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bonbonbox · 11-03-2003, 09:05 AM

Attention Harmless, concerning your post:

Your position, bonbonbox, is indefensible. Downloading copyrighted MP3's is morally theft, even if, as KnifeMissile said, it isn't legally the crime of theft. Just because a CD isn't in the format you want is not an excuse for stealing. Just because a CD is, in your opinion, too expensive is not an excuse for stealing.

My position is in fact defensible. It has been defended in our wonderful court system. I am not so sure that you understand my opinion. I come to that conclusion because of your statement that in my opinion CDs are too expensive. My statement; "For now they are manufacturing CD's and charging more than the market will bear, which is why sales have gone down.", means just that. I do not give my opinion, I merely stated a fact. If CDs were priced what the market would bear, more CDs would be sold. I need no excuse for stealing because I am not stealing. Again, a CD is not a MP3. In my opinion, and this is my opinion, a CD is superior to a MP3.
As far as morals go, your morals do not hold any weight over me, another great thing about this fine country in which I live. That you can not tell the difference between an apple (CD) and an orange (MP3) should not and does not effect my actions.
As to your "Let's look at it this way: say U2 is coming through town on a concert tour and the tickets are $100.00. You think the tickets should be $10.00, so you make nine illegal copies of the tickets and give them out to strangers outside the show. Is that right or wrong? Does that help or hurt U2? Does that make society a better place or a worse place?" analogy, once again you are making the case that $ is the motivating factor for my personal downloading habits, and you have again mixed the apples and the oranges. I will spell it out for you. A ticket to a concert is a document that admits one to a show. To duplicate that ticket is in fact a crime. No one has been to court to defend thier personal right to copy a ticket and give it to a friend. MP3's on the other hand are reproductions of records or tapes or CDs and people have been to court to defend the right to copy said media. As I said before, the technology is better now, faster and more easily distributed. That does not change the logic behind the tape case. I am curious, are you against the taping of media? Is that stealing in your humble opinion? Just because you dont have a CD player in the car and want a cassette tape to use, so you tape the U2 and listen in the car are you a criminal, morally corrupt and helping America lose the war? Say a freind wants to hear the U2 you listen to and you loan them the tape, have you committed a crime? Say you bought a painting and have a few friends over to view it, and you don't send the artist any compensation for the extra eyes seeing it, is that a crime? Yes, I have been a bit ridiculous, but only to illustrate the point. Sharing is not criminally or morally wrong. Duplicating goods and selling them is. So far no one has charged me a cent for anything I have downloaded.

11-03-2003, 09:05 AM	#23 (permalink)
bonbonbox Banned	Attention Harmless, concerning your post: Your position, bonbonbox, is indefensible. Downloading copyrighted MP3's is morally theft, even if, as KnifeMissile said, it isn't legally the crime of theft. Just because a CD isn't in the format you want is not an excuse for stealing. Just because a CD is, in your opinion, too expensive is not an excuse for stealing. My position is in fact defensible. It has been defended in our wonderful court system. I am not so sure that you understand my opinion. I come to that conclusion because of your statement that in my opinion CDs are too expensive. My statement; "For now they are manufacturing CD's and charging more than the market will bear, which is why sales have gone down.", means just that. I do not give my opinion, I merely stated a fact. If CDs were priced what the market would bear, more CDs would be sold. I need no excuse for stealing because I am not stealing. Again, a CD is not a MP3. In my opinion, and this is my opinion, a CD is superior to a MP3. As far as morals go, your morals do not hold any weight over me, another great thing about this fine country in which I live. That you can not tell the difference between an apple (CD) and an orange (MP3) should not and does not effect my actions. As to your "Let's look at it this way: say U2 is coming through town on a concert tour and the tickets are $100.00. You think the tickets should be $10.00, so you make nine illegal copies of the tickets and give them out to strangers outside the show. Is that right or wrong? Does that help or hurt U2? Does that make society a better place or a worse place?" analogy, once again you are making the case that $ is the motivating factor for my personal downloading habits, and you have again mixed the apples and the oranges. I will spell it out for you. A ticket to a concert is a document that admits one to a show. To duplicate that ticket is in fact a crime. No one has been to court to defend thier personal right to copy a ticket and give it to a friend. MP3's on the other hand are reproductions of records or tapes or CDs and people have been to court to defend the right to copy said media. As I said before, the technology is better now, faster and more easily distributed. That does not change the logic behind the tape case. I am curious, are you against the taping of media? Is that stealing in your humble opinion? Just because you dont have a CD player in the car and want a cassette tape to use, so you tape the U2 and listen in the car are you a criminal, morally corrupt and helping America lose the war? Say a freind wants to hear the U2 you listen to and you loan them the tape, have you committed a crime? Say you bought a painting and have a few friends over to view it, and you don't send the artist any compensation for the extra eyes seeing it, is that a crime? Yes, I have been a bit ridiculous, but only to illustrate the point. Sharing is not criminally or morally wrong. Duplicating goods and selling them is. So far no one has charged me a cent for anything I have downloaded.