Honey and Ollie has not gone dark today because I don’t know how to do that.
So I’m gonna say this instead.
A lot of folks are talking about going “dark” today, signing petitions, fightings SOPA and PIPA. That’s great! Here’s the question… how many of y’all who are going “dark” and signing petitions then turn around and watch entertainment on “perfectly legitimate servers” when you know they aren’t actually legal?
How many of you have illegally downloaded music?
How many of you have watched BBC productions a week before they were set to be released here, or cable series when they were still in first run on their pay channels and NOT available to the general public.
Come on. Don’t pretend you haven’t. Just about everyone does it. “It’s no big deal!” right? I’ve certainly been no saint on that front in years past.
Well it is a big deal. Sorry. It’s stealing copyrighted content. Mea culpa. And if you can’t culpa too, then you’re probably deluding yourself and that’s dangerous.
There’s a reason why I now buy a season pass to watch my favorite cable shows via iTunes. Because NOT to buy the pass is stealing and stealing is wrong. No, I don’t like having to pay iTunes 30-something bucks to watch Sons of Anarchy, but I don’t want to pay for cable, so that’s what I have to do if I want to see the latest season. Yeah, the ad content on HULU sucks but they have free content, so I’ll put up with some ads. YES it sucks that the BBC America shows are later than the regular Beeb, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. A lot of cable channels stream content for free. Network channels show current episodes. And sometimes, yeah, sometimes you just have to wait. Good thing you’re a grownup and realize that you aren’t actually entitled to gratify every whim RIGHT NOW.
If you’re going to sign a petition, make a noise, great. Do that.
Then? Put your money where your mouth is and don’t steal content, period. Even if it means you don’t get to watch Reichenbach Falls/Sherlock or the next Game of Thrones series until it’s legally available in America or properly out on DVD.
We are the creators of this situation. We the people who stream content illegally “just this once” or rip a CD “just one time” are responsible for crappy legislation like SOPA and PIPA.
Protection of copyright is good, but not at the expense of liberty. It’s just that everyone is going to have to behave like an ethical adult if they want that to work. So go out there and behave, please.
And take a minute to sign this petition.
...a homeschooling, unjobbing mama and modern day Mrs. Lovett. Knitter. Cat lady. Artist. Tattooed and irreverent, with a twist. My purpose on this earth is to bring a little inspiration and delight to all of y'all. Life is amazing! Grace is everywhere. Let me show you...
I love you.
I cannot tell you how many times people have offered to “give me music” files for free. I have to explain (EVERY TIME) that I am a recording artist who *SELLS CDS* (and electronic downloads). Heck, we even give away free tracks, to thank our fans for buying our music. But I *BUY* music. I don’t care how much of the money goes where, but I *ALWAYS* buy music.
Sometimes, friends want to loan me music. I will borrow a book, borrow a DVD, or borrow a CD. Then I give it back. And if I like it, I’ll buy it.
BUY stuff from creators. Don’t steal. Amen.
P.S. If you want to check out our band, Forever Twelve, there are three free tracks on the home page. You can have them. We hope you like them.
To Rain and the previous posters – huzzah. it’s scary, how many different sites out there say “download current stuff for free (with a small restriction that you need to be prepared to ‘share it’ by streaming it back to unknown hundreds of other users). yes, it’s stealing.
The long and the short of it is: Yes, Piracy is wrong. It’s stealing, even if the original owner of the digital rights still has possession of the materials (I’ve seen the posters claiming that Piracy isn’t stealing – it’s just copying – which is splitting hairs) We don’t need legislation to tell us this – common sense, the common sense we should have been taught by our parents, our grandparents, our teachers, should be enough for the majority of people rather than the minority here. But we didn’t need legislation to tell us it was wrong to text while driving, either. And people did it anyway, people STILL do it, even though it’s illegal, and they will continue doing it until they either die, or kill someone, or if everyone’s lucky they barely avoid killing or dying and realize that they really shouldn’t be doing that. How are we going to force people who commit piracy to ‘wise up’ to the errors of their ways… Piracy doesn’t kill. and making it ‘more illegal’ won’t change anything. Like mushrooms after a rain, the sites will crop up, even if they keep being cut down. it’s the customers that have to stop their demand. No demand, means these sites won’t see a reason to start up again.
I’ve had a long long standing belief that (especially) the younger generation just doesn’t *get* copywrite…
The “I can photocopy that knitting pattern (download that song, movie, tv show)” (my personal favorite are the ones who stop by my blog when I post a new handbag design and TELL ME TO MY FACE “Thanks! I’m going to go make one!”) and not pay and it doesn’t hurt anyone.
Sure it does. The owner of it gave blood sweat and tears to create it. So pay for it, if you want it.
Standing ovation, Rainy. Well said.