Banned from XBOX Live.... Is this guy for real?

[jim]

Scary thing is, my son's friends are the same age as him, they are all 6 or 7 and they are already in the mindset of downloading what they can from wherever they can.

Hmm, at that age it's a bit of a different situation though - if they're told that they can get stuff off the internet then I'm not sure that the fact they're stealing it is the issue - it's probably the only way they can get it at all.

[Grey M@a]

Hmm, at that age it's a bit of a different situation though - if they're told that they can get stuff off the internet then I'm not sure that the fact they're stealing it is the issue - it's probably the only way they can get it at all.

I have spoken to one of the parents and they said they couldn't see the harm in it 0.o luckily though my son seems to grasp the idea that it's not right in the first place. Although he has now got the idea that the police are going to take his friends to jail and he gets worried about it xD

[TooNice]

I know some people who download materials until they started getting well-paid job. But those are people who knew that it is illegal in the first place. I wonder if by thinking that it's fine at a young age, those kids may are on a path of no-return - and won't be able to explain to their own kids.

[pauldarkside]

Scary thing is, my son's friends are the same age as him, they are all 6 or 7 and they are already in the mindset of downloading what they can from wherever they can.

I blame the parents. *runs*

Is that really any different than how people saw taping the radio of swapping floppy disks, etc back when they were kids?

No offense intended, wouldn't it be an ideal time for some home education?

Edit: sorry, was a bit slow in getting this posted - trying to play Borderlands at same time

[Lucio]

I love the analogies people come up with to try and compare computer piracy!

Let's face it, what it's really like is making a copy of something someone else owns, and using the copy without paying for it

[Grey M@a]

I know some people who download materials until they started getting well-paid job. But those are people who knew that it is illegal in the first place. I wonder if by thinking that it's fine at a young age, those kids may are on a path of no-return - and won't be able to explain to their own kids.

I think half the problem is people think it will never happen to them. It's the same with anything though, you grow up with it happening around you daily and you know no better yourself, it's the norm. The other problem with it would be that the only time it is ever mentioned is when there is a big case of it hitting the TV's in the news, other than that it's not really taught to the younger generation etc, that's why, fingers crossed, I can explain to my kid why he shouldn't do it etc.

[TooNice]

All the best with that. Of course, there is also the issue of peer pressure. If he sees that all his friends still have all the latest music on their iPod in 2 years time, not a single one visited by a policeman, it may just be enough to crave in.

[Grey M@a]

I blame the parents. *runs*

Is that really any different than how people saw taping the radio of swapping floppy disks, etc back when they were kids?

No offense intended, wouldn't it be an ideal time for some home education?

Edit: sorry, was a bit slow in getting this posted - trying to play Borderlands at same time

It would be yes and I agree with you, although it's not my son that does it He thinks if he does it he will go to jail with his friends lol Don't know where he got that from but he understands its wrong.

TooNice:

All the best with that. Of course, there is also the issue of peer pressure. If he sees that all his friends still have all the latest music on their iPod in 2 years time, not a single one visited by a policeman, it may just be enough to crave in.

That will be the problem as you say, they see everyone else doing it and getting away with it. Hopefully I can educate him enough so he will think twice about it. Also the speed of broadband these days makes it a lot easier to grab something in a few minutes. Back in the day on a 14.4 or 28.8bps modem you were lucky if you could get to a handful of pages in a decent time let alone a movie or an album etc xD

[TooNice]

Well, I'd say that there is a difference between floppy and download at least in terms of how quickly you can spread materials (it's just more work). With floppies it's unlikely that the material will quickly end up in the other side of the world, with P2P, not so.
[But yes, it's still piracy.]

[pauldarkside]

Well, I'd say that there is a difference between floppy and download at least in terms of how quickly you can spread materials (it's just more work). With floppies it's unlikely that the material will quickly end up in the other side of the world, with P2P, not so.
[But yes, it's still piracy.]

Sorry, I understand it's still piracy. I was trying to talk about the educational side of things, I know at that age I had no comprehension as to what copyright theft or piracy was about, no idea of the negative impact, etc.

What sort of education are kids getting about it? And I mean apart from Dodgy Dave or whatever that was.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Could you imagine MS blocking PCs because they have pirated software ... wait.

Now that would be interesting lol

[99Flake]

I must agree with Pauldarkside on this one.

When I was a kid I had an A500, it was the norm to swap floppy disks in the playground so we could go home and copy them. I must say that 50% of my A500 software was probably a copy.

Back then though it was a far less taboo subject, people seemed to accept it. Much like people used to drink and drive or more recently smoke in a pub.

These days both of those are frowned upon, drinking and driving is a real no no and carries a suitable penalty, smoking in public places is not allowed and carries a significant fine (whether you agree with it or not). To me, as a smoker, I would now find the idea of lighting up inside very alien and odd. It is the natural way of things, education and the stigma attached to it soon overrides any old desires to do what was seen as normal.

The thing is with software is that there is very little education about it at a young age, it seems ok, like you aren't harming anyone and so people carry on. I for one would not ask to copy a disk any more, it would feel wrong and I think the same is true for many people. Digital downloads on the other hand seem to not have quite got there yet, it is almost as if because there is no physical media and you can't see it then it is ok.

Until there are very serious crack downs on downloading (and this isn't an arguement on whether or not the government or ISPs or anyone else is intruding) I can't see piracy having the same 'anti-social' label as other things that are illegal.

In a way it is a shame as I do believe in paying for my music/films/games and I can't see any arguement not to pay for them but I do see how people choose the 'if I can get it for nothing I will' option. It is those people that need to be taught, maybe from an early age, to get them to feel they are doing something wrong, they need to 'feel' guilty as they do it.

[mmh]

I have to say that when i was 12/13 i had the ps1 which was chipped (i had about 6 of them, they all broke, lazer burnt out or it got smashed off the wall (long story))... the reason i had copied games was because i literally didnt have the money, i was 12 and no job and my parents werent in the position to buy me a £40 game every few weeks when i wanted them....

i then got out of gaming until i was about 20... then i bought a ps3, wii and xbox, and although i have friends that actually do the chipping, i refuse to get copied games, no matter how cheap i can get hold of them... I'd rather own the item that i want... it also makes it so i dont waste my time on dodgy, or rubbish games... i only buy games that are going to be decent!

look for bargains...

own the game, and dont get put in the position where you can get banned!

[TooNice]

Sorry, I understand it's still piracy. I was trying to talk about the educational side of things, I know at that age I had no comprehension as to what copyright theft or piracy was about, no idea of the negative impact, etc.

Oh, I was not trying to disagree with you. I remember students freely copying games to/from school computer with virus infected (hole punched - who still remember that trick - 3.5") floppy disks yet whoever in charge of maintaining the computers didn't do much about it. I meant to say that the damage in [i]potential[i] lost sales back then was probably less than today, not that it made it any less wrong back then.

[Agent]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up863eQKGUI

Because it's too cool not to link.

edit - oh, a sequel!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUCyv...eature=related

[Lucio]

I must agree with Pauldarkside on this one.

When I was a kid I had an A500, it was the norm to swap floppy disks in the playground so we could go home and copy them. I must say that 50% of my A500 software was probably a copy.

Back then though it was a far less taboo subject, people seemed to accept it. Much like people used to drink and drive or more recently smoke in a pub.
....

Could it really be that we've fallen into the same trap as every generation does? Assuming that whilst of course we did all the naughty things, the current generation is obviously *far* more irresponsible about them?

I know I certainly copied the odd game when I was younger, the only real difference now is the *rate* at which you can make illegal copies. Instead of being limited to what your friends have, you can get access to virtually anything and that, IMO, is the difference and not the attitudes of people.

Let's face it, most of us will at some point in our lives, pirate something, whether it's due to cost (Microsoft Office, Adobe CS etc.) or curiosity (trying out a new band or game before making a purchase). The only thing the industry can do to minimise it is to make a reasonable chunk of content available either very cheaply (iTunes for example) or free (game demos)