On Piracy: A Reply to Herman
Article written by absurdpirate
Oh boy, this one may be a doozy and maybe a bit controversial, but I saw Herman's blog post and felt compelled to write about it, because well, look at my username.
This may seem like a "biting the hand that feeds" scenario, but I want to make clear I have the utmost respect for Herman, and his philosophy is what attracted me to signing up with Bear Blog in the first place. I may not agree with everything he does (the licensing change being one of them), but I still respect the work he has done. Herman, if you're reading this, keep up the great work, and thanks for supporting the Gazette.
Anyway, the gist of Herman's post was that people were pirating his software JustSketchMe and is a:
3D modelling tool for artists to conceptualize their artwork before putting pencil to paper.
Which honestly sounds pretty neat, I'm not much of an artist, but I could see this being a pretty useful tool.
So, Herman found through a google search that people were pirating his software (which I feel like is in the same no-no realm as an author looking up criticisms of his book), but I think he did probably the best possible solution. Giving out a discount code through a fake piracy page he created and trying to poke a bit of fun.
If Herman was an American corporate executive, he probably woulda slapped some proprietary anti-piracy software which would have just lead to a never ending arms race between him and the pirates. An arms race that the pirates will always win. Or he would have thrown around A GRIPLOAD of money to try and shut down these sites. But he didn't. Instead he managed to turn the piracy issue into a chance to gain some good PR and it worked. According to Herman, this fake page/discount code was REALLY effective. Which to me should be no surprise.
It kinda reminded me of how Serious Sam 3 had a pirated copy planted by the devs that spawned this unkillable creature that would run at you at mach-5 and kill you. Which also garnered something of a cult following. Or that one indie dev who outright put up a pirated version of their full game for free on their social media with the only stipulation being that the game will not receive updates.
I do find the "PIRACYKILLS" discount code itself and the "beings of pure light" bit on the webpage to be more on the goofy side. Kinda reads like that "You wouldn't download a car" PSA. Maybe that was the intention all along and it just kinda flew over my head.
This whole thing got me thinking into the rationale of piracy and why it is so prevalent, and in many cases, necessary.
Why do people pirate?
Generally, I think Gabe Newell (the CEO of Valve which owns Steam) said it best:
"Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem"
I think in Herman's case, it WAS a pricing problem. Seeing as how adding that discount code relatively seemed to lead to positive sales results. $100 USD is a BIG ask, especially in this economy that not everyone is willing to fork over and without some free trial which usually comes with the higher-ticket software. With the discount code, it offers 2 things: lowering the barrier to entry and making potential purchasers feel like they're getting a deal. This is what makes a lot of these markdown sales that companies will do so successful. It was also just a really effective marketing campaign.
The reasons people will pirate are generally the same reasons why I pirate (which I'll get to in a second). One of which generally is the price. It lowers that barrier to entry because, wouldn't you know it, the countries with the most piracy are generally poorer third-world countries. Brazil seems to be one I see pop up a lot in pirating forums/message boards.
Piracy also isn't theft, it's copyright infringement. Unless you're stealing the physical data (i.e. the USB the code is housed on), you're not committing theft. That's why if you get caught pirating you get a Cease & Desist letter mailed to you not felony theft charges.
I mean think about it, go on any news source like this one and you'll likely find people who get arrested for hosting pirated sites get slapped with charges such as high-tech crimes, money laundering, and you guessed it copyright infringement.
Why do I pirate?
Absurd Pirate engages in piracy!? Say it ain't so! Jokes aside, I do have reasons and a sort of code-of-ethics (a pirate's code if you will).
If purchasing isn't owning: If purchasing the product can be revoked at any time, movies, music, shows, etc. then I have no qualms finding out how to functionally take back what was bought. Take your "license" and shove it strait up your tailored-suit ass.
If the original creator isn't going to be supported by a 3rd party purchase: I'm not always going to buy new, so naturally I will go through a 3rd party reseller. Which nobody besides greedy corporate execs really have a problem with, which is why they want you to go download only. So, at that point it becomes a matter of "get thing for free, but have it only in software form" or "buy physical". I see the point of supporting local small businesses, but they're really only getting my business if I'm buying physical anyway (which I may not want a physical copy of everything), so what's the difference?
If I bought the product already: If I already bought the damn thing on one platform, I'm not gonna buy it 5 fucking times. ESPECIALLY if you're gonna charge full price for a next-gen addition like a certain gaming company... get. bent.
To Demo: I will generally pirate to demo a product before forking over the money if a demo/free trial isn't offered already. I don't want to buy software that doesn't have a return policy if it sucks shit through a crazy straw.
If the product is REALLY old: I'm talking 7+ years. If the game is still receiving updates, that's one thing, but c'mon who's getting hurt because you're not buying a game that is old enough to learn about times tables?
Anti-consumer practices: Audiobooks are the worst in this regard imo. Because the file is locked behind a proprietary system that can further be locked down to a specific platform. If I can't get the DRM-free version piracy is a great way to remove that. Often the pirated version ends up performing BETTER because it's not bogged down by anti-piracy software (which also serves as a point to Newell's quote). This also falls in line if a company updates a game that fundamentally ruins the experience as was the case with Ready or Not.
If the media is generally unobtainable: If a game costs upwards of $100 to own physically, unless it's an absolute favorite I WILL NOT fork over the funds for that. Same goes for if there isn't a way to play it on modern platforms.
What don't I pirate?
Generally I try to avoid pirating from small artists/studios. If I can afford to throw a couple bucks their way, I will. I might pirate temporarily to demo the product, but if I plan on playing the full version, I will throw money their way when I get the chance to.
If it's something I want the gaming industry to make repeat, I will throw some money as a sort of "vote with your dollar" way. Example being, a franchise going back to its roots after floundering for the better part of a decade.
In Conclusion
Piracy is a multi-faceted undertaking and peoples' reasons for partaking in it will vary from ethical to financial.
I think Herman's response was generally in the right direction. I would just like to urge him to stop worrying about piracy and just keep working on making a good product.
Moist Cr1tikal has talked about piracy in his video "Piracy" with his manga series GodSlap getting huge amounts of piracy because people just wanna check it out before forking over the money. In spite of that, he said he isn't planning on doing anything about it and even owes the success of the comic series to the piracy efforts.
With that all being said, remember the pirate's creed:
Yar har fiddly dee, being a pirate is alright with me! Do what you want because a pirate is free! You are a pirate! mcblog.absurdpirate.com