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Pluralistic: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
(pluralistic.net)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Dude are you really that dense? I say that digital goods are not the same as physical goods and the concept of ownership or theft which applies to physical goods does not apply in the same way to non physical goods. Humans created different frameworks to be able to make money and integrate non material goods into economy. But that does not change the nature of things: unlimited number of people can have the same thought at the same time in different physical locations - that is not possible with physical objects; if someone copies an digital objects it's still there for others to use, not so much if someone steals an objects.
If we are talking about copyright infringement, sure - but don't equate copyright infringement to theft. And we can talk about use of immaterial goods, but no-one really owns them. Again - you can not own an idea, even if you create a legal framework that pretends that it's possible - at any given time at any given place someone can come up with the same idea even as complex as say - periodic system of elements.
That’s a lot of words. So, what’s the answer to the question?
If copying is an action open to everyone, what can a person create on a computer, that they could expect other people to pay them for? What could they make that doesn’t have equal value simply to copy, than to buy from its creator?
If you not interested in my opinion feel free to leave at any point.
Quite simple because you value the works of others? If you want for example a specific art piece from a specific artist you commission it from that artist. We also don't need to have a theoretical debate about it - since steam exist. You can have most games pirated or get them even cheaper (than on stem) from grey key market - but if one makes a convenient affordable (localized cost for example )distribution options, people will pay for things they use - because most people actually think that it's the right thing to do (as long as they can afford it). No everyone is an asshole, most people are actually not.