Oh, and also from ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anaid_rabbit...
May. 13th, 2005 09:37 amconuly
In which I repeat a lot of tired old arguments.
This was their problem with VCRs, wasn't it?
Look, the problem isn't the downloading... well, some of it may be downloading, though I'd like to see some impartial estimates over how much they've lost. It's their lack of a carrot.
See, right now they just want to STOP THE MADNESS. And that's fair, that's fair. But it'll come to nothing if they can't come up with a replacement for people who, say, have no other way to view those shows due to their location. Who missed the shows the first time. Whose legal recordings didn't record the first time 'round.
I can't guarantee it, but I can say with some confidence that people would be willing to watch legal downloaded shows for a small surcharge, or with commercials intact (or maybe just on top of the page or something. Nobody really likes commercial breaks, do they?) if the choice really was between that or watching our favorite shows go into oblivion because of a lack of funds.
But instead, we've got lawsuits and no incentive to change our cheatin' ways. And that never works out well. At best, it creates a bunch of people who are half-educated arguing the merits of copyright laws, and lemme tell you, that's a pain and a half.
This was their problem with VCRs, wasn't it?
Look, the problem isn't the downloading... well, some of it may be downloading, though I'd like to see some impartial estimates over how much they've lost. It's their lack of a carrot.
See, right now they just want to STOP THE MADNESS. And that's fair, that's fair. But it'll come to nothing if they can't come up with a replacement for people who, say, have no other way to view those shows due to their location. Who missed the shows the first time. Whose legal recordings didn't record the first time 'round.
I can't guarantee it, but I can say with some confidence that people would be willing to watch legal downloaded shows for a small surcharge, or with commercials intact (or maybe just on top of the page or something. Nobody really likes commercial breaks, do they?) if the choice really was between that or watching our favorite shows go into oblivion because of a lack of funds.
But instead, we've got lawsuits and no incentive to change our cheatin' ways. And that never works out well. At best, it creates a bunch of people who are half-educated arguing the merits of copyright laws, and lemme tell you, that's a pain and a half.
