Pirates Justify Their Theft

My initial post on pirating received several comments from thieves defending their actions. As usual, the responses tried to blame software developers while minimizing the illegal and immoral actions of the pirates themselves. One of them even played the definitions game, pointing out that intellectual property infringement and theft are different actions. My response makes clear that this line of argument is irrelevant to the issue. What is wrong is wrong no matter what you call it, and pirating is wrong. Below is a typical comment and after that, my response to all comments.

Wow, dude, you're a judge or something ? Military ? Police officer ? Let's purge the world of the unworthy eh ?

I've got what, at home right now, in a box and around my computer, maybe 400 $ OF **** GAMES THAT I BOUGHT THESE LAST YEARS ? And all I am is a thief ? A criminal none the less ! I'm not rich that's for sure. And certainly not rich enough to enjoy playing a game for 3 days for 50 $. That's insane man, seriously. I'll have to prostitute myself to continu playing video games. Actually, is it worth it .... maybe, I dont know... I could get some easy cash with that guy ... NO, STOP !

You see, I'm against all those crappy developpers making crappy and unplayable games, tossing them one after the other for 50 $ +. PLAY OUR GAME, IT'S THE BEST ! And then, nothing. They fix a couple of things for a month, and then they forget you. They don't care anymore, you already got their stupid **** unplayable bug infested piece of crap game. THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER ONE ! Why fix something you already bought, haha ! Buy the next one and see if it's better !

Anyway, I'm not as worse a criminel as you make it sound man (is this grammatically correct ? I'm not english, sorry !) ! Fallout 3 is coming out soon, and I'll certainly buy it. The least i can do, as i got Oblivion and Shivering isles pirated, and got a **** of gameplay hours (200 hours or something) ! Great game, but I just can't get myself to finish it. Ans then there's L4D, but like i said, with the support Valve offers, I'm buying everything they throw at me.

Hey, maybe we found the solution ! HOW ABOUT SOME SUPPORT FROM THE GAMES WE BUY. Update your ****, improve gameplay, add campaign missions, story modes, characters, VS options, MAPS, QUESTS, ANYTHING.
Thanks valve ! Vote Steam

CMON !

Love it when thieves try to hide behind semantics, stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you without the owner's permission. Regardless of how you want to define theft, pirating is wrong, immoral, and illegal. That's the bottom line. You are taking and benefiting from someone else's hard work and depriving them of their deserved income. If I'm a game developer or musician, how am I supposed to make a living if everyone steals what I create?

Bashem, what another lame excuse. It's like a bank robber saying, "I deposited over $1500 in my account last month, and I paid $50 in overdraft fees while also having a CD at this bank! So what if I rob the cashier every once in a while? I do legitimate business with the bank!" What would a jury think of this defense? They would laugh, maybe they would find the robber not guilty due to insanity, clearly such a defense is so ridiculous that not even the most desperate defense lawyers would dream of using it.

Hey buddy, no one forces you to buy the games. But guess what? You get a lot of enjoyment from these games, that's why you keep on going back for more. Yeah I wish my car had a lifetime warranty and never broke down either. I wish that car makers would guarantee the car for life and pay for all maintenance too. You know how much I pay for routine maintenance? Why don't they make cars that never ever need repairs? I guess I should go and "borrow" a car, I return it after it breaks down. Hey, in the real world, that's grand theft auto and I'm a car thief if I do that. Blaming YOUR theft on the producer is just insanity.

Quote : The least i can do, as i got Oblivion and Shivering isles pirated, and got a **** of gameplay hours (200 hours or something) !

Wow, 200 hours of enjoyment, and you still aren't willing to pay $50 for that? Let's see, a movie runs 2 hrs, that's 100 movies, and at $10 a movie, that's $1000 of entertainment if you go to the movies, even rental would cost you around $300. And you're still trying to justify your theft?

You are a thief, stop trying to justify your actions. You are not a good person, it's time to look in the mirror, you are a common criminal, no better than the pickpocket on the streets, except that you don't have the courage to do something like that where you can get caught.

You received a lot of enjoyment from the games you pirated. How it is fair that the people who spent months and millions to make the game get nothing in return? Why do those people who make the games get nothing while you get to play them? How is that fair in any system, by any code of ethics, by any moral belief, by any religion on Earth?

It's too bad you can't "afford" those games, but I bet that you can, you just don't want to pay for them because that means you have to cut expenses elsewhere. And in the end, these games are entertainment, you have no right to these games under ANY social philosophy, failed or otherwise. I want a lot of things I can't afford, like a beach front property, a Ferrari sports car, my own basketball team. You can't justify your actions, just admit you are a criminal and yes, society would be better off without your illegal and immoral actions.

Hey, I'm paying a lot for my apartment, how about I come over and share your space for nothing? You still get to sleep in your bed and have your place. Why would it matter if I share it, I can't afford my own space! There's plenty of room for both of us, I'll only use your bed, your stuff when you're not using them, it doesn't change anything does it? OF COURSE IT DOES! That's why we have property rights. That's why you can't go and use someone else's stuff if they're not using it. You aren't allowed to benefit from what someone else paid for without their permission. Otherwise people from you city could come into your room and use your stuff when you're not there. That's called trespassing and is banned in every society and country on Earth. From China to Russia to the USA, you can't go into someone else's home and use it without their permission. You have zero argument.