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Comment by J3L2404 | Hacker News Reader

So nobody minds if I pirate their software right?

Just because I don't want people pirating software I may write, doesn't mean I agree with the stance current governments take on copyright and it's enforcement.

Nice strawman though, if a bit lazy. You could have gone with piracy supports terrorism or something along those lines as well.

If you are selling software to make a living that strawman just took money out of your pocket. If you are surfing broadband in your parent's spare bedroom it's different.

> just took money out of your pocket

That is a metaphor that only obscures the real issue, because the money was never in your pocket to begin with.

If you're selling software for a living and you don't have a reasonable strategy for coexisting with the inevitable pirates, then you're doing it wrong. If piracy will make or break your business model, you are doomed.

I'm not taking any position on whether that's right or wrong. It's simply a fact.

After you have downloaded and tried it, think about this:

If you like the software, you pay for it or donate to the developers to support further development. If it turns out it wasn't what you were looking for, you delete it off your hard drive.

Non sequitur. This is like going into one of the TSA threads and saying, "So nobody minds if I blow up their airplanes right?"

You probably wouldn't have bought it anyway...

Certainly not if I can just pirate it.

i buy lots of things i can just pirate.

You seem to be saying that given the option of pirating and purchasing, you will always pirate - if that is the case, then you are part of a very small and militant demographic.

I cant think of a single movie, album or piece of software that cant be pirated as easily as it can be bought - yet people still buy them.

If anything, piracy increases the chances that I may buy someone's software. I'm definitely not going to risk money on the chance that a program might be useful, and if it turns out to be what I want, I'll likely pay for it. Many people who pirate it wouldn't have bought it in the first place, so it's not a lost sale and it actually increases knowledge about particular software.

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