy, but imagine a phone where everything you do is for free. Already at my house we hook up our computer to our TV and watch things that we downloaded. We barely ever actually watch the TV, and when we do it is for shows that we previously recorded. Same thing for music, many people are downloading music to listen to on their IPod. Most people “pirate”. They will never catch everyone that does it; they should just instead embrace it. Like the others have said, if you listen to the music and really like it, you go out and buy the CD. Same thing for movies. I will download a movie, and if I really like it go out and buy it. I have an E-book that I download books into, I really enjoyed one of the books I’ve read, so I am going to go out and buy it to add to my library. I really don’t believe that by pirating you are stealing anything. The artist should be making the music for the reason of wanting to make music and share it, not because they want money. Although if it is all about the money then they should be happy, because more people are listening to them, because it is free, and then more people may want to go buy their CD. Society needs to wake up.
ReplyDeleteI think the line between theft and what should be freely available on the web has become so blurred that a definite answer is nearly impossible to pin down. I've always believed the concept of regulating the sharing of movies and music was a little overly sensitive. Before the age of the internet, if i were to loan an album to a friend, would i be breaking some sort of terms of agreement? what if i had a party and played the music for my friends? These uses of the music were never considered violations of the agreement, but if I wanted to share the same music with a friend who lives halfway across the country, sending it through the web is unacceptable. Controlling who does and does not hear a song based on payment has become crazy. i understand that the men and women who work to create this music put a lot of effort forth and deserve some sort of compensation, but limiting their fan base's ability to hear and share the music with one another strikes me as counterproductive and incredibly greedy. When did it stop being about a relationship between a band and their listeners? An artist, whether he is an actor, singer or songwriter, is only considered an artist because of those who appreciate their work, I feel like limiting availability of the art alienates the artist from the people meant to enjoy it
ReplyDeleteAs I sit here and listen to the music I have purchased off of iTunes, I cannot help but ask why people can listen to the same music for free? I have always been an avid supporter and consumer of iTunes and can honestly say I have never used a file sharing website in my entire life. However, I do not believe these “file sharers’” should be placed in the same category as thieves. The same person, who downloads Lady GaGa’s latest hit today, is not the same person who is going to rob your bank tomorrow. Thousands of people are downloading illegal movies, music and TV shows every day, it is a reality about the World Wide Web that cannot be erased. Why is it that so many people choose free and illegal over purchasing and authorized? It isn’t because people are too broke to spare $1.29 or $.99 cents a song, it’s simply because of how easy and available everything is made. Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, reiterated what we all ready know. He may have been blunt but he stated the truth, privacy is no longer an option. Instead of having the movie and music industry crack down on these so called “thieves”, they should focus all their energy on finding a better way to appreciate people who do not illegally download. How about a free song with every purchase off iTunes? Or maybe sneaking in a few scenes from the latest romantic comedy? Illegal downloading is never going to end as long as there is a website to support it. So it is time to accept that and move on because there really isn’t any other option.
ReplyDeleteI think our discussion in class the other day was very interesting because there are so many ways to think about what piracy is, and everyone has their own point of view. Of course I believe that plagiarism is wrong, and that you should not take someone else’s work and try to pass it off as your own. Meanwhile, I have been downloading music illegally for years. I didn’t think of it as theft at first. I was twelve years old, and there were programs out there that I could download all of the free music I wanted from. What could be so wrong about that?
ReplyDeleteNow that I’m older, and there has been much controversy over it, of course I understand the implications. However, I still do it, even now. In my defense, I do purchase the CDs of artists I really like. That doesn’t make it right, but it shows how this line between what’s wrong and right on the internet has become blurred. It’s not okay to download music freely because it takes away royalties from the artist. At the same time, if you’re eventually purchasing the CD and just using it to preview the songs first, isn’t it kind of like hearing music on the radio? Everyone interprets this differently which is why many people illegally download from the internet. Since it’s been made available, people will continue to take advantage of it. It will be nearly impossible to get rid of this monster that’s been created by the availability of content through the internet.
I think it's pretty hard to draw a line between appropriating information and theft or piracy. I know a lot of people that have illegally downloaded music off of the internet but I also agree with Briana when she says that downloading songs online should be for free because it's free publicity.I can honestly say that I have downloaded songs online. I also agree that if people listen to the songs online and they like the music they are more likely to go out and buy the cd. I really liked Lady GaGa's song so instead of downloading her entire cd online I went out and bought the cd instead. I also agree with Ashley. Whats the difference between borrowing a CD or DVD from a friend? Some of the people who share files online have bought the CD. I think some people take the idea of pirating too far. They insist that these people are theives. However, not every person that illegally downloads a song is going to go out and steal a car the next day. There is a preview before many movies that make this conclusion. I think that's a little absurd. Illegal downloading is here to stay. I don't think everyone in the world is going to decide to stop downloading free entertainment. I think it's something that people need to accept.
ReplyDeleteI myself download free music. So how am I to judge people that do the same? I think that it only becomes theft when a person who has illegally downloaded music then burns it and sells it to people, and then it is theft. Everything that is put on the internet is basically going to be copied or pirated, and some people have to get used to it. I also agree with Ashley when she wants to know, what is the difference between downloading the CD and borrowing the CD from a friend. When someone borrows a CD they can rip the music into media and then they still have it for free. I think that the music industry should see this as good advertisement. I do not want to waste my hard earned money on a CD that I bought and only like one song on. I want to know when I buy that CD that I will like all the music on it. So honestly I do not know where to draw the line. That line is very fuzzy to me. Because I feel that some people download the whole album and then burn a bunch of copies, is wrong. But only listening to a few free songs is ok? The whole subject is so confusing on which side to take and I mean really the actually artist only make 2.00 dollars off each CD bought. I mean 2.00 dollars are not going to kill them. And isn't this the same price or around the same price a song on ITunes sells for? I mean then how much money does the artist get 2 cents. I think people have to accept that fact that people have become highly dependent on the internet and this new world that had opened up. They need to embrace the fact that free music is helping sell CD's maybe not there but other peoples CD's.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic for me to respond on. This being because I can relate to both sides of this argument. On one hand, I have downloaded free music before. However, I also write a lot of music, and come March, I will have an album on iTunes. As for my free downloading habits, I don't anymore. I think it's a matter of seeing the situation from the other perspective. I think the best way would be to relate it to a situation a student might encounter. Say you wrote a paper for a class, and it took you quite a long time to write, and you spent a lot of work on it. How terribly unpleasant would it be to find your paper missing, and you have nothing to submit to your teachers. You now have the option of either re-writing the paper, or accepting that you will get no credit for it. I feel as if most students would find this frustrating, I know I would. Songs are not the easiest thing to write, especially when you want to make them good. I can sometimes go months without writing anything I enjoy. Everything just seems like it sounds the same, or it sounds too cheesy, or it's just not catchy. It can be difficult to combine poetic lyrics, with a catchy melody. Spending so much time to do this, and then not getting any compensation is terribly annoying. For some recording artists, that's their job. This is their way of making money. Imagine working 40 hours a week, and then having your boss decide that he/she doesn't want to give you any pay for it. That's very much illegal, and not "fair." So making the decision that the recording artist not get paid isn't very "fair" either. It may seem like losing $2.00 for each CD purchase isn't a lot, and they can afford that. It definitely builds up. I think if we were to survey our entire campus, to see if they download free music, there would quite a lot that admit that they do. I'm going to say that it's probably over 50%, but we'll just say 50%, just to be safe. If half of the money from your pay check was taken away, I think you'd be upset. There's a lot of people who can say that it's not a big deal, because they're not actually in that situation. However, when the situation switches around, and it then affects them, their opinion changes. That's not very "fair" either.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's debatable that $.99 is kind of a lot for a song. I think that if they started charging less, there would be less people downloading illegally. Also, some artists don't do that much work, but get a lot of money off of it. That doesn't really seem "fair" either. I think the best way, is to just lower the price, and not raise it to $1.29, because that is most definitely not solving any issues.