Filesharing/p2p about to become illegal

[Gandalf]

It's a double edged sword for me. In terms of music, which is my main interest, I don't think downloading has stopped me buying a good product. I will download the album, decide whether I like or not, and if I do like it, then I typically go downtown and buy it. Yesterday I bought two albums that I had downloaded just a month or so previously. In this regard downloading has acted as a quality control on the purchases I make. Usually you can only go off the lead single or two and buy an album based on your impression of that. You can get the album home and then find that it's rather poor. Now, I don't think that is fair on the consumer either. I know not everyone is like me and that teenagers will take whatever they can get for free and not pay for it, so that is the part that frustrates me. If every music consumer was like me, then the corporations wouldn't have such an issue with file sharing. I see their concerns, but don't like my method of quality control being declared outright illegal. That's not fair on me or other music fans like me.

Downloading has been made illegal out here too, but the laws really aren't enforced; especially not for foreign products which are what I consume. I still download music quite freely and there are no repercussions. But I can see the UK being quite different and the system becoming quite draconian. The Koreans couldn't care less about me watching boxing streams and there is certainly no possible way for me to buy access to any of the fights anyway. Like I say, I can see both sides to the issue, but clamping down on everybody is only going to lead to a lot of bad will. The UK is such a nanny state. They take away half your income in taxes and then tell you where you can and can't blow your nose! A significant proportion of all laws exist simply to be broken and this might be one of them. It will be got around somehow. Where there is a will, there is a way.

I'm gathering that you're not too keen on big government and intrusions like this?

I also see file sharing as a big shit filter. I'm not out there to rip off the corporations or artists, but see it as a sort of preview of what I might be getting. I think it's mainly kids/teens/young adults that wants to get the free stuff, but I see the older folks as the type of person that if they genuinely like a product out there produced by their favorite artists or companies then they usually support them and I came from the generation when Napster was big 10 years back.

But then again it could be the same motherfukkers that don't support whatever great product out there and is just sponging off it for free that companies and artists are getting pissed off on. I've always been of the mindset that if you like a product, support it and get the legitimate thing.

I think big goverment and laws like this are both a double edged sword. I can see the reasons on both sides, but kind of feel that on the individual level I am the one being treated harshly. I don't what to pay for the kids of fatherless teenage mothers and I certainly don't want to be criminalised because I like to know if an album is good before I buy it.

[OumaFan]

I still buy stuff too, one of the things I download is CD's or movies or whatever that I've already purchased before. And then lost or got scuffed up or something. And, yeah, technically I know its my fault that I lost it or got the disc scratched up but I've already paid for the thing.

I downloaded Radiohead: The Bends the other day and the Band of Brothers dvd set. I just don't see why I should pay for something twice because of my own incompetence Its a weird set of downloading ethics.

But that's not the only things I download. For instance I've been downloading The Pacific just cause I cancelled HBO but don't want to wait for the DVD's to come out. But there's a real chance I'd buy the DVD set anyway.

And then there are times when I just download shit cause I don't want to pay for it. But I still buy albums, movies, etc, too. A fair amount of them actually.

[HattonTheHammer]

isnt it technically with or without this illegal anyway. Im pretty sure this like so many policys put through in this country it will have about as much effect as rosie o`donnells dietician

no worrys from me, i`ll be downloading bangkok sluts long after this has gone through