crossposted from blog because I'm a lazy sod

Who are we kidding. We all do it. Whether it's music, games, movies or something else, everyone has their vice. We're all savvy internet users, we all know we're breaking the law, but are we aware of what we're doing? I'll be honest. I'm no saint. I have a 5000+ song music library, probably only 1500 of which is legal. I've been served C&D's for torrenting sims expansion packs, and I have 120GB of pirated TV shows. Where do you draw the line though?

I'm certainly no stranger to the more extreme e-brigands either, some of my good friends on some less than scrupulous IRC channels frequently boast their 3TB+ uTorrent downloads, some even with dedicated seedboxes to spread their wares around the world. I'm on the supplied side too, I've ripped DVDs and encoded music videos, although I try to stay away from sharing in the more litigious area of music.

I'm conflicted, friends.On one hand, I'm sure as hell not helping another cocaine addled celebrity to buy another Gold Plated Ferrari, I support the free sharing of information around the world. I have my own set of morals that I stick to, I don't download indie records, and I buy the stuff I really like. I frequently buy DVDs and boxsets, my shelf overflows with shiny anime collections and Adult Swim collections. I hate the way the RIAA works, and the way it's dug it's heels in to stubbornly protect it's outdated sales strategys. I hate the cult of celebrity. There's success, and there's excess. So you'd think I'd be pretty happy with myself, but I'm not.

I know, and I'm sure part of you knows when you download that this is coming out of someone's pocket. We assure ourselves "Well I wouldn't buy it anyway" (you're still getting it though, that's cheating isn't it?), "They're rich enough as it is" (true in most cases), but if everyone applied this logic, the entertainment business would collapse. True, while you're hardly pillaging the coffers of the band's who already made it, publicity is illusive. Many a time I've been surprised to hear that some artists I considered to be well off are actually not doing as well as they deserve because of piracy, and I feel very guilty about it.

Strangely enough, I hate PC game piracy (I won't judge you. not naming any names ¤onom), simply for the reason it's such a destructive cycle. "PC gaming is dying" they trumpet with aplomb. Well this is why. Small devs who embraced digital distribution have flourished, but all the big name publishers who refuse to change have instead moved to consoles to protect their bottom line. The irony is delicious. People buy a $3000 gaming PC and are then too cheap to pay the $50 for Crysis?

So, Napalm, I want to hear. How much do you download, how do you feel about it. Do you have moral reasons, or is it just because it's free. Would you be willing to change if the providers did. Let me know your opinions.

TL;DR: LOL INTERBUTZ. DOWNLOAD SHIT? TELL ME MORE.