I must confess, I've participated in peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing in the past and I've always had a deep conflict in my mind about doing so. Developers, engineers, content providers, musicians, etc. work really hard to develop content and media and software and with a simple Google search and a few clicks I can have any reading material, song, video or movie or software that I want. This is not fair!
When I started my P2P adventure, Warez.com was preeminent in pirated content, Napster was key for illegal "sharing" of music content and many other pirated sites were popping up all over the place. They made access to very expensive software and music effortless. So much so we had to make ethical decisions based on false rationalization paradigms to put our conscious at ease all the while, deep down inside, we knew it was wrong. I was never comfortable with the process so I stopped early on. However, what about copying CDs or DVDs for a friend or loved one. We know they won't resell it but we provide it for their "convenience" and enjoyment. Since I bought it, why can't I share it. I bought a book, why can't I share it? I bought some food, why can't I share it? The lines were blurred and the software, music, video and publishing industries "legally" would never be the same.
China has been a leader in pirated content for quite-sometime and remains so. However, despite these and other facts, software companies continue to thrive and see record growth. One could only imagine where we would be if content could NOT be pirated. There's a conflicting stance that exist in the development community. There are those who believe in open source software and everything should be freely available to foster creativity, growth, etc. There are those who believe that nothing should be free - we're a capitalist society after all! I lean towards the latter but believe in a hybrid of both as an alternative.
I believe that software and certain content should be free but for educational and learning purposes only! This would foster creativity, learning and ultimately production in industry. However, I don't believe we should have all software as free otherwise what would be the incentive to the developer or programmer to make it in the first place. How would they enjoy the fruits of their labor?
Let your conscious be your guide!
References:
1. Stelter, B., Stone, B. 2009, February. Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html
2. Choi, David, Y; Perez, A. 2006. Online Piracy and The Emergence of New Business Models. Retrieved from http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/usasbe/2006/pdffiles/papers/cases/016.pdf
Ron, I've also participated in P2P sharing in the past and just like you, I would always have second thoughts about my moral decisions. I would have to disagree with what you've said about China being a leader in pirated content. China has one of the most strictest internet known. All traffic from the internet is passed through the government in order for them to censor websites. They also do not condone pirating and shuts down many streaming and torrent websites if discovered.
ReplyDeleteRon, I've also participated in P2P sharing in the past and just like you, I would always have second thoughts about my moral decisions. I would have to disagree with what you've said about China being a leader in pirated content. China has one of the most strictest internet known. All traffic from the internet is passed through the government in order for them to censor websites. They also do not condone pirating and shuts down many streaming and torrent websites if discovered.
ReplyDelete