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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1260 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 6, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I don't believe that unilaterally forcing a healthier and more appropriate relationship between you, the supplier and the product is necessarily wrong, and I think flat out saying that, "there is no meaningful difference between downloading a cracked game that's not otherwise available on your device, and smashing the window of a store to take a TV" is overly reductive.

I think that the looter who smashes the window of a store to take a TV believes that is what he is doing: unilaterally forcing a healthier and more appropriate relationship between himself, the supplier, and the product. It's the same philosophical leap. The individual is deciding that the owner of the property is not allowed to control the property, because the owner has transgressed some ad-hoc ethical line that the individual has drawn. Online piracy tends to point to, variously, exploitative monopolistic practices, advertising, wokeness, the size of the corporation, lack of alternatives. BLM-adjacent looters point to, variously, racism, capitalism, exploitative monopolistic practices, and lack of alternatives to justify their behavior.

Honestly, I don't think this works. There are too many whales in the world, the industry can stay unethical pretty much permanently as far as I can see. I'm not necessarily willing to accept a choice between jumping through every bullshit and expensive hoop placed before me, or just flat out boycotting massive chunks of the industry.

Of course they can if consumers are never willing to pursue alternatives. I'm consistently amazed by the contrast between the tremendous stated desire of consumers to regulate what companies are allowed to do, and their complete unwillingness to choose goods made ethically at a slight cost/convenience premium.

You seem to be talking past me. The point isn't what some looter thinks he is doing, the point is the actual case in question, which I have argued is different.

Do you agree that it is different in at least some respects, or do you believe that everything I'm writing is the delusion of a thief convincing himself theft is moral? In the former case we can discuss where the moral line actually sits, in the latter I don't think we have anything useful to say to each other.

if consumers are never willing to pursue alternatives.

I am not 'consumers'. I am a consumer. 'If everyone only...' never ever works.

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