Comments on: ⇥ How to encourage piracy http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-encourage-piracy Stumbling on since 1997 Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:06:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Andy Lutz http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-662 Andy Lutz Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:53:13 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-662 It's interesting that so many industries are focused on supposed lost sales from piracy, and that they try to combat this using DRM. Most people who pirate content wouldn't suddenly pay for what they had stolen if it was magically locked down with unbreakable DRM over night. Instead, they'd just do without, because they wouldn't have spent money on the song/movie/game in the first place. The only thing that DRM manages to do is frustrate legitimate users who are willing to part with their money. It’s interesting that so many industries are focused on supposed lost sales from piracy, and that they try to combat this using DRM. Most people who pirate content wouldn’t suddenly pay for what they had stolen if it was magically locked down with unbreakable DRM over night. Instead, they’d just do without, because they wouldn’t have spent money on the song/movie/game in the first place. The only thing that DRM manages to do is frustrate legitimate users who are willing to part with their money.

]]> By: Marco Tabini http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-658 Marco Tabini Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:42:28 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-658 I don't disagree that this *might* be the result of a fraud prevention measure, but it's not uncommon for geolocation-based restrictions to be in place, as the fact that I still can't watch Hulu and I have to wait for US shows to have been aired in Canada before I can download them from iTunes clearly shows. I don’t disagree that this *might* be the result of a fraud prevention measure, but it’s not uncommon for geolocation-based restrictions to be in place, as the fact that I still can’t watch Hulu and I have to wait for US shows to have been aired in Canada before I can download them from iTunes clearly shows.

]]> By: Jrf http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-657 Jrf Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:38:01 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-657 Marco, with all due respect, I agree with Andrew that anti-fraud measures (however badly implemented) *not* DRM issues are to blame here. I totally agree with you that they should provide you with a customer service phone number to help you finish your purchase which you couldn't finish online, but their badly designed user experience for these situations doesn't take anything away from the likelyhood that it was an anti-fraud measure which blocked you rather than DRM. Marco, with all due respect, I agree with Andrew that anti-fraud measures (however badly implemented) *not* DRM issues are to blame here.

I totally agree with you that they should provide you with a customer service phone number to help you finish your purchase which you couldn’t finish online, but their badly designed user experience for these situations doesn’t take anything away from the likelyhood that it was an anti-fraud measure which blocked you rather than DRM.

]]> By: Fake51 http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-655 Fake51 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:43:08 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-655 The Sony eReader is not vendor-locked like the kindle is. You can throw lots of stuff on the Sony reader without any trouble at all. So stating that Marco should be strangled is perhaps a bit ... well, actually it's just plain stupid. If you really want to be the model consumer, vote with your money. Stop trying to buy from people that want to punish you for being a nice guy, go to one of the many ebook stores that sell content with no drm on it. Or download one of the many free books (as in free, not pirated). There are plenty of options available that allow you to enjoy good books while sticking it to the man. For the record, I've had an eReader (Hanlin) for a year or more now and I've never bought a book for it. I'm a very happy user, with a cost-benefit ratio squarely in my favor. The Sony eReader is not vendor-locked like the kindle is. You can throw lots of stuff on the Sony reader without any trouble at all. So stating that Marco should be strangled is perhaps a bit … well, actually it’s just plain stupid.

If you really want to be the model consumer, vote with your money. Stop trying to buy from people that want to punish you for being a nice guy, go to one of the many ebook stores that sell content with no drm on it. Or download one of the many free books (as in free, not pirated). There are plenty of options available that allow you to enjoy good books while sticking it to the man.

For the record, I’ve had an eReader (Hanlin) for a year or more now and I’ve never bought a book for it. I’m a very happy user, with a cost-benefit ratio squarely in my favor.

]]> By: Marco Tabini http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-654 Marco Tabini Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:12:37 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-654 No, I considered this. It is something that we do as well, for example—but, as you said, we provide the customer with a way to contact us (in fact, purchases marked as fraudulent end up in a queue from which they can be processed automatically by our customer support people). On the eStore, there is no alternative to going back to your country and making the change from there, which means that they are either inept at e-commerce, or that the motivation behind the restriction is a different one. No, I considered this. It is something that we do as well, for example—but, as you said, we provide the customer with a way to contact us (in fact, purchases marked as fraudulent end up in a queue from which they can be processed automatically by our customer support people). On the eStore, there is no alternative to going back to your country and making the change from there, which means that they are either inept at e-commerce, or that the motivation behind the restriction is a different one.

]]> By: Andrew http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-653 Andrew Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:07:50 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-653 I think you jumped to the wrong conclusion. Restricting people to purchasing from their country of origin is a *widely* used card-not-present anti-fraud measure. Pretty much anyone who sells services or content which is not physical has a rule similar to that (or a more sophisticated one which uses lat/long and measures distance. This anti-fraud rule works really well (eliminates greater than 75% of fraud) so if some "innocents" get caught in the nets, so be it. Usually you can contact the merchant and they can whitelist you. The anti-fraud rationale is much simpler than the whole DRM/copywright rationale, especially given the specific text of the error you encountered, and therefore much more likely to be correct. It is the rational consequence of the "gimme my stuff for free" generation run amok. Andrew I think you jumped to the wrong conclusion. Restricting people to purchasing from their country of origin is a *widely* used card-not-present anti-fraud measure. Pretty much anyone who sells services or content which is not physical has a rule similar to that (or a more sophisticated one which uses lat/long and measures distance. This anti-fraud rule works really well (eliminates greater than 75% of fraud) so if some “innocents” get caught in the nets, so be it. Usually you can contact the merchant and they can whitelist you.

The anti-fraud rationale is much simpler than the whole DRM/copywright rationale, especially given the specific text of the error you encountered, and therefore much more likely to be correct.

It is the rational consequence of the “gimme my stuff for free” generation run amok.

Andrew

]]> By: Marco Tabini http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-650 Marco Tabini Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:18:12 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-650 I'm not sure that I see what buying the device has to do with the DRM stuff. The eReader is actually fairly open—it shows up as a volume on my system and I can just drop PDFs and other files in it. It works quite well, though the interface isn't stellar (which I understand to be a problem with other eBook readers) and the contrast is not quite up there with real paper. Nor did I buy the device as an investment—we needed to test php|a on it anyway. My problem is with the fact that I can't buy a book without going insane. That's just stupid. I’m not sure that I see what buying the device has to do with the DRM stuff. The eReader is actually fairly open—it shows up as a volume on my system and I can just drop PDFs and other files in it. It works quite well, though the interface isn’t stellar (which I understand to be a problem with other eBook readers) and the contrast is not quite up there with real paper. Nor did I buy the device as an investment—we needed to test php|a on it anyway.

My problem is with the fact that I can’t buy a book without going insane. That’s just stupid.

]]> By: Richard Lynch http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-649 Richard Lynch Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:12:06 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-649 PS Which is not to say that the DRM nonsense you have encountered isn't, well, nonsense, but there it is. PS Which is not to say that the DRM nonsense you have encountered isn’t, well, nonsense, but there it is.

]]> By: Richard Lynch http://blog.tabini.ca/2009/12/how-to-encourage-piracy/comment-page-1/#comment-648 Richard Lynch Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:11:21 +0000 http://blog.tabini.ca/?p=322#comment-648 I'm sorry, Marco, you deserve to be strangled. Buying a device that is not proven, that is so tethered to DRM as to be useless, and that has too many competitors, and that has a history of predecessors that have all failed miserably... I'm betting you $1.00 right now that if you track your expenses for, say, a year, and a perceived "value" of that thing, you'll end up in the red. I'll even let you do the accounting any which way you want, assigning any "cost" or "benefit" with any reasonable value you want, without an audit. I’m sorry, Marco, you deserve to be strangled.

Buying a device that is not proven, that is so tethered to DRM as to be useless, and that has too many competitors, and that has a history of predecessors that have all failed miserably…

I’m betting you $1.00 right now that if you track your expenses for, say, a year, and a perceived “value” of that thing, you’ll end up in the red.

I’ll even let you do the accounting any which way you want, assigning any “cost” or “benefit” with any reasonable value you want, without an audit.

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