...477 people are actually in trouble, and some of them are college students.

Thankfully enough, I live in Canada, and those laws doesn't nessecarily affect me. Yet....anyways...

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I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore, I am perfect.

Everyday I beat my own previous record for number of consecutive days I've stayed alive.

[url="mailto:Bruintone@netscape.net"]mailto:Bruintone@netscape.net[/url]Bruintone@netscape.net</A>
Yahoo! Name : jedibruintone77

the students should have used an IP blocker of some kind, or gotten what they wanted off of pub servers.



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Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

The RIAA might as well sue the student bodeis of every college in the US

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I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

I wish they would just give up. It seems like they're only hurting their own cause in the long run.

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"Biologically speaking,if something bites you it's more likely to be female"

Learn to take a hint people!

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The Matrix is not Linux compatible.

So... RIAA is suing again... oh well... back to Bittorent.

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<Outlaw_Torn> you mean your related to that damned sasquatch, Mech?
<MechWarrior> Lets just say the part of the family tree that does fork has bossy the goat in it.

<ubuu> does hitler have a last name?

/me thanks the spirits for private ftp's.

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http://www.mentatmm.com (Status = Down :/)

I, for one, am glad to see the RIAA still going at it.

Besides, if you aren't doing it, then there's nothing to worry about.

"The RIAA might as well sue the student bodies of every college in the US" - Give them time, and they probably might sue a major %. 2 of the listed schools are in my state alone that they're suing, and I know people that go there...

I'll take a hint when CDs stop being so damned expensive. And don't give me the garbage about them being expensive because people pirate. They were up in price long before pirating got to where it is now. At least where I live they were.

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Frogblast the Vent Core!

--End of Line--

Don't walk around like your farts don't stink buddy I'm sure in your life you've stolen atleast one thing.

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<Outlaw_Torn> you mean your related to that damned sasquatch, Mech?
<MechWarrior> Lets just say the part of the family tree that does fork has bossy the goat in it.

<ubuu> does hitler have a last name?

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You're entering a world of pain.
http://darkestspiral.greentinted.com

Thanks Cosmic Castaway

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When guitars are outlawed, only outlaws will have guitars.

Or they could have maybe just not shared the music in the first place.

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And everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon...
DSettahr's Homepage | Cantina Cloud

Yeah they are only sueing people who share, not download, right?

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http://www.sporkaudio.com

/me downloads things like a maniac

It's great to live in Finland when it comes to stuff like this.

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<landfish> FastGamerr > Satan

Don't blatantly point out the right thing to do.

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<Outlaw_Torn> you mean your related to that damned sasquatch, Mech?
<MechWarrior> Lets just say the part of the family tree that does fork has bossy the goat in it.

<ubuu> does hitler have a last name?

"Pft, it's not like Porsche needs all this money, I'll just take this car, and maybe they'll learn to drop their prices..."

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Roach - Caught in the war of hemispheres.
0 of 14.

When you download music, you are not causing any actual losses, only hypothetical potential losses that may have occured anyway for a myriad of reasons.

The RIAA execs need to be sent screaming to hell, imo. They deserve it after the way they go after 12 year olds and college students, all under the intent of pure corporate greed. The RIAA probably doesn't give a flying f*** about the artists they exploit, or else they would give musicians a bigger cut (say 50%) instad of keeping most of it for themselves. With that said, who is really stealing from who? Can you really side with the music cartel after they show themselves to be utter trash time and time again? I respect the mafia more than I respect the RIAA.

.

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Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.


[This message has been edited by Pagewizard_YKS (edited April 28, 2004).]

Because those record companies don't put any money towards advertising, merchandise, concerts, or most of the comforts artists enjoy. Nope, no sir, those record companies hoard it all to themselves...

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Roach - Caught in the war of hemispheres.
0 of 14.

Didn't you guys get the memo? Being a pirate is cool! And besides, we're all just like Robin Hood. Except instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, we just steal from everyone and give to everyone else. It's win-win, people!

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«»The Scratchware Manifesto
-¬thoughts from beyond observance

I haven't had internet access at home for over six months...heh

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The Truth about Bowling for Columbine

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34300-2004Mar29.html
http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf

An interesting research paper from a statistical perspective. It shows that there is a loss, and it is "statistically indistinguishable from zero." The authors don't work for the RIAA, so they must be biased. Everyone knows that we should only trust the make-believe statistics that the RIAA throws out.



Hmmm. This sounds more comprehensive than the RIAA statistics. Must be a vast file-sharing conspiracy, OMQ!

And in today's news, the RIAA sues hundreds of people due to a loss in sales that totals close to a whopping 0%!

Another interesting article:

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000574.html

Better watch it RIAA, you're creating little monsters.



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www.MentatMM.com (status = down :/)
Napalm Death Squad (status = alpha)

[This message has been edited by MentatMM (edited April 29, 2004).]

How do they know that those that download mp3s would buy the CDs if they couldn't download it? Perhaps they simply wouldn't listen to the music..

Probably the most annoying, and most effective, thing they've done is releasing corrupted mp3s. The ones that go all bloopbleepbloopblopbleep in the middle. That is so annoying >:

We steal from the rich and give to the needy... bud I need this song.

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<Outlaw_Torn> you mean your related to that damned sasquatch, Mech?
<MechWarrior> Lets just say the part of the family tree that does fork has bossy the goat in it.

<ubuu> does hitler have a last name?

Funny that you say that...I used to fall in to this category. I didn't purchase my first CD until after I started downloading music back in 1998.

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www.MentatMM.com (status = down :/)
Napalm Death Squad (status = alpha)

"I wouldn't have bought this anyway, so it makes it okay for me to own it without paying!"

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Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent.

-R.D. Laing

So it's a question of morality then? There's no comprehensive evidence to show that the RIAA or their artists are losing any money, and the only half decent evidence shows that losses are just above 0%. My question to you is, if it isn't hurting anyone, why do you and so many other people make such a huge deal out of it? Do you defend the RIAA's action to sue hundreds of people who, as far as the evidence shows, had no effect on their profits whatsoever? I'm just trying to understand where the other side is coming from. Should we all conform to your sense of morals, despite the fact that many of us don't consider downloading illegal music as stealing?

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www.MentatMM.com (status = down :/)
Napalm Death Squad (status = alpha)

"Is it stealing or is it not stealing? That is the question."

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Try not, do; or do not.

While I'm split over the issue of filesharing, I would like to see some statistics regarding CD sales. I wonder how much sales of music that falls under RIAA jursidiction has changed, compared to music from outside the United States. It would be interesting if more and more foreign albums are being imported...

I'll admit that I have downloaded songs, but *almost* all are from bands from Europe or Canada. It seems to me that better music is coming out of there right now. And yes, I did buy CDs from the bands after listening to their music. An excellent example is Blind Guardian. I downloaded "Lord of the Rings," and proceeded to buy 3 of their CDs. Same thing with Rhapsody. Though I bought these CDs at Best Buy and didn't import them, there are some other bands, such as Opeth and Danzig, that I plan to purchase and import CDs from.

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Our very existence is at stake

An example of someone (me) purchasing music after downloading it illegally, liking it, and wanting it. That being said, if I don't like something that I download quite enough to purchase it, I'll keep it anyways. Either way, they weren't going to make money off of me unless they really stand out from the crowd.


Imported from Europe ($21.95)...and yes...it owns.


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www.MentatMM.com (status = down :/)
Napalm Death Squad (status = alpha)

[This message has been edited by MentatMM (edited April 29, 2004).]

Should we all conform to your sense of morals, despite the fact that many of us consider downloading illegal music as stealing? I don't understand why you don't think I shouldn't voice my opinion if I disagree with you.

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Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent.

-R.D. Laing

why do you consider it to be stealing?


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Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Forget the record company for a second and think of it as a simple transaction, which is what it is. Some guy played a song, and now you've got a copy without paying him. That's all there is to it.

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Flibbledy-dibbledy! Nyaaaaaaaahhh!

-The Last True Evil

Exactly.

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Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent.

-R.D. Laing

Yeah, you guys can justify it to yourselves however the heck you want but IT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT. You're stealing, that's all there is to it.

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BV's rendition of Titanic: Let's have sex. I won't let go. I don't need this stone.
The End.
~ Wolfy

I dont understand how you guys can think that downloading copyrighted music is not stealing. There are laws that say that downloading music is stealing and is illegal, it is as simple as that.

Just because there are laws doesnt mean those laws are "right." That is one thing... but to claim outright that those laws dont even exist is rather naive.

This is the problem with the downloading community. So much is wrong with the way the RIAA treats the community, and the prices they set on music, but because so many file-sharers can't face the reality that what they are doing is also wrong on some level, the justice system is almost always going to side with the RIAA. File-sharers need to wake up and realize that ignorance is not going to help their case if they ever really want to have a chance at fighting back against the RIAA.

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And everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon...
DSettahr's Homepage | Cantina Cloud

[This message has been edited by DSettahr (edited April 29, 2004).]

Increasing prices to compensate for pirating doesn't make sense.

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MadQuack has a signature.

Georgia Institute of Technology, darnit.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right." -Isaac Asimov

No, and I never gave you any reason to think that I would want you to conform to my sense of morals. You and many others have made an issue about how immoral, illegal, or wrong it is to download music illegally. So your above question is irrelevant. We're not going around saying..."omg you guys are wrong for not dling music illegally!"



Once again (as in every debate I've ever had with you) you put words in my mouth or insinuate that I mean something that in no way relates to anything I've said. I never said that you couldn't state your opinion, I'm simply bringing up a valid question as to whether it's a question of morality or not, but as usual, you avoid the question.



You're insinuating that it's wrong on at least one level to download illegal music. So my original questions stands. How about an answer instead of a question?



Obviously, by law, downloading illegal mp3's is considered stealing. Note that I said "by law".



Then it's a question of morality, and not one of not ripping off the artist/RIAA? And if it is the latter, please provide evidence.



I'm not going to make the case because the case isn't mine to make, but see just about every previous thread on the RIAA for opinions on the matter. I believe that it is stealing (according to the law), but that doesn't mean that I agree that it should be considered stealing.



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www.MentatMM.com (status = down :/)
Napalm Death Squad (status = alpha)

Is it possible for downloading mp3s to be moral wrong, without it being stealing? Like, if the process of downloading a song is harmful to an artist's profits, is it really fair to do so? And it's not right to claim that record companies are taking "too much" from the artists. It's not as if they've suddenly betrayed and ripped off the artists: before the artists even signed the record deal, I'm sure they knew what percentage of the profits they'd be entitled to. Also, record companies need to cover their costs, and if they didn't exist, could there really be another feasible way of recording, mass distributing and marketing the music?

Finally, whether or not a person regards the priniciple of downloading mp3s to be right or wrong, is it moral to download mp3s when this is against the law of the land? Are we allowed to choose which laws we want to obey, and which we gloss over?

And for everyone's information, in the past I've downloaded mp3s, but now, I prefer to just buy the album.

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GhostOfYoda - General doer of stuff.