Some Pirate Sites Received More Visitors After Being Blocked(torrentfreak.com)
torrentfreak.com
Some Pirate Sites Received More Visitors After Being Blocked
https://torrentfreak.com/some-pirate-sites-received-more-visitors-after-being-blocked-231027/
109 comments
If I do this (and I'm not saying I do) I tend to avoid torrents because I don't want to deal with a VPN to avoid being harrassed. I find a low-quality stream with adblock/noscript on.
Because I'm lazy in the last year I've mostly checked very old movies on archive.org
Because I'm lazy in the last year I've mostly checked very old movies on archive.org
Hypothetically you could also look for sites linking to so called one-click hosters, of course with adblocker, otherwise they would be (both, the sites, and the OCHs) unbearable. So called download managers would be unnecessary, becuase a correctly configured and isolated browser running on a paranoid platform still performs very well, or maybe just because of that? One wouldn't really care, because it would just work.
There would be no need go get an account anywhere, to get access, or seeing the download links at all. Just skimming the lists of all the trash that is streaming now, or the classics, and pick the few things of interest, professionally encoded according to so called 'scene-release' standards. Maybe there would be one captcha to be solved, but why would one care about that, if only downloading a few things?
The files would then come down with anything between one to 30Mbit/s, which means a few minutes at most, with some rare exceptions topping out at 150kbit/s which could mean a few hours. Which one still wouldn't care about, if one had rock solid connectivity, whereever and whenever one would be staying.
Limiting oneself to 720p or 1080p in x264, x265, avc1, hevc would be wise, to not run into the filesize limits of some of the free one-click hosters, but honestly, most of the serial shit available wouldn't be worthy enough to be watched out of the corner of ones eye at 480p anyways on some small 'other display', which would still be equivalent to DVD.
Which would be bad for blueray rips, but one probably wouldn't really care, because even at 4k most stuff stays being the shit that it is.
One probably could call that (in funny bad german english) "Loading, Looking, Lösching" meaning something like downloading, watching, and finally erasing that movie (anyway), because shit doesn't deserve to waste storage.
Yes, that would probably work very well for most use cases ;->
There would be no need go get an account anywhere, to get access, or seeing the download links at all. Just skimming the lists of all the trash that is streaming now, or the classics, and pick the few things of interest, professionally encoded according to so called 'scene-release' standards. Maybe there would be one captcha to be solved, but why would one care about that, if only downloading a few things?
The files would then come down with anything between one to 30Mbit/s, which means a few minutes at most, with some rare exceptions topping out at 150kbit/s which could mean a few hours. Which one still wouldn't care about, if one had rock solid connectivity, whereever and whenever one would be staying.
Limiting oneself to 720p or 1080p in x264, x265, avc1, hevc would be wise, to not run into the filesize limits of some of the free one-click hosters, but honestly, most of the serial shit available wouldn't be worthy enough to be watched out of the corner of ones eye at 480p anyways on some small 'other display', which would still be equivalent to DVD.
Which would be bad for blueray rips, but one probably wouldn't really care, because even at 4k most stuff stays being the shit that it is.
One probably could call that (in funny bad german english) "Loading, Looking, Lösching" meaning something like downloading, watching, and finally erasing that movie (anyway), because shit doesn't deserve to waste storage.
Yes, that would probably work very well for most use cases ;->
Just use Yandex, it wild wild west over there.
With the current trends in streaming piracy must be on the rise again. Are there any numbers on that? Ideally plotted against streaming subscriber numbers
I bet the amount of pirating of Netflix content is up since password sharing is being clamped down on—not that Netflix cares. If an unpaid user falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, did it make a sound?
But I can’t help but feel that 90% of the “back to the high seas” comments on Reddit or social media discussions of streaming is just pirates justifying the piracy they were already committing.
Pirates love having some moral justification. Shit, they should just admit they prefer getting something without paying for it.
But I can’t help but feel that 90% of the “back to the high seas” comments on Reddit or social media discussions of streaming is just pirates justifying the piracy they were already committing.
Pirates love having some moral justification. Shit, they should just admit they prefer getting something without paying for it.
Netflix used to advertise sharing your account with family and friends even those outside of the family. At least here in Holland they did. Clearly that made it ok and not piracy.
But since they clamped down I'm pirating again. Until then there was no need.
But since they clamped down I'm pirating again. Until then there was no need.
I think those tweets may still be up on a few of their twitter accounts
No, they didn't.
This is just what I could find with a quick, cursory Google search...
>In a March 10, 2017, Twitter thread that was promoting its original series Love, Netflix wrote, "Love is sharing a password." The single tweet in the thread garnered more than 15,000 likes and more than 4,600 retweets.[0]
>Netflix CEO Says Account Sharing Is OK[1]
[0] https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-encouraged-subscribers-shar...
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/11/netflix-ceo-says-account-s...
>In a March 10, 2017, Twitter thread that was promoting its original series Love, Netflix wrote, "Love is sharing a password." The single tweet in the thread garnered more than 15,000 likes and more than 4,600 retweets.[0]
>Netflix CEO Says Account Sharing Is OK[1]
[0] https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-encouraged-subscribers-shar...
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/11/netflix-ceo-says-account-s...
> “We love people sharing Netflix whether they’re two people on a couch or 10 people on a couch,,” Hastings said. “That’s a positive thing, not a negative thing.”
> To illustrate this example, he spoke of how a parent may share their login with their child. And when that child grows up, they will usually subscribe to Netflix, too.
> “As kids move on in their life, they like to have control of their life, and as they have an income, we see them separately subscribe,” Hastings told reporters at CES. “It really hasn’t been a problem.”
> While Hastings didn’t directly address how he feels about non-family members sharing their credentials – such as in the case where friends or roommates may split an account
From [1], at least, it doesn't appear that he ever intended password-sharing among multiple households to be a thing?
Even in [0] (which I would consider a poor reference since it's about the crackdown and therefore starts out trying to prove a point...), I think there is a fairly reasonable interpretation of "Love is sharing a password" that doesn't include 3+ households sharing an account.
> To illustrate this example, he spoke of how a parent may share their login with their child. And when that child grows up, they will usually subscribe to Netflix, too.
> “As kids move on in their life, they like to have control of their life, and as they have an income, we see them separately subscribe,” Hastings told reporters at CES. “It really hasn’t been a problem.”
> While Hastings didn’t directly address how he feels about non-family members sharing their credentials – such as in the case where friends or roommates may split an account
From [1], at least, it doesn't appear that he ever intended password-sharing among multiple households to be a thing?
Even in [0] (which I would consider a poor reference since it's about the crackdown and therefore starts out trying to prove a point...), I think there is a fairly reasonable interpretation of "Love is sharing a password" that doesn't include 3+ households sharing an account.
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>Pirates love having some moral justification.
Quellism is fictional, but that does not make it invalid.
>the personal, as everyone’s so fucking fond of saying, is political. So if some idiot politician, some power player, tries to execute policies that harm you or those you care about, take it personally. Get angry. The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs, hardware and soft-. Only the little people suffer at the hands of Justice; the creatures of power slide from under it with a wink and a grin. If you want justice, you will have to claw it from them. Make it personal. Do as much damage as you can. Get your message across. That way, you stand a better chance of being taken seriously next time. Of being considered dangerous. And make no mistake about this: being taken seriously, being considered dangerous marks the difference - the only difference in their eyes - between players and little people. Players they will make deals with. Little people they liquidate. And time and again they cream your liquidation, your displacement, your torture and brutal execution with the ultimate insult that it’s just business, it’s politics, it’s the way of the world, it’s a tough life and that it’s nothing personal. Well, fuck them. Make it personal.
--Quellcrist Falconer.
NOTE: "Make it personal" but this is business not war. Kinda feel I need to clarify that last line.
Quellism is fictional, but that does not make it invalid.
>the personal, as everyone’s so fucking fond of saying, is political. So if some idiot politician, some power player, tries to execute policies that harm you or those you care about, take it personally. Get angry. The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs, hardware and soft-. Only the little people suffer at the hands of Justice; the creatures of power slide from under it with a wink and a grin. If you want justice, you will have to claw it from them. Make it personal. Do as much damage as you can. Get your message across. That way, you stand a better chance of being taken seriously next time. Of being considered dangerous. And make no mistake about this: being taken seriously, being considered dangerous marks the difference - the only difference in their eyes - between players and little people. Players they will make deals with. Little people they liquidate. And time and again they cream your liquidation, your displacement, your torture and brutal execution with the ultimate insult that it’s just business, it’s politics, it’s the way of the world, it’s a tough life and that it’s nothing personal. Well, fuck them. Make it personal.
--Quellcrist Falconer.
NOTE: "Make it personal" but this is business not war. Kinda feel I need to clarify that last line.
I've always been really happy with Netflix. I was still happy with Disney+. But now I'm also paying for Amazon Prime. And then some of the things I want to see are on something called Paramount+, and I don't even know where to get that.
A single, cheap streaming platform is awesome. Fragmented streaming platforms that raise their prices while offering less content, is significantly less awesome.
Maybe I should cancel every subscription every time I'm done watching a show and only subscribe to a single streamer whose show I'm actually watching right now. They'd get a lot less money out of me that way.
A single, cheap streaming platform is awesome. Fragmented streaming platforms that raise their prices while offering less content, is significantly less awesome.
Maybe I should cancel every subscription every time I'm done watching a show and only subscribe to a single streamer whose show I'm actually watching right now. They'd get a lot less money out of me that way.
I just cancelled Amazon Prime completely.
Just found out you dont even need it for Amazon Video anymore, and most of the good stuff you had to pay for there anyway.
For deliveries it was always barely worth it for me with prime same/one/two day free shipping being novel 10 years ago, but always hard to quantify how much I used it and the speed has gotten worse and worse, with Amazon Video being the extra thing to keep it just interesting enough.
For the low volume I order I’m often on a retailer’s website. Same day delivery is just gone in my area, and actually Uber and Doordash will just go straight to retail stores for you and its actually 20 minute delivery. They have subscriptions too that reduce some fees.
And if I’m not saving money while using something more convenient, then Amazon Prime time to go! Thanks for the last decade, obsolete this decade.
Just found out you dont even need it for Amazon Video anymore, and most of the good stuff you had to pay for there anyway.
For deliveries it was always barely worth it for me with prime same/one/two day free shipping being novel 10 years ago, but always hard to quantify how much I used it and the speed has gotten worse and worse, with Amazon Video being the extra thing to keep it just interesting enough.
For the low volume I order I’m often on a retailer’s website. Same day delivery is just gone in my area, and actually Uber and Doordash will just go straight to retail stores for you and its actually 20 minute delivery. They have subscriptions too that reduce some fees.
And if I’m not saving money while using something more convenient, then Amazon Prime time to go! Thanks for the last decade, obsolete this decade.
I don't need it for Amazon Video? Are you sure? Then what am I paying for? I certainly don't intend to ever buy anything from Amazon, they just have a handful of really good shows.
I'll try cancelling it and see what happens.
I'll try cancelling it and see what happens.
Just a warning for what it’s worth: I have heard of some heinous dark patterns with cancelling Amazon Prime. (This thread is reminding me to do that myself.) I would be skeptical of any “Success!” messages until I’ve crossed several layers of “are you really super duper sure with a cherry on top?”-hell. And even then... probably wanna double-check.
I think with price hikes and tools like Plex / Jellyfin making it easier to create your own streaming service for content you want the social media posts are accurately representing a shift of consumers back to piracy.
Moral justification: it’s never been on the consumer to know if a distributor has a license. We dont know if Walmart has a license to every media we bought there, we dont know if Netflix really has a license to every media we watched there, we dont know if the seeder on a torrent site has a license either. There is nothing preventing Walmart or Netflix from distributing via bittorrent as seeders either.
Not our problem, never was.
Turn off upload if you don’t have a license, enjoy.
Not our problem, never was.
Turn off upload if you don’t have a license, enjoy.
You do know the seeders on BitTorrent don’t have a license though.
Just admit you don’t care about pirating from a major company. You don’t have to lie to yourself to concoct a moral justification.
Just admit you don’t care about pirating from a major company. You don’t have to lie to yourself to concoct a moral justification.
Justifications or not, when I can't easily pay for something and get it, I will torrent it. The ball is in their court like ever. The tao of piracy
How easy is easily? It seems like you would either be able to buy something or not...
The problem is these studios don't seem to get or understand that nobody likes the subscription model. Nobody likes to feel like they spend thousands of dollars a year to essentially own nothing.
When you bought a DVD in the past it was incredibly easy for you to take that DVD and as long as you have a DVD player you can rewatch that movie over and over again without having to pay another dime for the privilege to do so. Now you have to contend with licenses expiring and a show you wanted to watch on Netflix (for example) is now no longer available because people at the C-level can't stop being greedy and pushing for more and more money.
Edit: Not to say the subscription model is completely wrong. It's actually a very compelling model, pay once each month for access to an entire catalogue of movies and TV shows is amazing. It's just really frustrating to watch streaming platforms hemorrhage content as the original media owners look towards higher licensing fees or even consider standing up their own streaming service, making yet another streaming service you have to pay for to access content.
When you bought a DVD in the past it was incredibly easy for you to take that DVD and as long as you have a DVD player you can rewatch that movie over and over again without having to pay another dime for the privilege to do so. Now you have to contend with licenses expiring and a show you wanted to watch on Netflix (for example) is now no longer available because people at the C-level can't stop being greedy and pushing for more and more money.
Edit: Not to say the subscription model is completely wrong. It's actually a very compelling model, pay once each month for access to an entire catalogue of movies and TV shows is amazing. It's just really frustrating to watch streaming platforms hemorrhage content as the original media owners look towards higher licensing fees or even consider standing up their own streaming service, making yet another streaming service you have to pay for to access content.
You can buy a DVD today still, also, even if you're talking about something that is streaming only, buying a subscription to a service is easy. If you don't think there's enough value in it, that's a different conversation.
Can't play a DVD on a phone/tablet though. Unless you want to rip it, and that's way more difficult/time consuming than a torrent.
Setting aside that some physical media does come with a digital download/digital code/whatever, or that you can just purchase digital media direct, or that you can just use use a streaming service on your phone/tablet, if you look at the top of this thread, we're talking about "moral justification" for piracy.
You're not suggesting that the small hurdle required to clear before you can watch a DVD specifically your phone or tablet justifies piracy beyond you just not wanting to pay for it, are you? If so, you're making OP's point...
Also, using handbrake is not "way more difficult/time consuming than a torrent", come on.
You're not suggesting that the small hurdle required to clear before you can watch a DVD specifically your phone or tablet justifies piracy beyond you just not wanting to pay for it, are you? If so, you're making OP's point...
Also, using handbrake is not "way more difficult/time consuming than a torrent", come on.
> if you look at the top of this thread, we're talking about "moral justification" for piracy.
No, that comment was saying morality is just an excuse. This thread is about convenience being the main reason for piracy.
>If so, you're making OP's point...
Yeah, that's why I responded to you instead of them.
No, that comment was saying morality is just an excuse. This thread is about convenience being the main reason for piracy.
>If so, you're making OP's point...
Yeah, that's why I responded to you instead of them.
> I bet the amount of pirating of Netflix content is up since password sharing is being clamped down on
I pay for Netflix and Prime but typically stream their content on pirate sites - because pirate sites at least try to deliver a good experience.
I pay for Netflix and Prime but typically stream their content on pirate sites - because pirate sites at least try to deliver a good experience.
This is not entirely true. There are services that provide pirated TV and streaming for a subscription.
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/150656/europese-politiekorpsen-r...
Remember there was a time when criminals made lots of money selling bootleg DVDs and CDs. Obviously those buyers had money.
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/150656/europese-politiekorpsen-r...
Remember there was a time when criminals made lots of money selling bootleg DVDs and CDs. Obviously those buyers had money.
Pirating was annoying and I was happy to sign up for streaming services, but I just canceled my Hulu due to the price increases. Fortunately I haven't been kicked off my parents' Netflix yet haha. Not that there are any good shows on there anymore.
This nails the streaming value proposition, it has to be cheap enough and less annoying than pirating.
Since your parents are paying for your netflix you have a tilted/unbalanced view of the 'cost' to you of piracy.
Since your parents are paying for your netflix you have a tilted/unbalanced view of the 'cost' to you of piracy.
Why is pirating annoying?
More work than just opening your app. At least as long as you need just that single app. The ease of streaming disappears quickly when you need 4 different apps need to keep track of which show is where.
I don’t follow. Why is going to Netflix more cumbersome than going to SFlix?
Netflix is easy. Netflix+Disney+Amazon+more is cumbersome.
Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, et al. or SFlix.
How long until popular YouTube content ends up torrent sites, as the war on ad-blockers escalates?
already there, as there is no guarantee that a video will exist forever on Youtube.
many people hoard youtube videos just because they fear that those video will disappear when they need them.
many people hoard youtube videos just because they fear that those video will disappear when they need them.
There was a great fan-made film clip to a John Zorn song that was on YT for years. Then one day, gone. Erased from the internet a magnificently disturbing piece of artistry.
Luckily I downloaded it, but that means in time it'll cease to exist. I could re-upload it, but that feels like an invitation to have my account terminated with prejudice.
Luckily I downloaded it, but that means in time it'll cease to exist. I could re-upload it, but that feels like an invitation to have my account terminated with prejudice.
For me those were some viral videos from the older internet. It is not because those videos violate YouTube policies or anything. The uploaders just closed their accounts. Some videos just exist in my memory now.
Part of it is already there. Think Music videos, exclusive Youtube content/partnerships, Country bloqued content, Full movies, etc ...
Pretty long I'd guess, seeing as you can just put down €7 for a month of ad-free viewing.
And Netflix for another 20, and Disney plus for another 20, and peacock for another 20, and another 20 for the BigCo CEO retirement fund, and voila!
Why do you need Netflix and Disney and YT at the same time? How much free time do you have in a month?
That's a lot of money IMO especially if you don't use it that much. I cancelled my Spotify too as I would use 2-5 hours a month and €11 is not worth it.
If you don't use it that much you can just build up a backlog, then get 1 month of ad-free viewing and binge it. Though if you don't use it that much you probably won't be bothered that much by the ads anyway.
That's now, but as we know, prices tend to increase. Netflix was what? 5-10 usd in the past?
It's already happening. Why sign up for yet another subscription service to see that one members-only video?
What do you mean "that one members-only video"? I'm saying that with Premium Lite (which is 7EUR) you can watch videos ad-free for a month on YT. For people who care about not seeing ads it seems like a decent deal. Much better than Twitch where it's 5EUR per channel you subscribe to, which means if you want to watch videos from more than 1 creator ad-free it's already a better deal.
And people who don't feel like paying 7EUR/month can choose to either:
A) Just watch the ads, or
B) Build up a backlog and then binge it all in a month.
And people who don't feel like paying 7EUR/month can choose to either:
A) Just watch the ads, or
B) Build up a backlog and then binge it all in a month.
how/why would there be correct pirating statistics lmao
Every time piracy rises to the level where it becomes a problem, the root cause is always poor product/market fit by the content owners. Every. Single. Time.
100% agree. I don't want to rent access to my music or rent access to TV/movies/anime through whatever people use now and have it able to be taken away from me or altered. Motley Crue's music is like 30 year old and was getting taken off and put back up in different compilation albums multiple times in 2019-2021. I want to own and keep forever, and it's extremely difficult to buy a copy of any of that stuff so I just go on rutracker with Firefox's translate tool and get what I want.
Piracy as a whole is absolutely seeing a resurgence. The fragmentation of cable into the streaming era started wonderfully. There was a time when one or two subscriptions could service your media needs. I think the most egregious offender is the NFL. To follow your team, you need all these services: ESPN, Peacock, Paramount+, Amazon. Or, you can pay for a sub-par service offered by the NFL.
Ultimately, we are paying more for less content with more ads than cable. AND they are selling our data on top of everything.
Piracy will gain enough momentum to warrant government intervention that will further degrade and rob us of internet freedom. Mark my words.
Ultimately, we are paying more for less content with more ads than cable. AND they are selling our data on top of everything.
Piracy will gain enough momentum to warrant government intervention that will further degrade and rob us of internet freedom. Mark my words.
I see it the same way.
In the long run imo only two options:
a) finally figure out licensing and platforming ambitions to unify so that the onus is not on customers
b) upgrade your democracies; become Switzerland
Ideally both.
In the long run imo only two options:
a) finally figure out licensing and platforming ambitions to unify so that the onus is not on customers
b) upgrade your democracies; become Switzerland
Ideally both.
With Encrypted Client Hello being rolled out (default on Firefox, optional on chrome/edge with Cloudflare DNS). ISPs can't technically block any website anymore.
They used to block DNS requests, then when secure DNS rolled out, they targeted SNI requests.
But with ECH there is nothing to block except the ip address, which is dynamic and doesn't even belong to the website if it was hosted on a CDN.
They used to block DNS requests, then when secure DNS rolled out, they targeted SNI requests.
But with ECH there is nothing to block except the ip address, which is dynamic and doesn't even belong to the website if it was hosted on a CDN.
I always felt blocking such sites meant even worse for the users. If you google a pirate or ahem porn right now, it will just send you even more shady sites because all legit ones are blocked. Even searching "websitename bla bla" will send you to a copy of websitename that looks like it but it is with more adware and possible malware
Imho that's because of the recent google enshitification.. make sure to add keywords such as "reddit" to get recommendations from real ppl. It's quite ironic that up until recently we could use technology to get recommendations but now we need real people.
Unfortunately marketing agencies (and now LLMs) are incredible at generating Reddit content.
From how out of touch I am with my generation I fail to realize how many people watch TV and anime and whatever through those weird, peculiarly named "free TV and movies" websites with the pop-up ads and kinda-okay quality that have JS scripts and tons of protections to prevent you from downloading the content, one even somehow activated my browser's back button if I opened the developer tools. Who is owning these websites and why aren't they as easily taken down? It's certainly not hard to find them if the most technologically illiterate people I know find them easily.
These sites do get taken down relatively frequently, but their owners are masters of ban evasion and quickly reopen them under another name or sell them to someone else who does, as it recently happened with a certain anime site formerly named after a green-haired swordsman.
There usually is a hefty layer of indirection and obfuscation between the sites and the actual content served, presumably to make these moves easier (moving a frontend is certainly much easier than moving a multi-terabyte library of pirated media) while also preventing other similar sites from leeching off the same content. The smaller ones additionally tend to employ fairly aggressive SEO techniques, which is why finding them is easy despite the continuous takedowns and name changes; the largest ones seem to rely mostly on word of mouth, just like their torrent counterparts.
There usually is a hefty layer of indirection and obfuscation between the sites and the actual content served, presumably to make these moves easier (moving a frontend is certainly much easier than moving a multi-terabyte library of pirated media) while also preventing other similar sites from leeching off the same content. The smaller ones additionally tend to employ fairly aggressive SEO techniques, which is why finding them is easy despite the continuous takedowns and name changes; the largest ones seem to rely mostly on word of mouth, just like their torrent counterparts.
When I got back into piracy this year, I found out my projector had both Wifi, storage, DLNA sharing and a whole modified Android OS on it
it’s really good! I’ve gone weeks without even using any of the devices connected via HDMI and a lot of the video quality is way better than what the streaming services would send, or what the stability of my internet connection would show, or what that devices version of the streaming app would show
4k rips with latest compression formats are nice
it’s really good! I’ve gone weeks without even using any of the devices connected via HDMI and a lot of the video quality is way better than what the streaming services would send, or what the stability of my internet connection would show, or what that devices version of the streaming app would show
4k rips with latest compression formats are nice
Yeah it often makes me aware of their existence. Though I didn't really have a need to go looking for one while RARBG existed because it was so good. RIP :'(
Pirating movies has become so easy that people can almost not tell they are pirating movies.
One example is popcorntime or webtorrent + finding the movie in Yify.
One example is popcorntime or webtorrent + finding the movie in Yify.
Yes but be careful. In some countries like Germany with low consumer protections you will get extortion letters from random lawyers when you use popcorn time.
> In some countries like Germany with low consumer protections you will get extortion letters from random lawyers when you use popcorn time.
I believe there was some cases in Sweden or Denmark aswell were users got those extortion letters aswell.
Scary stuff, out of curiosity, how much do you have to torrent in order to be a target by these lawyers? I guess seeding those torrents makes you a bigger target?
I believe there was some cases in Sweden or Denmark aswell were users got those extortion letters aswell.
Scary stuff, out of curiosity, how much do you have to torrent in order to be a target by these lawyers? I guess seeding those torrents makes you a bigger target?
As a recipient of such a letter, I can tell you that the amount you torrent isn't really the problem, it's about the specific content. It works like this: copyright lawyer company monitors torrent trackers, then goes to a copyright-friendly court/judge with a list of IP-addresses that were up/downloading the copyrighted content of the media company they represent, they get some kind of court order from the judge to pressure ISPs to give up information about users behind the IP-addresses.
The letter I got was from Universal's lawyers and amongst the various movies I downloaded, all they cared about was the new "Dune". The letter was detailed with lots of lecturing, legalese, timestamps, info hash of the content and at the end they ask for 400€ or else they might escalate in court. I didn't want to pay or risk it, so there is another lawyer who specializes in these letters who you can pay 200€ to take care of things.
I saw the whole thing as a lesson learned that yes, I am being surveilled and no, my ISP is not my friend, but an adversary who keeps logs and doesn't care much about protecting my privacy. From now on I do most of my browsing and all torrenting via Mullvad VPN, paid for with Monero.
The letter I got was from Universal's lawyers and amongst the various movies I downloaded, all they cared about was the new "Dune". The letter was detailed with lots of lecturing, legalese, timestamps, info hash of the content and at the end they ask for 400€ or else they might escalate in court. I didn't want to pay or risk it, so there is another lawyer who specializes in these letters who you can pay 200€ to take care of things.
I saw the whole thing as a lesson learned that yes, I am being surveilled and no, my ISP is not my friend, but an adversary who keeps logs and doesn't care much about protecting my privacy. From now on I do most of my browsing and all torrenting via Mullvad VPN, paid for with Monero.
Once is enough. They just need to catch your IP once. Like roxil said, they are looking for specific content usually. Mostly new releases. I guess this looks better in front of a judge too, instead of going to court over watching a blurry episode from a show from the 80s that has been rerun on free TV hundreds of itmes.
Most of the people I know that pirate movies just watch them on pirate sites.
There's a specific site for watching animation (including anime) that has a better interface and search than Crunchyroll and it's free. There are pop-up ads that are easily blocked with uBlock Origin.
There's a specific site for watching animation (including anime) that has a better interface and search than Crunchyroll and it's free. There are pop-up ads that are easily blocked with uBlock Origin.
good old streisand effect, classic.
It's often articles on TF that alert me to the existence of specific sites. Seems I may be in good company.
Instead of not consuming, pirates use all sort of mental gymnastics to justify their consumption without paying or following the terms involved.
I guess it’s no surprise many of these parasites are taking their ideology to retail. Millions of dollars of goods are stolen yearly, and this is why we can’t have nice things. Why pay when you can take for free?
I guess it’s no surprise many of these parasites are taking their ideology to retail. Millions of dollars of goods are stolen yearly, and this is why we can’t have nice things. Why pay when you can take for free?
Calm down satan. Until you manage to manufacture physical products for free (one time cost then get inf copies, as digital content) retail theft !== digital pirating
Digital content cannot be reproduced infinitely for free. Anyone who suggests otherwise has never visited a data center.
So, your assertion in practice is to say that you believe items below a certain reproduction cost should be free. This is just the sort of mental gymnastics I’m talking about.
So, your assertion in practice is to say that you believe items below a certain reproduction cost should be free. This is just the sort of mental gymnastics I’m talking about.
I have a billionth of a data center in my “home office” that I sometimes use to copy data. No, not absolutely free but effectively so for my uses. I’m certainly not charging people money if I seed a torrent.
> consumption
This doesn’t seem like the right term; it’s correct from an economic perspective but nobody “consumes” movies the way they do food.
This doesn’t seem like the right term; it’s correct from an economic perspective but nobody “consumes” movies the way they do food.
Aside from the usual "piracy is not theft" argument, which I won't get into, you seem to be missing the fact that in a significant number of cases piracy actually drives legal sales. I have seen quite a few people who pirated a game and liked it so much that when its sequel came out they bought it on day 1 at full price, or recommended it to their friends who in turn proceeded to buy it. The movie/TV/anime merchandise market is larger than ever and I'm pretty sure even pirates like to spend a few bucks here and there if they can afford it; we already know merch is far more profitable than streaming service royalties for most musicians, so I would expect the same to be true for other parts of the media industry.
How many people did you see pirate and not buy? Not sure what the point of this anecdote is this it’s not like pirates resort their activity rigorously in a way that can be analyzed.
>I guess it’s no surprise many of these parasites are taking their ideology to retail. Millions of dollars of goods are stolen yearly, and this is why we can’t have nice things. Why pay when you can take for free?
lol, what a silly comment. We have plenty of nice things.
lol, what a silly comment. We have plenty of nice things.
https://counciloncj.org/mid-year-2023-crime-trends/
Theft rates are falling excluding vehicle theft
Theft rates are falling excluding vehicle theft
Why are you arbitrarily excluding vehicles?
I was responding to a statement you made that you’ve now edited out of existence. So who’s to say? Maybe it was relevant.
why are you arbitrarily pretending that makes up for all other forms of theft?
When did I do that?
Your initial comment had such suggestive phrasing when taken in turn with the comment that person replied to before you edited the first one.
Before it simply said theft is on the rise, which is simply true, even using the grandparent link, unless for some reason you don’t count cars.
However I edited since whether or not it’s on the rise is actually irrelevant to my point.
However I edited since whether or not it’s on the rise is actually irrelevant to my point.
Theft is on the decline including vehicle theft because vehicle theft is a small portion.
Expand the x axis and that’s not true. Go look at their source.
theft involves removing something from its place, so you prosecute the person that takes it
piracy involves the item still being in the same place, so you have to prosecute the person that copied and gave it to someone else
piracy involves the item still being in the same place, so you have to prosecute the person that copied and gave it to someone else
At least within the us, theft associated with things like shoplifting is dwarfed by wage theft. Companies steal from their customers and employees more than the other way around. I would argue this is the purpose of the streaming model, to make sure people can't pass their media collection on to their descendants so it has to be repurchased. Theft.
Piracy is an activity within the scope of the free market, just like this institutionalized theft. Giving companies a blank check while holding individuals to the highest standard is a more impressive feat of mental gymnastics.
Piracy is an activity within the scope of the free market, just like this institutionalized theft. Giving companies a blank check while holding individuals to the highest standard is a more impressive feat of mental gymnastics.
I agree that wage theft is a problem but in this particular discussion it’s a “whataboutism”. At best it’s a “two wrongs make a right” argument but I think digital content piracy has an easier justification than that.
I don’t have to convince myself that piracy is okay: I do not see what is wrong with it. Others do. It’s on them to make the case against it and nobody makes a compelling case -- not one that I’ve read or heard. The talk of but it’s theft fails to see that piracy is markedly different from theft. It’s going to a different store where it’s on offer for free.
I don’t have to convince myself that piracy is okay: I do not see what is wrong with it. Others do. It’s on them to make the case against it and nobody makes a compelling case -- not one that I’ve read or heard. The talk of but it’s theft fails to see that piracy is markedly different from theft. It’s going to a different store where it’s on offer for free.
I absolutely agree that digital piracy isn't the same as physical theft. It can even improve sales.
My point is more that railing against small time media piracy while actual crimes are committed against human beings by big companies plays directly into the hands of those seeking to further the imbalance of power.
My point is more that railing against small time media piracy while actual crimes are committed against human beings by big companies plays directly into the hands of those seeking to further the imbalance of power.
I don't really justify. I just pirate because I can. I don't really care about the moral discussion at all. YMMV of course.
I did share a Netflix account before the clampdown but now I pirate again. I just take the road of least resistance. Like water.
I did share a Netflix account before the clampdown but now I pirate again. I just take the road of least resistance. Like water.
Indeed, and those who take items from the aisle at Target and walk out the door are also taking the road of least resistance. Such a hassle to go and check out, after all.
First of all, it doesn't feel the same to me at all.
Second, it's about the chance of getting caught. With online piracy this is zero. Doing that at target will net you a criminal record even if you're really good.
Conisder another example: You're hiking through the hills, are getting hungry and there's an apple orchard you can easily reach from the trail. Would you take an apple?
PS I didn't mean to make this a heated discussion, though it's obviously a hot take. I just wanted to explain my point of view. I'm kinda beyond justifying this.
Second, it's about the chance of getting caught. With online piracy this is zero. Doing that at target will net you a criminal record even if you're really good.
Conisder another example: You're hiking through the hills, are getting hungry and there's an apple orchard you can easily reach from the trail. Would you take an apple?
PS I didn't mean to make this a heated discussion, though it's obviously a hot take. I just wanted to explain my point of view. I'm kinda beyond justifying this.
You can be against piracy, totally understandable, but your not going to convince anyone to not pirate media with this kind of strained comparison and dismissive sarcasm.
There is a pretty obvious difference between copying data (which leaves the original available) and removing a physical item from a store (which does not leave the original available). You can still consider both to be wrong, but they should be differentiated.
It is also worth trying to understand why people pirate, and addressing those issues, rather than just have snarky comment wars.
There is a pretty obvious difference between copying data (which leaves the original available) and removing a physical item from a store (which does not leave the original available). You can still consider both to be wrong, but they should be differentiated.
It is also worth trying to understand why people pirate, and addressing those issues, rather than just have snarky comment wars.
My goal is not to convince, merely my own comment i was broadcasting.
Though, I’m as interested in why people pirate as I am why people steal from stores.
Though, I’m as interested in why people pirate as I am why people steal from stores.
The old "1-0=1-1" argument. You are unlikely to convince anybody here that this is true.
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All those fucking freeloaders using a DVR and fast-forwarding over the ads!
I think they should get the death penalty for violating the terms of service./s
I think they should get the death penalty for violating the terms of service./s
I don't remember who this was but there was some Congressional hearing or somesuch where one of the execs begrudgingly permitted that it was okay to get up and go to the bathroom during an ad and that wouldn't count as stealing. :)
Those are the results from 'interstellar torrent'.
The takedowns are largely free advertising for the legitimate sites. It requires some basic level of knowledge, but that's true of even just using e.g. torrents on average, so it's probably a quite meaningful factor in this.
[1] - https://lumendatabase.org/notices/32859507
[2] - https://lumendatabase.org/notices/34353453
[3] - https://lumendatabase.org/notices/24237273