File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime

from the it's-a-starter-drug dept

Pulling a page from anti-drug advocates who claim that some drugs lead to harder drug usage, the recording industry up in Canada has now released a study (which they paid for, of course) that says that kids who download unauthorized files online are more likely to cheat on exams and to shoplift. Also, because what's the recording industry without some hyperbole, they want you to know that it "threatens the economy." What they really mean, of course, is that it threatens their particular industry and their particular business model -- which (despite their own beliefs) does not equal "the economy." Still, it seems like at least some in the press are getting fed up with the recording industry constantly making these kinds of claims. One reporter, who challenges the bias of the company that did the study, jokes that it's like "old joke about the puritan minister who condemns sex standing up because it might lead to dancing." If only it were that funny.

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  1.  

    They paid for nothing...

    identicon
    Jimmy, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 4:22pm

    Let's see, why would anyone shop-lift when they can get it from the internet with less of a risk? I mean c'mon! I wonder how much they paid for that crap of a report/study as it is more false than my grandmother's teeth!

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Re: They paid for nothing...

    identicon
    K Jak, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 5:17pm

    How do you propose I download oh let's say... a lamp?

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Re: They paid for nothing...

    identicon
    Tiramisu, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 5:27pm

    you can download lamps here...
    http://www.freelamps.com/

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Lemme get this straight

    identicon
    Luke, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 5:42pm

    I am a straight A student who achieves top marks. I also happen to download the occasional song every so often. Does that mean I am more likely to cheat then that poser who never shows up for class and does drugs? Right.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Re: Lemme get this straight

    identicon
    DynamicLynk, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 6:37pm

    I agree downloading does hurt these corporations, and industries mbut I cant afford lets say Windows or Microsoft office. There is no way I can pay 4, 5 or $600 dollars for a piece of software create a resume in Word or what not.

    I know that still doesn't make it right but if they would make software cheaper for the average consumer they would make more money in the long run and have more supporters for their products, and still make the big buck from enterprise sized companies.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    Next they will be telling us

    identicon
    Anons Anonymous, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 7:31pm

    ...if we download copyrighted files we will go blind. And the finger we use to push the mouse button will fall off.
    And we'll go to fiery hell.

    Uh. Or something like that.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime

    identicon
    Wyvern, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 8:11pm

    "... that says that kids who download unauthorized files online are more likely to cheat on exams and to shoplift." I did drugs, stole, cheated on tests, and now I download music. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    Re: File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 8:25pm

    A paradigm shift needs to oocur. The world could stop thinking in terms of private ownership, and begin to think in terms of public ownership. Every one would have a vested interest in creating better music and sharing it for example. thinking globally. McLuhan's Global Village is here, and we've only just begun.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  

    Re: File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime

    identicon
    Rikko, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 9:36pm

    Wonderful idea, but doesn't really work when we have an economy.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  

    Well duh....

    identicon
    Ben McNelly, Sep 29th, 2005 @ 10:24pm

    Anyone with a lick of sense knows that immorality leads to immorality, but downloading things is a gray area for many. This study is like saying, that letting girls wear mini skirts in grade school will lead them to be strippers when they are in college, or guys who like to peel every time they take off are likely to grow up to be car thieves. Absolutely absurd. I think I'll go download the whole Internet real quick just to show them I am miffed.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  

    Young Person Crime

    identicon
    Pete Austin, Sep 30th, 2005 @ 3:19am

    Re: Canadians between the ages of 18 and 29 are much more willing than other age groups to make illegal copies of software programs, cheat on exams or even shoplift, an Environics poll suggests.

    Ah, but are these youngsters more willing to:
    * Lie on their tax returns
    * Claim medical benefits they're not entitled to
    * Mistreat their own teenaged-children

    Different types of people commit different types of crime and this ridiculous survey concentrates on "young person" crime without making this clear.
    How many middle-aged people even do exams, let alone cheat on them?

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  

    Re: Lemme get this straight

    identicon
    itguy05, Sep 30th, 2005 @ 5:31am

    "I agree downloading does hurt these corporations, and industries mbut I cant afford lets say Windows or Microsoft office. There is no way I can pay 4, 5 or $600 dollars for a piece of software create a resume in Word or what not. "

    You don't need Windows or Office to resume. You can use Wordpad to make a decent Resume.

    You could use a Mac or just use the version of Windows that comes with your computer or try Linux.

    Or, God forbid a Typewriter.

    You don't need to use Office at all - There are plenty of free Office Suites available (Open Office, etc) that you could use.

    Saying you need to steal Office or Windows is a pointless argument.

    You NEED FOOD, WATER, and CLOTHING. You don't need a computer.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  

    Correlation does not imply causation

    identicon
    Fritz Knack, Sep 30th, 2005 @ 5:58am

    Without trying to get into a holy war about whether grass is dangerous or file-sharing is stealing, for the sake of argument assume that neither is the case.

    Kid smokes grass, hangs out with other kids who do. Grass is illegal and requires access to a black market distribution network of some sort, and good business folks of any ilk are always on the lookout to market new products. I have no doubt that marijuana is a "gateway drug" but I have always strongly suspected that it's because the users are already involved in the criminal market rather than that they're looking for different and more dangerous chemical recreation. "The Man" says "drugs will kill you." Grass doesn't, so he lied. If you're going to lie to a kid about the small stuff, why should he believe you on the big?

    I can see how filesharing would similarly serve as a gateway to theft and cheating. It's not that big a leap from the realization that downloading a song doesn't actually hurt anyone to the realization that the record company loses only a dollar or so (and the artist virtually nothing). Cheating on an exam is essentially lying, but the record companies lie to protect their own interests when they say you're stealing by downloading, so lying on a test should be okay, right?

    Small steps, unintended consequences, and all that.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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