View Thread : Bomb threats suck.


Geno
Well, that sure sucked ass... wait until lunch period when it's 100 degrees outside to have a bomb threat. I was among the few smart people who took my lunch outside and ate it. The police came and searched every classroom and every bookbag, turning off the @#%$ AC in the process... so I'm frying up right here, at my computer, the bomb threat finally being over... the guilty person was some student named Mohammed Jafar Kareem Abdul Ja--okay, not really... now, if you'll excuse me, I have a much-deserved Sunkist to chug down. :drunk:

Great Rumbler
People that do stuff like that are dumb.

lazyfatbum
Unless it's funny.

Then it's funny.

Like making the sprinklers go off in the girl's changing room.

Funny.

Great Rumbler
Yeah, of course that's always funny.

Geno
At first we thought someone just pulled the fire alarm until we discovered that it was a bomb threat. In all of this school's four years of existance, this is its first bomb threat. (I don't even think it's had a drill... I wasn't here for the first of those four years, so I don't know.)

Sprinklers in the girls' changing room... *writes that down on my List of Things to Try* ... *writes List of Things to Try on my List of Brand New Lists Which I Pretend I've Had Forever*

Darunia
People who do that suck. They're the same kind of people who make computer viruses.

alien space marine
This guy a knew who went to a phyciatric ward made viruses for fun.

Geno
People who do that suck. They're the same kind of people who make computer viruses.

Amen to that.

Great Rumbler
The Goron makes a good point.

lazyfatbum
Unless it's funny.

Then it's funny.

alien space marine
He makes alot of sense for a guy raised by nazis.

Great Rumbler
Like fascist-marxist-leftist-communist-stallinist-socialist Nazis?

lazyfatbum
No, more like Strawberry flavored yogurt nazis. Fruit on the bottom.

alien space marine
Barbie was a nazi

Great Rumbler
The part in Rat Race where the familiy goes to the Barbie museum was hilarious.

Tour guide: You all know about Klaus Barbie the "Butcher of Berlin", but what Klaus Barbie the compasionate, family man and two-time ballroom dancing champ?

Dark Jaguar
what ABOUT Klaus... you mean...

Now, to mess up my own grammar and act like it's just fine when I do it.

Rat Race was funny. They had a cow in it. Also, Mr. Bean, who almost got his heart cut out by..... NEWMAN!

-iLluSiON-
People who do that suck. They're the same kind of people who make computer viruses.

Making viruses is fun. It's a challenge in computer programming.

Btw, have you talked to Cliff lately? He wants to get into hacking and stuff like this. Does that mean you're not going to like him anymore? :poop:

Dark Jaguar
WHAT?! It's a challenge sure but so is MURDER. Being a challenge is not justification for an act. Look, are you the sort of person who makes virii and spreads them around online? Or, do you just infect your OWN machines and try to get rid of them? If it's the latter, I have no beef. The former, and I must say you are a JERK and I will NOT take that back. I don't care what your justification is, if you spread virii, you are no good to to anyone and should be punished. Same with hacking. Only do it to systems you have full permission to do it to, and if it's virii, make SURE that they can't spread online or onto any computer you don't have permission to access! Yes, I AM TELLING you to do this.

Undertow
^^^^ DJ speaks truth. Vandalizing other peoples' property because you can is malicious and childish.

Great Rumbler
Absolutely.

Darunia
Btw, have you talked to Cliff lately? He wants to get into hacking and stuff like this. Does that mean you're not going to like him anymore?

I'd have to see it to believe it. He says a lot of things, but I don't think he'd become a real hacker.


He makes alot of sense for a guy raised by nazis.

Odd; you make comparatively little sense for a guy raised by Canadians. Jumping onto the Goron-Nazi boat, huh? Screw YOU guys---I'm going home.

-iLluSiON-
I never said I make viruses! Haha.

But still, what do you expect when you get a bunch of lonely computer nerds locked in a room with visual basic and C++? There's always going to be virii released. There's nothing we can do about it... the only thing I can say is IDIOTS don't know how to protect their computer from it. *cough*

Dark Jaguar
You never ever blame the victim okay? That's wrong. Some people at TC talked about this before and it's as wrong now as it was then. You get your house broken into, it's NOT your fault at all, in any way shape or form ever. It's the fault of the criminal.

What do I EXPECT nerds to do when they get that software? Maybe what I do with it perhaps? Program something USEFUL to people? Yes it will always happen, but since when is THAT a defense? You punish them and you KEEP DOING IT. And "there's nothing we can do about it" is loser talk. Blaiming someone just because their computer isn't defended against the latest virus is just plain WRONG! It's WRONG you get it?! It is ALL the fault of the virus's maker, and that person's fault ALONE! How can you actually blame the victim?!

-iLluSiON-
Just last week I had to fix my friend's computer. He got a worm and it wouldn't let him run XP. It was about the 3rd worm or virii that he's gotten in the past year. Did I feel bad for him? Yes and no. I told him that if he really wants it to stop happening he should try to invest in some software that will help him out.
About five years ago, my sister or my dad downloaded some form of a trojan virus. It really messed my computer up. We ended up reformatting and doing all this other shit to the computer. Yes, I was mad and yes, I really wish it didn't happen. But I also felt somewhat guilty because I knew that it was preventable. That was 5 years ago. Now my computer is as secure as the storage room in the US mint.
You say that it's 100% the maker's fault. I say it's about 95% their fault. They take advantage of the general population's lack of knowledge on computers and how to prevent virii from entering their computer (that 'idiot' sentence was a wisecrack at Darunia, sir).
Now I saw my friend as being innocent because he doesn't really know that much about computers. In fact, everyone is innocent in my opinion. But still, their at fault by a very small amount. It's their computer, it's a sitting duck and hackers love to take advantage of that. Let me give you an analogy with something that happened at my school recently. A few girls left their dorm room doors unlocked and some man came in and tried to rape them. It's not their fault for the man's actions, but it's their fault for leaving the door unlocked. They could have prevented it, and they know that. It's not a good thing to live in denile and fully blame the individual responsible when you know it could have been prevented. People don't expect bad things to happen to them but they damn right well always happen.
About the computer nerd talk: let me tell you something. Have you ever seen starwars? I'm sure you have since you're at tendo city. Do you know how there's a light and dark side? Good. Now there is always going to be a darker side to things. It's human nature. To put it in gaming terms, it's like playing black and white. You either pick to be a loving beast or you pick to be a beast full of hatred and killing. When computers came out and people were being taught how to program you couldn't have expected everything coming out of it to be positive. There's always going to be someone on the 'dark side' who is going to abuse their power. What do I EXPECT nerds to do when they get that software? Maybe what I do with it perhaps? Program something USEFUL to people? Yes it will always happen, but since when is THAT a defense? It's not a defense. You just have to except the fact that it's human nature to do right and wrong. And for you Christians, please refer to Adam and Eve for this. Look, not everything is good in life. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. There's a lot of sick people out there who are bent up on harming other individuals. Yes, we can lock them up and punish them, but it's never going to stop them from doing what they're doing.

Ryan
Absurd.

People should take precautions to protect themselves from things. But to say they they share the blame of what someone else does them if they don't is just plain krap.

The case with the girls in the locker room. To say they are at fault for being the target of rape is ridiculous. The man attempting the rape is the only one doing anything wrong. He is at fault, by himself. Just because the door was open does not in any way justify what he tried to do, nor does it absolve him of even the tiniest fragment of blame. What you're saying is essentially along the lines of "they were asking for it", and that is a line commonly used by rapists, molestors and murderers.

This is one large reason why I can never get along with liberals. I believe those who do wrong are responsible for their actions, as opposed to liberals, who try to blame everyone but the one who committed the act... because he grew up in poverty or something.

Dark Jaguar
Exactly my point. So what if evil exists? What are your standards for this anyway? Is locking the door "enough"? What if the lock isn't that high quality? Do you say it's their fault for not buying a deadbolt? I won't allow even the smaller percentage of blame to go to the victim there, and the idea that one could find any way TO blame them is just plain wrong. Was it careless? Maybe, but that does not equate to fault!

-iLluSiON-
And that's why I can't get along with conservatives. They stretch everything out and make assumptions. Then they claim things and have no reason to back it up.

You guys just simply don't understand what I was saying. I'm not even going to bother to rehash it. I don't even care if I stand alone in this one.

I'm just going to say that there is two roles for every action.
The one who initiated it, and the effect of the initiation. Each has their own role. Have you guys ever taken philosophy courses?

Ryan
So if I tie a cat to a tree and beat it to death, how is the cat at fault?

-iLluSiON-
Once again, that's a totally different argument altogether. That's not a good example. There a millions things you can say that would try to prove that 'point'. Like if I said I was walking down the street and randomly punched someone in the face and said it was their fault. Sounds like something Shake would do in ATHF. Anyway, those are different issues altogether and aren't at the same level.

Ryan
No they are not. You said yourself, two posts ago, "'I'm just going to say that there is two roles for every action. The one who initiated it, and the effect of the initiation. Each has their own role." By that statement, and by your previous statements, the hypothetical cat is partially to blame for being beaten to death. You are right, there are endless scenarios I could put forth to prove my point... because the idea that the victim always deserves a share of the blame when he is wronged is patently easy to disprove.

Great Rumbler
People who make virii [for malignant purposes] are dumb jerks who deserve to beaten with wet noodles until they ask Charlie the Computer God for forgiveness.

A Black Falcon
The case with the girls in the locker room. To say they are at fault for being the target of rape is ridiculous. The man attempting the rape is the only one doing anything wrong. He is at fault, by himself. Just because the door was open does not in any way justify what he tried to do, nor does it absolve him of even the tiniest fragment of blame. What you're saying is essentially along the lines of "they were asking for it", and that is a line commonly used by rapists, molestors and murderers.

This is absolutely correct.



This is one large reason why I can never get along with liberals. I believe those who do wrong are responsible for their actions, as opposed to liberals, who try to blame everyone but the one who committed the act... because he grew up in poverty or something.

And I'd call this a completely different issue...

-iLluSiON-
You're still not really seeing what I meant.

Different acts of violence and evil-doings are just that: different. Each and every case is different. Some could have been preventable, some couldn't have been preventable. For the people who are the victims, and the case is preventable, they should be well aware that it could have been. This sounds like utter nonsense and rambling now. But for one thing, I highly suggest that you look into some philosphy books and thoughts because this was always a heated debate amongst philosophers. Sometimes, although it's very hard, you have to put yourself in the shoes of the wrong-doer.

It's very hard to say the point I'm trying to make and I know it's somewhat awkward. It's a different view on the topic and I knew most people would disagree with it. But still, it's a legitimate stance and serves the purpose for an argument.
Carry on, I have some lasertag to play. muaha. :evilha:

Darunia
virii


I know why you wrote 'virii', but virus isn't a real latin word, thusly its lural isn't 'ii'. Virus + virus = viruses.

Great Rumbler
"Virii" sounds cool though. Like "cacti". Or "octopi".

alien space marine
Calls a bomb threat blaims it on the nazis.

Dark Jaguar
Yes, it does sound cool, and I coulda sworn I heard it that way once before. Correct or not (and it's not), it SOUNDS about right (and who cares about latin anyway, I wasn't thinking about it). It's like suffixing any word you feel like with "wise". It's terrible grammar, but people do it anyway. Speaking of, gamingwise, calling bomb threats and blaming nazis would be a weird game.

Illusion, your view isn't just "unpopular", it's wrong. There's a REASON no one here agrees with you. Okay, I put my shoes in that of the evil criminal. Alright, first problem I noticed, I can choose to go back home and never rape again... Hmm, door open and.... oh yeah, I CAN CHOOSE NOT TO DO THIS! Sorry, the blame always goes to the LAST person with a free will choice and it's THEIR'S alone! Yeesh, it could have been prevented if they knew perhaps that locking the door would have prevented THAT particular guy, but what about the guy with a rachet set? Who cares if it could have been prevented. LOTS of things can be prevented! Much more effort is needed though.

Answer this question. Let's say they did lock it, but they DIDN'T get a metal door instead of a wooden one. The criminal in THAT instance will only break down wooden doors, so do you blame the victim because they didn't install a metal door? Going onward, do you blame them for not electrifying the door, having a security system, boobytrapping the place Home Alone style, having guard dogs, and not learning martial arts? It's all the same thing.

Darunia
That's fine; I was just giving you boys the heads up. :flowers:

A Black Falcon
Right. 'Blame the victim' is old thinking and has been quite well disproved. 'They were asking for it' is saying 'the perpetrator isn't REALLY guilty, they couldn't help it after how the other person acted...' and is a truly awful line of thought. Those people are guilty. Period.

(As for Weltall's continuation onto guilt and blame... yes, someone's upbringing can have an effect here. If you were abused as a child you're more likely to be violent, etc. Should that let you off? If there is true mental illness involved then obviously that is the way to go, but if it's not that... I don't know. They are probably less guilty but they still did the act and must be punished for it... you need to balance it somehow, so they definitely get punished but also have access to the help they obviously need.)

Undertow
I don't think illusion is blaming people who get viruses. But, that people should learn to get a firewall and that he's not surprised when those who don't have them get infected. I know by experience to get a firewall. Most people don't know much about computers, and don't think they'll ever get infected. He isn't saying it, but it's not a case of stupidity when people don't know enough to get a firewall- but lack of experience.

Dark Jaguar
Some people would rather leave it open due to various online programs having a multitude of issues with it. Not a surprise really, who wants to let a criminal tell them how they should live their life? To say they deserve it, in any way, is ALWAYS taking some of the blame off the virus maker.

A Black Falcon
And a firewall is a hassle...

Dark Jaguar
....what I said...

-iLluSiON-
Stop throwing around the words 'blame' and 'fault'. That's not the issue. It's knowing that it COULD BE PREVENTED.

Undertow is the only one that has somewhat understood it at all.
Back to the roles: the victim and the attacker. There are incidents where things could be prevented and there are incidents where they can't be prevented. Knowing that there is a possibility of being a victim and knowing that it is preventable is completley different than not expecting anything at all (and not knowing about it). I think that the general population of people who use computers now know about viruses and worms and know that they can protect their computer from it. It's advertised, displayed in pop-ups, talked about in the news, and even warnings are sent out by email from the large email providers.
So say if John Doe gets a virus but has no protection whatsoever... but he was aware that it could have been prevented and has heard about such programs that will help him. Who's fault is it? The person who made the virus, yes. But, put yourself in Mr. Doe's shoes for one moment. If you were him and you got the virus, but know that you could have had some program or firewall to block it and stop it from happening, would you feel that you were somewhat at fault too? A lot of people fully blame themselves for something happening... which, in most cases, is wrong. But looking at the question, I know you're going to say no... that it's the person who made the damn virus's fault. That's perfectly fine. But when John Doe knows that his computer could be safe, he should be aware that he's somewhat at fault (not the same type of fault because he's not taking part in the other role) and that he could have stopped it from happening.
I guess the rape thing is too much of an issue, and in fact, I don't even want to talk about it anymore. Just recently a person very close to me was raped. That was obviously a bad example because you can't really compare a virus entering a computer and unwanted sex that well.
Moving on, what is the point of living in fear though? I can understand how we shouldn't base our lives off of criminals and people who 'ruin' it and abuse their powers. But, that's how it works. That's how society works. That's part of the reason why religion was created as well (being afraid of death, and committing sins---both negative aspects of life). To put it bluntly, a great deal of humanistic nature is revolved around fear. We adapt to it, accept it, and find a way to prevent it from happening. Yes, we shouldn't base our lives off of these computer criminals, but we somewhat have to. That's how it is and you can't really deny it. It's just about come to the point where computer security is extremely important and widely known and everyone should be aware that their computer is a sitting duck for these 'virii'.

Ryan
No. In your scenario, you specifically said that the girls shared some of the blame BECAUSE they did not prevent the entry of the would-be rapist.

The issue is not just whether or not something bad could be prevented, but whether or not the victim shares blame for NOT preventing it.

Darunia
If politicians would pass legislation to execute and display the severed heads of hackers and virus makers, we wouldn't have so many. Why won't they pass my bill??

-iLluSiON-
That would kill off about half of our generation. haha.

Hell, aren't roms considered 'illegal' too? Wouldn't that mean all of us will die?

Dark Jaguar
SOME of us don't download illegal ROM images.

And no, half of our generation is not making viruses. A much smaller part is.

Your examples of "warnings" from e-mails and pop-ups really aren't warnings. They are spam, leading generally to spyware and horrible software that eats up resources. If you get a pop-up saying "WARNING! Your computer is infected with about a billion bad things, including DEMONS!", you can trust me in this, NONE of them, not a single one, and I DO know this as a fact so don't say "you never know", are actually searching your machine and finding them, nor CAN they for that matter. The e-mails, BEING spam, come from liars. I never once got a bulk mailing about something I actually WANT. Never have I recieved an ad for eTrust Innoculate, or the latest Nintendo game, in some unsolicited bulk mailing, or "spam". The average person knows better than to listen to them, and those that DO suddenly find their computers completely turned to karp, and then they call me... I really need to start charging...

Anyway, that aside, yes there are OTHER reasons they would know about it, but that doesn't matter. You differentiate fault and blame, but they mean the exact SAME thing. I just looked it up, they are synonyms for each other under one common definition (the others are for totally different things, like "the fault in the engine's design" and such), with not a single difference between the definitions. You may have made up your own difference, but there's not. There really isn't a word that means "responsible but not, ya know, actually responsible, for something... ya know? Man, are you guys hungry? I'm hungry man. Let's go get something to eat.". Now, I really don't mean to hound on your views or anything, but honestly, what the world is like and what we EXPECT are two different things. Ever heard the standard criminal expression "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time"? For example, if you live in the slums, the obvious protection is to LEAVE, but honestly, how many do? Does that mean they are in any way at fault when someone shoots them through the walls in an accidental drive by? Does that mean they are at fault if, say, they forgot to MOVE A DRESSER IN FRONT OF THE DOOR (kinda needed) one night? The victim being open and vulnerable is NOT cause to put any sort of fault on them. It's like in anime when some samurai just after slaying an entire village says "you have no one to blame but yourself for being so weak".

Darunia
Not me. My roms were all lost, along with everything else, after the coming of the virus. Which brings us back to square one, doesn't it.

Geno
I just find it sad that some people will go to great lengths to make viruses strong enough to get past certain firewalls. They need to get a life instead of spending all day trying to destroy the computers of random people they don't even know for no reason.

-iLluSiON-
Say "I" for those of you who have never used an illegal 'rom' image of any sort, cracked warez software, cracked cd rom images, illegal cd keys, read anything pertaining to hacking (such has the anarchist cookbook), downloaded a cd before it came out, downloaded a movie illegally, shared your rom images, attemped to crack your own rom, or have done anything else with this subject matter. Mind me, I'm just interested.






Taking life seriously all the time leads to all the things you HATE about the world.
Eat your own words, biotch. Still missing the point. :poop:

Geno
Say "I" for those of you who have never used an illegal 'rom' image of any sort, cracked warez software, cracked cd rom images, illegal cd keys, read anything pertaining to hacking (such has the anarchist cookbook), downloaded a cd before it came out, downloaded a movie illegally, shared your rom images, attemped to crack your own rom, or have done anything else with this subject matter. Mind me, I'm just interested.

Nay. :banana:

Dark Jaguar
Eye, honestly I'm not bragging here, but is it really all that shocking that there are lots of people that DON'T do that?

(Except one thing, I have in fact read things pertaining to hacking, because it's interesting from a technological standpoint. All the stuff I read that's interesting is fully usable outside of this underworld. I have never heard of the anarchist's cookbook though, though I can imagine it's full of a total misunderstanding of what chaos truly is, and the fact that all chaos inevitably leads to order. That's not illegal though, because we aren't in a totalitarian dictatorship. Don't equate reading ABOUT it with doing it, like you are doing.)

It's EASY to not do that stuff, I manage because I'm basically too LAZY to try and find all that stuff. Also, I'm not a fan of music in general so I'd have no motivation to download a CD before it came out, what with never knowing about a song until I hear it on the radio or something.

Listen, stealing and attacking other people's computers is NOT a minor thing. Oddly enough, a lot of these virus makers defend themselves by claiming they are helping to create more secure and better anti-virus programs. What a stupid selfish and self-deceptive line of reasoning! We wouldn't even NEED anti-virus programs if it wasn't for them!

Geno
I admit, I download MP3s, though not heavily. If I like enough songs that are contained on a single CD, I will buy the CD. I download ROMs only if I don't have the game, and if I really like the game and there are any copies left available, I will buy it. (This is rarely the case since most of the games I download are old-skool.) However, hackers and virus makers/spreaders suck ass. They should all be lined up against a wall and shot.

A Black Falcon
I buy as many games as I can so I don't think having some roms matters much (eight this year so far...)... it's not like I'm not buying games. :) Music, I don't buy, but I likely wouldn't anyway...

-iLluSiON-
I have never heard of the anarchist's cookbook though, though I can imagine it's full of a total misunderstanding of what chaos truly is, and the fact that all chaos inevitably leads to order. That's not illegal though, because we aren't in a totalitarian dictatorship. Don't equate reading ABOUT it with doing it, like you are doing.)

You don't know anything about it at all so don't make that assumption. You are completely wrong. It has nothing to do with chaos and government. If you really want to know what it is, you should find out for yourself before assumming.

Eye, honestly I'm not bragging here, but is it really all that shocking that there are lots of people that DON'T do that?
It's not shocking at all. A lot of my friends don't do anything like that (mostly because they're not fond with any of it). But, for the average TC poster, I would consider that a very high percentage of you do. I have been involved in emulation ever since it came out, hell, I used to talk to the creator of zsnes. If I download a rom (that's fairly new and still in stores), I usually go out and buy it.

Oddly enough, a lot of these virus makers defend themselves by claiming they are helping to create more secure and better anti-virus programs.
Source of information please?
I still don't understand why you think I'm pro virus making. I never claimed I was. I merely said people should be aware that their computer is a sitting duck and it's come to the point in the Information Age where people need to protect their computer.

Great Rumbler
I used to download a lot of MP3s and roms, but I haven't in a long time. And I've only downloaded roms of old games, like SNES and older.

Ryan
I don't download MP3s heavily. I only have 8,600 :D

-iLluSiON-
Yeah, I don't think roms of games that aren't even sold anymore is wrong. They should pass some law or something that anything pre 1996 or something can be downloaded :)

A Black Falcon
Um, then what about something like Nintendo re-releasing its NES games... sorry, it's not that simple. Yes, current copyright rules are far too long and unfair, and it's also not fair that any game a company decides to discontinue, like most all old titles, often cannot easily be legally gotten. But that's how it is. And I wouldn't expect any changes in copyright law anytime soon, that's for sure... Just be happy for the companies that DO still sell some old games.

-iLluSiON-
They're doing that with GBA I belive... just a few games though... well at least that's what I heard. But do you seriously know how many total NES games there are? I would like someone to supply a number..

A Black Falcon
Hundreds and hundreds... and yes for something that cannot be easily gotten anymore, emulation is really the only answer, unfortunately. And I doubt companies will change soon with the small size of the market they'd get...

Dark Jaguar
Illusion, I was just joking about the anarchist's cookbook. Don't get so defensive. The name just SOUNDS like it has something to do with anarchy. What, got a problem with me judging a book by it's cover? :D

What's a zsnes? Super Nintendo emulator? Line the guy up against a wall and shoot him then! :D Kidding! Seriously, it's just something I've been seeing all over TC today, so I used it too.

On virus programmers, my "source of information" isn't really much of a source. I can't say how high a percentage defend themselves like that, but I can say of the ones I've heard speeches from (on TV interviews, and web site statements), they tend to have this line of thinking. If it's not that, then I suppose their line of thinking is having fun despite how much it hurts others. That's the line of thinking that people who shoot other people with paint ball guns while driving down the road have.

Darunia
Psf. You act like downloading music illegally is...well... wrong. :whatever:

A Black Falcon
Illegal? Yeah. Wrong? It's up to you.

Darunia
I see why it is "wrong"; but in all honesty, I've bought cds (Boston, Toto, The Police) from old bands that I never, EVER would've bought from only because I heard one song I liked; downloaded more, and opted to buy the album. Ask Illusion, I'm cheap, and don't just buy $20 cds for one song. Downloading free music, from my perspective, has helped that industry.

Undertow
The music industry hurts the artists a lot more since they don't give shit cut to them.

Dark Jaguar
But that's the artist's fault for signing such contracts. They concented to that.

Ryan
Most 'artists' out there don't deserve any money.

For instance, I'd download Eminem songs to do my part in ending that little cancer, but that would mean I'd have Eminem songs on my computer.

A Black Falcon
Games... if it's available new, it's simple. It's not okay. But if it's only available used, or is unavailable... I don't know. Used games give the publisher nothing, after all. Oh, it's far better to own a real copy -- there's nothing like the actual thing --but since no money goes to the publisher or developer, it's easier to convince yourself it's not as bad... even though legally they're the same.

Great Rumbler
I actually bought a few CDs BECAUSE I downloaded some of the artist's music.

-iLluSiON-
Out of my hundreds of cds, I'd say more than half of them were bought because I heard them online.

I'm not one of those people who has a whole binder full of ripped cds I didn't buy. I'm sure one of you knows someone that does that.

However, I have over 250 cds on my computer, most of them I don't have. The thing is, they aren't sold in America. I listen to underground European heavy metal and most of them aren't even in English. Although it's still "bad", if I was to get caught, the RIAA wouldn't really care because the cds I have aren't really sold in America anyways.

A Black Falcon
Right, most of the stuff I have isn't sold in the US either... it's still illegal technically, but yeah, since it wasn't released here they probably care less.

Darunia
I actually bought a few CDs BECAUSE I downloaded some of the artist's music.

What I just said; I'm sure that there are millions of people like that. I couldn't but any CD for one or even two songs, because the rest is just waste. When you sample online, you can find out. It's just being a smart consumer. Because it saves consumers money to download/try for free, the vile corporate brass stepped in, declaring "I CAN MAKE MORE MONEY!", outlawed it, and ...well, now they make about as much money as before.

Dark Jaguar
Outlawed it? Stealing stuff was already illegal ya know. Sampling before you buy is fine, if you do it through legal channels. Play a friend's game with permission for instance to see if you like it. However, don't steal someone's game to decide if you like it.

Geno
Outlawed it? Stealing stuff was already illegal ya know. Sampling before you buy is fine, if you do it through legal channels. Play a friend's game with permission for instance to see if you like it. However, don't steal someone's game to decide if you like it.

Exactly. Whenever I buy a CD containing some songs I've downloaded, or a DVD containing TV show episodes or a movie I've downloaded, or a video game that I've downloaded, I immediately delete the downloaded items. It's not uncommon for me to buy the said items, and if I haven't listened to a song I've downloaded in several months, I'll most likely delete it. I don't just have a field day whenever I go on Kazaa. I only download something that I really, really want to sample. I also don't share any of my stuff with other users. It's not my intention to spread these illegal items to others, they're for my personal use only. :nono:

-iLluSiON-
Didn't preschool teach you to share? :)

Darunia
*Rolls eyes at Geno & DJ so extensively, that they sink back into skull.*

-iLluSiON-
Darunia stole my illegal copy of JKIII. :(

Geno
It's so unfair... I stole Darunia's cat, and you know what the bastard did?! He stole it back from me! Lawsuit!

Dark Jaguar
Just to make it clear, if someone steals your stuff, if you take it back, it's not stealing because it's not their's anyway, it's still YOUR property to do with as you wish. Keep that in mind the next time some PUNKS steal your gazebo!

Darunia
Illusion, did you mean "stole" my illegal copy', or "accepted my illegal copy when I presented it to him of my own free will' ?