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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To download instead of buying?

79 replies

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 18:58

OK so I'm not really looking for an answer, I just thought it would get more replies in here than in chat.
I'm genuinely interested in why people buy Games/DVD's/CD's/pay for Sky when they have them all online for free?

Is it a moral thing or do you like to have whatever it is boxed and new?

OP posts:

2AdventSevenfoldShoes · 05/12/2008 18:59

cos if you don't pay, the band don't get paid. it is theft.

nickytwotimes · 05/12/2008 19:00

Are they legal downloads you are talking about?

If they are illegal then you are stealing. If they are legal, then fine. SOme people just like the packaging and act of purchasing, like me.

SeamusTheElf · 05/12/2008 19:01

Nooo, how will the actors/singers afford another £12m mansion?? I don't download because it's illegal & even the legal ways my PC would die.

ThePregnantMerryYuleWitch · 05/12/2008 19:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 19:07

I'm talking illegal downloads.
Do people really not do it because it's illegal?

OP posts:

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 19:08

Is it not just too tempting when you know that Game/CD/DVD is really not worth the retail price

OP posts:

nickytwotimes · 05/12/2008 19:10

Bad karma man.
If you want something, buy it.
If you are unhappy about people making lots of money from the entertainment business, fine, just don't buy their stuff and don't get freebies either.
It is stealing, pure and simple.

Watchtheworldcomealivetonight · 05/12/2008 19:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

onager · 05/12/2008 19:13

Actually there is a disadvantage to getting them from a shop. You have to put up with adverts at the start that you can't skip. One made me wait something like 12 minutes before it let me get to the film. That may not seem long, but you sit down with a coffee, press play and it insists you listen to lectures on copyright and then tells you about films you are not interested in watching.

TheGoat · 05/12/2008 19:14

i do rip dvd i already have to my ipod cos i resent having to pay twice. other than that can;t be arsed with the faff/viruses/dead computer that would result from downloading.

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 19:15

OK so what about TV programmes.
If I was to download Desperate Housewives from the US. Who am I stealing from then?
I have a TV license and it's shown on a free Channel.

I asked because I have seen plenty of R4 card discussion (I have participated) when it comes to Nintendo Ds's so I was interested in other folks reasons for downloading instead of buying as I know other people on here must do it.

OP posts:

onager · 05/12/2008 19:24

Legally they don't call it stealing (because it doesn't deprive the owner of the use of it), but copyright violation.

The moral side is trickier. If you download something you were not going to buy in the first place you have not harmed anyone. If you stop buying CDs/DVDs because you are downloading then you are losing them the money you would have spent.

They try to claim you have cost them the retail cost of what you downloaded, but that's daft since you wouldn't have bought that many anyway.

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 19:26

Ahh, I was never going to buy any of it as at the prices they charge I couldn't afford it so I'm fine

OP posts:

onager · 05/12/2008 19:27

As for TV. I still pay for a TV licence even though I've not watched any on air TV in six months and may never again. Its easier to download it and watch it in my own time than to mess about with recordings. Plus I like to get a whole TV series and watch it fast rather than wait a week between episodes.

retiredgoth2 · 05/12/2008 19:28

....twin urchins are currently watching WALL:E on my desktop computer....

I borrowed it from the library and copied it. I've no intention of re-copying or selling it on, so I am at peace with my conscience...

...I did download music from the interweb about a decade ago, tortuously via a clockwork 56k phone modem. However the phone bills soon alerted me to the fallacy of 'free' downloading. I also felt compelled to purchase some of the music on CD, as I had enjoyed it enough that I felt I owed the creators the cash.

(I would, however, willingly illegally download stackloads of U2 garbage and delete it if I truly believed such an action would piss Bonio off...)

....I have banned the feral urchin from illegal download sites, primarily as I discovered that his (comparatively harmless) attempted download of 'Pimp my Ride' had brought with it something called 'Pimp my Bride'

Oh Yes.

...it was as bad as you might think.

Fortunately he did not see this, and the parental controls now allow BBC content only.....!

CoteDAzur · 05/12/2008 19:33

It is not even about money.

I would good money if downloads were available for TV series, movies, etc direct from copyright holders' websites.

But noooo they don't make them available - why? Because they will first show films in US theaters. Then European theaters. Then US DVDs (Region 1). Then European DVDs (Region 2).

If downloads are available after initial US release, even before in some cases, who would want to wait a year to buy it?

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 19:38

If it is about money though. Do people really not flinch at handing over £30 for a DS game which is free, OK illegally, but still free online and is likely to have no comebacks?

OP posts:

Blondeshavemorefun · 05/12/2008 20:25

im blonde and thick and wouldnt have a clue how to

expatinscotland · 05/12/2008 20:26

i don't download stuff for free because a lot of it comes with shite that mucks up your computer.

also it's theft.

no, thanks.

i'm not interested in getting my nationality revoked and getting in trouble with the law for the sake of a few quid.

onager · 05/12/2008 20:31

Just had a look at piratebay as an example and they show 12.5 million items being downloaded at this moment in time. A whole bunch of people who would presumably agree that stuff is overpriced

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 21:02

Mumsnetters are a moral bunch.
I'd head off to Netmums but I believe they have tickers and say Hun, so I'll just have to be the Immoral one amongst you

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 05/12/2008 21:05

i just don't want my computer mucked up with a bunch of shite.

TheFalconInThePearTree · 05/12/2008 21:21

It's theft and I believe people deserve to be paid for their work.

onager · 05/12/2008 21:46

Actually not theft, but see previous post.

I saw an executive in an interview claim that fast forwarding adverts on TV or even leaving the room while they were on was theft since the adverts paid for the show.

Original poster

muggglewump · 05/12/2008 21:48

My computer has never been messed up Expat.
Is that your only reason though?

And to TheFalconInThePearTree just as no one answered before. Who am I stealing from when I download a programme from the US which would eventually be on a free channel here and I pay my TV license?

OP posts:

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