I agree. Ill say that I've heard countless arguments against the death penalty though. For one they actually argue that, due to the legal costs, keeping a prisoner for life is actually cheaper than killing them. That's only true for as long as the death penalty is no longer socially accepted. Also, most prisons have more a problem with SPACE than with costs ... and killing people KINDA SAVES SOME FRIKKING SPACE! especially if it was within several weeks of the jury's decision, was public, and was broadcast on pay-per-view live @ 8:00 PM eastern.

Of course, there are people that are wrongly sent to death ... and I truly feel for those people. But then there are people that are the opposite and just have easy street getting away with all kinds of shit ... trying to justify it by supposing "The Man" is also doing the same shit, and that somehow that makes it okay to also do such types of shit.

And furthermore, morale/ethical arguments about "all types of life are sacred" ... well if I was ever convinced to be a vegetarian then MAYBE I would buy that ... but someone that does something deserving of death should be viewed as less than an animal in my opinion.

Soylent Green IS people ....;)

I don't know, when I'm working every weekend to create said intellectual property I feel i gain from it. Sure, the government confiscates about half of what I get but it's generally a myth that people who create IP are somehow being screwed over by "the man". 

They're usually getting screwed over by 'the child' [armed with the naive ideology of 'steal it so it can be free'] ...;)

"Not that the King Pin approach isn't favorable or successful, but it would probably only make matters WORSE for consumers and Small Companies." - Tasunke

*Takes a puff of his cigar* And I should care about the consumers and small companies...why?

In all seriousness they could just pay some of the larger groups to not pirate things. Not "you are our mercenaries to fight against our competition" but more "Here's enough money for the rest of your life, it can be yours if you close up shop and go do something else."

What...you mean that to ensure you are not burgled you should just have a trestle table set up outside with all your belongings on it with a sign "free to anyone who is a druggie and/or wearing a balaclava"?

Brilliant.

Crime ends today.

[never thought it was so darn simple]....;p

"What...you mean that to ensure you are not burgled you should just have a trestle table set up outside with all your belongings on it with a sign "free to anyone who is a druggie and/or wearing a balaclava"?" - Jafo

This issue isn't realistically comparable to anything but itself. It's a situation in which a couple of people can infinitely reproduce an item with little cost to themselves and small-moderate financial rewards (could be wrong about this, any hard numbers on how much they make?).

Jafo you make it pretty clear that you think there's some sort of magic preventing people from touching your stuff.

"Reality is...if I create something then it is mine....no-one else's...not now, not ever....unless I give it to them, freely or otherwise." - Jafo

This is not so. If you want something to remain yours after you create it you either have to personally defend it or pay someone else to defend it. That's part of what the government is for, you pay them and they make sure no one touches your stuff. Except in this case they aren't doing that.

Since it seems no one can shut down piracy using only the legal system I'm just wondering why no one tries to simply pay them to stop. If the MPAA and RIAA are really losing as much as they say they are it must be possible to do so with a net gain.


"I would have no qualms [were there the opportunity] to slap him across the FRONT of his knees with a baseball bat [though I am more likely to source a cricket one] and render him permanently disabled." - Jafo

Sounds like you already have the "defend your own stuff" idea in your head, why don't you enact it then? Can't be too hard to find out where someone on Deviantart lives. It's not Deviantart's responsibility to handle it unless someone makes it their responsibility.

So when pirates all over the world hear a particular company is paying them not to pirate, they will go ahead and pirate the game just to get paid to not do it. How the hell does that work?

"So when pirates all over the world hear a particular company is paying them not to pirate, they will go ahead and pirate the game just to get paid to not do it. How the hell does that work?" - RandomEasyPlayer

I'm not suggesting paying individual pirates. You're correct on that being stupid. I'm suggesting shutting down the dispensary sites that cannot be shut down via legal means via bribery.

Been there....[almost] done that.

Slightly different location.... Nullsoft....though it was publicly played out on the Devart forums....so, 'close'.

I pulled the plug when it was offered that an associate was willing to drop in on the miscreant's home adress [he was a neighbour - to her, not to me...I'm 10,000 miles away] - and she realised the error of her ways and the issue 'went away'.

People can be found.

As for my Architecture IP ....it's not on the net....so the furthest I've had to chase it was the distance from my place to Queensland.  In that case it was a Lawyer trying to claim my IP....

He failed.

RandomEasyPlayer.....exactly....how DOES that work?

I think I'd prefer to pay someone to 'make' them cease their thieving instead.....;)

Ah, good....compensating people for stopping their criminal activity.

Terrific....another growth industry.

Can I buy shares?

BTW....the act of extracting payment for an activity to thus stop is called 'extortion'.

So what's your suggestion? That we all just sit by and hope it goes away? That we pay lawyers and judges to shut down a site for 3 days before everything goes back to how it was? Go out and beat all the pirates to death personally?

Beating to death works for me....;)

No, probably more severe punishments for those who are enablers of computer crime. [no, I don't mean shoot Gates and Jobs].

Example....places such as Facebook....the haven for cyber bullying and stalking....it's owners should be held responsible since privacy/security is clearly an issue with the service/site.

They get [filthy] rich while [some of] their users actually die.

Dispensary sites breed like pirates, you shut one down with money, the same guys host another one up. Besides as mentioned, "extortion" isnt exactely legal in most countries. Who says no one has been able to succeed in cutting down on piracy? Thats like saying theres no way you can stop computer viruses so lets just give in and let them take our credit card information and use our accounts. There are steps that have been made to discourage piracy and to work in tandem with Internet Service Providers and governments to shut individual people down does work. Now as a deterrent that is, noone wants to cop the big end of a stick, so that discourages stealing.

I honestly dont think anyone who has some hard work and talent to make IP has planned to give up and let pirates get thier way, let alone paying them and encouraging them to keep doing what they are doing. 

"Beating to death works for me..." - Jafo

You going to do that personally or pay someone to do it?

"Thats like saying theres no way you can stop computer viruses so lets just give in and let them take our credit card information and use our accounts." - RandomEasyPlayer

Far fewer people line up to download viruses and intentionally help to spread them that line up and help to spread pirated media. This isn't like any other problem. How widespread it is, the incentives, the speed at which it multiplies, it doesn't seem like it can be handled by simply suing a few people into stopping. Some new tactic has to be found, I'm just throwing out suggestions of the "try everything" variety.