Is ACTA the economy boost we all need?

[Chris_Crime]

I think it can be.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news ... s-here.ars
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline ... 5_5795.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Count ... _Agreement


Free stuff is very, very cool but aren't we digging our own graves each time we download some cracked wares or some entertainment media?
The economy is what it is and I can't remember it feeling any other way. Well that's too extreme, I can, but even before I could understand the joke that was "trickle down economics", I could always feel IT coming. Because there's too much greed on top, there's too many people, there's too much new technology highlighting the discrepancies between the rich and the poor. And, of course, people are bad with money.

So we download. And that way it evens the field. But we are where we're at, in part, because of pirated media. It's a fucking lack in sales!
Anyway. What do you think? I dont want to get too much into this beyond "Yeah, free shit is cool and i dont want to stop" or "hell naw, man, because i'm a patriot and downloading is wrong." Or somewhere in between.

it's been drafted, it's still to be ratified. supposedly in September of this year. Your ISP will become liable afterwards and that means... rate increase across the board? RIAA, amongst others, getting an inside track to your home address? That really doesn't make too much sense. A tolling of the bell for those ISPs who do not cooperate under the new law? That does.

So what say you? Are you ready? Do you care?

I think it can help. I'm not saying it's the game changer some people are hoping for (but maybe it is?). I'm just saying it can definitely help.
And, no, I don't believe this will be an end to piracy.
I'm kinda holding out hope that it will be, though. Kinda crazy because my ipods(ssss) is stacked yo. <<ONLY KIDDING DO NO--

tl;dr: in this thread I hope a soon to be law brings copyrighted piracy to an end in hope that restored retail sales will help spur a weakened economy

 

[UrbanMasque]

Make the rich richer. There will continue to be ways people will get free stuff. This will just give them the right to sift through your stuff and monitor what you DL (conspiracy theorist RUN FOR THE HILLS!)

Legalizing WEED is the best way to boost the economy.

 

[Eyebrowsbv31]

I'd just like to point to ..point number one on this cracked thing: http://www.cracked.com/article_18571_5- ... er_p2.html

Without the "rich richer" there would be no Job jobers. Sucks, but it's a fact. Sick of that phrase, such a cliche.


Legalize weed, yes, because all we need is a more lethargic population.

While we're at it lets legalize PCP and stims and inject them into the illegals so they'll pick fruit faster at those "jobs" they stole from Americans.*








*disclaimer, no jobs were stolen in this post. Dole probably does inject stims into illegals working the shitty jobs Americans won't do. :cry:

 

[Bretimus_v2]

Piracy debate, huh? I'll just leave this here. Click Me!

First to the pirates (read: thieves). When it comes down to it, there's only one cliché that need be used. Stealing is stealing. I don't approach this from some crazy moral high ground though. Every day people steal something whether it be a newspaper, MP3, or off-task time at work (<_< >_> <_<, okay the coast is clear, I'll continue). Piracy is just jargon for stealing; some people draw the line at $0.00, others at $15, and still others at $1500 (roughly two pirated video games a month plus tax). You just have to ask yourself what the price of your integrity is.

Others like to use the term "borrowing/lending". That's cool but exactly what is borrowing. Okay, rationally thinking at some point someone has to buy that album/game/whatever before you can borrow it from them, and on top of that what kind of friend are you? Mr. Indefinite-Borrow-Length? Douche. And on top of that aforementioned "on top of that" you can usually only lend one copy. And another good point...most people are careful with what they lend and to whom they lend it. Not so with pirated goods.

Enough on that, now on to the companies. So as I understand it, prices are high because so many people pirate, right? And I'm not just paying for what's stolen, but also for the people you pay to track those criminals down and dispense justice? So aside from my product purchase, I'm paying companies for their loss and expenses due to theft from other people who are not me? Okay, but if all theft were to stop does that mean you'd drop your new game prices to say $20? No? How about $40? No, hmm, we have an impasse here. Yeah, good luck with that whole piracy thing.

 

[Daddio]

I started pirating things because $20 for a CD w/ 2-3 decent songs is a rip off, buy a game and it completely blows and you don't get your money back. I will buy certain things that I really enjoy and the rest.. well, it finds its way to me.

The planet has become so saturated with entertainment and we have been trained to LIKE anything entertainment, to spend our money on it. But, that being said, they overload the board with shit I want, I can't afford it all, so I take the leftovers and enjoy.

$300-400 for an OS? Really? Seeing how almost every house has a PC now, they can't even lower that price because they're so greedy.

 

[keepithowitis]

^If I pirate a CD, I try to see them in concert eventually because that's how bands make most of their money anyway. Unless they just really suck.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

I like the cut of your jib, keepit. I guess what pisses me off is digital distribution of music and how limited some companies make your usage rights. Can't wait til it hits videogames, since I exchange with friends a lot of the time. (Does that make me a thief?)

 

[UrbanMasque]

Without the "rich richer" there would be no Job jobers.

Legalize weed, yes, because all we need is a more lethargic population

YaY, Reaganomics! Pour money into the top and hope it trickles down! That works... I'm pretty sure without the job jobers there would be no rich richers. WTF are we talking about again?

Back to the topic. Internet anonymity = good. anything that infringes on that = bad. For as much as we lose, its not worth the PENNIES we will gain.

Lethargic population? Stop watching 1950's drug propaganda, please?
I know i personally prefer a drunk and socially aggressive population to a high lethargic one..

 

[Eyebrowsbv31]

Urb, read entire sentences before you saying something, I'll put it in bold:

Without the "rich richer" there would be no Job jobers. Sucks, but it's a fact.
Sick of that phrase, such a cliche.

I won't debate weed with you here, but I'd bet my retirement that most pot heads past the age of 20 work in grocery stores with/without a BA in something.

 

[Rakon]

Legalizing weed will ultimately lead to legalizing PCP. This is a guarentee. It's not like weed has any benefits, and the drugs that are legal now are way better for society.

In the words of a wise man: NIGGA PLEASE!!!

Also, if your job was taken by a guy who can't speak english, get a real job you stupid loser.


I think the paradigm needs to shift in order to really end piracy. The whole idea of making the rich richer again isn't a very popular one (except among the rich I suppose). I do think we need a good way to combat piracy, but reverting back to the old way isn't the answer.

 

[Chris_Crime]

I agree, the old business model no longer works for most any sort of entertainment. But there's really no other choice because, as far as a new business model is concerned, all we have are pipe dreams. I read the PS4 won't be digital download only as promised back in 2006, because, basically, the world isn't ready for it.
So we'll continue to tinker with the old standards and draft new provisions. The only thing moving forward is time itself. We should think about less movie theaters and more home streaming. $20 bucks for Avatar 3D at home first day? On my schedule? I'm talking about bypassing the whole movie theater all together. That's fair. Make it happen. Safe guarding theater streaming is something something to work towards. Another pipe dream.

Speaking of pipe dreams, yes, legalize and tax it. There's a lot of money in marijuana sales. Alcohol's much worse but we find a way.

 

[madster111]

Well there's paying for things that are worth it.

And then there's paying $120aud for any 360 game, $30aud for an album and $40aud for a blu-ray movie.
I'm willing to spend money on things i deem worthy, but not if they are priced so high and are only ordinary.

ACTA will not help the economy, mainly because it doesn't need helping.
Only the American economy is in the shithole, the rest of us are perfectly good because we don't have retards running our economy into the ground and refusing to do something to lessen the strain on the worlds oil reserves.
ACTA will only invade privacy and force people to spend more of their money to make rich people obtain even more money.
This would be fine if they therefore lowered their prices so they were only making a little bit more than when piracy was common, but they won't.
They will push the prices up even higher because there's nothing we can do about it.


On the subject of weed:
If Australia legalized it and put relatively high taxes and restrictions on the sale of it so that it would still be fuckexpensive, they could make ~$5 off every joint.
That would be a massive boost to the economy, while more people get to enjoy the benefits of it.
Companies would start up and produce farms, which would make more jobs. The general populace would be less stressed and prison populations would drop down, improving the economy still.
.

I can only see the same working for the rest of the world, especially america where your legal system is a fucking joke and selling weed gets you jail time in the years, adding to your already massively over-filled prisons.

 

[Green_Lantern]

ACTA will not help the economy, mainly because it doesn't need helping.
Only the American economy is in the shithole, the rest of us are perfectly good...

You obviously haven't been paying attention to the world economy...The European Union is in the middle of a major crisis right now with the whole Greece and Spain debt issues along with the rest of the world econ issues.

 

[madster111]

ACTA will not help the economy, mainly because it doesn't need helping.
Only the American economy is in the shithole, the rest of us are perfectly good...

You obviously haven't been paying attention to the world economy...The European Union is in the middle of a major crisis right now with the whole Greece and Spain debt issues along with the rest of the world econ issues.

All that is caused by your economy going down and pulling them with you.
I'm probably not seeing the full picture because in Australia the GFC or whatever it was glanced off our mining-based economy barely leaving a scratch. This came at a time where me and a bunch of my mates dropped out of high school, and every single one of us found jobs. Before i started working for my parents, i was employed as the builders bitch who did all the crap he didn't want to do, and even then i was making enough money to move out of my parents house if i wanted to.
One of my quasi-mates is doing almost the same as what i was, except with a plumber.
And he just dropped $15k on a new car.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

It's Madster, he lives in a fairy tale.