We would still need to watch calling it the individual writer’s entitlement. A worker is worth a wage, and that is their intellectual property.
And really, that’s why no one can agree.
Sometimes it makes me wonder why s person who is used to seeing everything stolen in their nation, sees how it works, why do they write?
That’s a tougher question to answer as an outsider.
I don’t think entitled is an appropriate term to describe the writer, either. I wouldn’t call anyone entitled because they think their work should not be stolen.
I called her specifically (the writer who posted that tweet and decided to create a whole list of people who pirate books) incapable of empathy, because that is what would lead to someone declaring they “don’t care how poor you are or what 3rd world country you come from”, and she is ignorant because of her claims such as “if you can pirate books, you can find countless free reading resources online” which can be broken by so many points that I don’t have the energy to go through right now.
Understandable.
I also expect other extremes such as people who know this situation and use that arguemnts to hide their own theft behind, when they are specifically in a situation that doesn’t need it. I’m NOT saying anyone here is doing this, it’s just my cynicism about people.
That’s a funny and scary thought.
This is a nice civill way to put it XD. I probably would’ve had a much less eloquent way of saying that.
This made me think of some asian countries I’ve heard have rather “controlling” (for lack of a better word) governments have been known to filter certain materials from their people.
It’s part of what amuses me about “America Bashing” (really, any 1st world nation bashing): don’t get me wrong, there’s things that need to change, but I’m often willing to bet if they are complaining about here while managing to be strict about piracy and the like, what stats they have been selectively spoonfed by their particular ideology is going to be seriously lacking when looked into. And on top of this, I expect it’s while blaming those who are all “rah rah go team” for being globally clueless.
Yes. People again. Not person.
Yes, there are sadly a lot of those… and not just restricted to Asian countries, either.
It’s also partly why I wrote:
in the previous thread.
In my country for example, communism is actually illegal, including the study thereof. This comes from a period in our history in the 1960s where the (now banned) communist party were accused of planning a mass coup of the government (never mind that the person/people who made the accusation ended up…being the ones who actually coup-ed the government, proceeding to become one of the most corrupt person in the history of earth).
As a result of these accusations, there was a mass and national hunt and execution of the communist party, down to every farmer and random Joe Schmuck affiliated with it. It was also used as an opportunity for people to accuse their rivals/enemies of being a communist, in order to take over their land/business/etc. as they would be forced to flee or die in prison camps. My grandfather being one of the former.
The thing is, a lot of what we are taught about the history does not make any sense, but all books (including the ones written by our own people) about that period of time in our history are banned and we are taught only what the government allows. And if you’re caught reading stuff like that, you might just be accused of being a communist; something that people STILL do not want to be affiliated with to this day. Unless you do what I did and downloaded those books illegally from the internet.
And it’s not just about governments banning certain subjects altogether, it’s also about what is deemed acceptable in society. My country is incredibly low-tolerance on LGBTQ+ people and anything that goes against the grain of religious dogma (relationships outside of marriage, criticism of religious beliefs, etc.) and this is also reflected enormously in the types of books, movies, etc. that gets published/imported/translated. Therefore anyone looking to have representation or to have their views expanded will have to rely on… yep, pirated media.
True. I know there’s some other European and even African countries that do the same.
gasp You rebel! 
(I’m, of course, teasing, but that’s seriously another reason I could see the argument of piracy being something that happens.)
An anecdote:
There was a time when my mom bought these Star Trek DVDs because we couldn’t get the TV versions in Japan or they would all be dubbed. The thing is, around the middle of watching the bunch, we realized these were pirated DVDs from China.
What did we do?
Look at each other a little worried. Laugh it off. Forget. Continue watching.
We weren’t going to throw away the shows we love especially after we finally found some more “grown-up” TV shows we could both enjoy and watch together.
Was it okay? No.
But after that, she was careful where she got her DVDs from. Because if she continued to buy from that shop, she would be supporting the piracy business.
A kind of rhetorical question:
My partner watches these anime-reaction channels. He also watches the anime through the channels instead of renting it on Amazon or a video-rental place. With commentary from the YouTuber, but apparently you can watch the entire thing. Idk if those videos are monetized, but does that mean my partner is watching pirated anime?
Hmm 
ah yes, all those free online resources. The… /checks clipboard/ pirated ones.
That’s actually something I kind of hit on earlier, but it is an interesting question.
Really the source that is safest is the Gutenberg Project, but that’s for things that don’t have a copyright anymore, which means it’s a great education source as long as your nation doesn’t have it blocked. Entertainment? Less so.
The way that MSt3K got around this was they did their comments timed to the videos, and can tell you which version of the movie it is set up for, called Riff Tracks.
YouTube gets rid of a lot of recognizable songs, so it’s probably a good bit of grey area.
i found an academic journal article called “Piracy Fills a Publishing Need” and it is extremely ironically behind a paywall.
I’m pulled in both directions, and I’ve been on both sides of the coin (as someone who both understands and has, in some ways, pirated something, but as someone who is against it in other ways).
WHY I’M AGAINST IT:
No matter where you receive your books from or who you’re reading, it does actually harm the authors regardless of where they’re published. It does more harm to self-published authors than traditional ones, but it still harms the traditional authors because publishers do keep a record of how many people have pirated your books, etc. and it can actually change their minds on continuing to publish you, including other publishers around if you’re dropped. This also means that you can no longer be traditionally published and your career is completely flopped. You have a sale record the publishers keep, and if you don’t sell enough books, you don’t get to keep producing books. Sales are everything in that industry, and not everyone can afford to self-publish.
So if all the fans of, say, Leigh Bardugo, decided to pirate her books to save money, Leigh’s publishers may see the huge decrease in sales and drop her as an author. And some publishers may see this and not want to take risks (because writing IS a business when you publish). So then what? Sure, Leigh can try to self-publish, but then she’s pouring money into her books from her own pockets that will eventually run out and her sales will continue to decrease as people keep pirating her books. She then will eventually have no choice but to stop publishing. Of course, there’s the off chance she continues to publish (whether for profit or post it on a website) but then it comes out slower and slower because she can’t put all of her focus on it due to full-time jobs and family and life, and it becomes a hobby rather than an actual business.
Yes, it’s true—writing isn’t made to be a full-time job because you’re not paid enough. But for those who want to continue producing it as a part-time job still need money to publish it (if self-publishing for profit), and since most are poor and have other priorities, publishing may be at the back of your mind at that point.
But if Leigh Bardugo stopped writing or publishing, that means you won’t be able to read anything new from your favorite author. And if you’re the one who pirated her books, you were part of that reasoning.
Writers don’t make a lot of money from writing, and you’re taking that small dream away from them because those who do publish—regardless which industry—would love to make money from writing, from their art.
I mean, how would you feel if let’s say, you wanted to become a photographer and people didn’t want to pay you for your services—and this actually happens in the industry—like, how would you feel if you spent your own money on a hotel, you worked throughout the entire day and night (from 8am, shooting the bride getting ready for the ceremony, to 2am, ending the whole reception party), then spending weeks on editing footage and pictures, hours a day… and then the couple said they didn’t like the results, didn’t want to pay you, and instead, just used all the pictures and videos their friends and family did that day for their albums, etc. How would you feel? Spent so much time, so much of your own money…? Wouldn’t you feel like you were ripped off? Angry? That you were taken for granted? Because this kind of thing happens all the time for photographers, and I know many who create contracts, etc. to prevent this all from happening.
When it comes to publishing, that’s how it feels—people are taking advantage of you and your hard work. In this day and age, people will do anything to get something for free. People have said things like, a cousin they’ve never met or talk to before would find out they work at Disney World and ask for free tickets for over ten people. Or, you sell your paintings, crafts, or bake goods, people will ask if they can have it for free. As strangers, as friends, as family. And in some cases, like for sisters and parents and best friends, it can be fine depending on your boundaries, but if a friend you rarely talk to asks for your services (especially if it’s a constant thing) and wants it for free, it’s a sign that you’re being taken advantage of… and that’s not a good thing.
Now… WHY I’M OKAY WITH IT:
Honestly, depends.
Yes, big publishers have the money to lose. On top of it, it’s not like they’re actually paying their authors well enough. If anything, they’re problematic themselves. But I digress… The other thing is that they actually do expect to be pirated, or have an authors’ work returned (which also is a problem), so they set money aside from what an author pay make to account for that. Plus, they have lawyers they spend big money on. Guess what? They probably don’t have to fight with Amazon’s bullshit for too long because they’re big and bad. This is different for self-published authors where, if a book is a returned, services will fine the author directly and if pirated, services like Amazon will ban their book from the website… so it can’t be bought.
But when you’re pirating a book from a large publisher, they probably just shrug it off because they have the means for it, and can afford to lose twenty dollars.
The other problem is the lack of resources. There’s third world countries or developing countries that don’t have proper access to free public libraries (I recently learned about subscription libraries… what the frick?? Especially since there’s quite a few in Europe… of all places… like, you give free healthcare, but not free resources and books to the poor or lower classed citizens?) or thrift stores or yard sales. These are the main places you can find free or very low priced books. Or, if someone gives away books for free or if there’s places online that have used books.
But if you have no access to these whatsoever, I do find it understandable. But moreso when it comes to textbooks and educational books like so because like, why are they hundreds to thousands of dollars? Especially when, in many cases, teachers will only need you to read like one chapter that’s two pages out of it for the whole year…? 
I had no trouble downloading the pdf from this site. See if it works for you. If not, I’ve got the pdf file myself, so I could send it to you somehow. ☜(ˆ▿ˆc)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351349021_Piracy_Fills_a_Publishing_Need
Woah, that was long, but I did it! I didn’t know about publishers setting aside money in the case of a book getting returned from an author’s pay though - that’s nuts!
hmm, this article is a 2016 publication in The Chronicle of Higher Education whereas the article I was trying to look at was a 2017 publication in the Journal of Information Ethics. But they have the same title, so they might be the same article 
i’ll have to check the author’s name when i get on my computer.
Thanks though! i’ll read this one too