It doesn't surprise me that the starting post is flawed from start to finish then... :p

Yeah they should be legalized copy rights are just laws made by the elite to feed their greed!!!!

No, they aren't. The inherent ignorance of your statement is astounding.
If there were no copyright laws, that "elite" of yours would be able simply copy anything you create, use it for their own purposes and don't pay you a dime. Intellectual property - and that means things like literature, music and computer software - would be worthless, and you'd end up with a world where none of these would probably exist at all.

Hey, don't worry too much about it Fifth. Everything in the thread opener post was flawed.

Like stating that if you have a hard copy of a console game, you can have a hacked copy on your computer to use as backup in conjunction with an emulator... That's just crazy talk stupidly taking grounds into an urban myth. Even if we were to factor the "you can have a copy of your good for personal purpose", the copy would need to be made in the same medium than the original object to be valid. Which mean copy the cartridge into another cartridge, to be used on the same medium.

Having console roms on your computer is just illegal whatever way you look at it. It always been and it will always be. What most people think have nothing to do with it.

We could dismantle the whole post point by point like this... But that would really be wasted time.

Both sides are arguable. Things would be different but intellectual creation would not cease to exist, just like it existed during most of human history when no laws regulated it.

1. Massice necropost. How the hell did you find the thread?
2. Get spotify, pay the 10 € / month, listen to it on you iPod/iPhone/Droid
3. 10 € too much? Get a job!
4. Can't get a job? Try harder, pay tax and contribute to the civilization we've created rather then leeching.

:D This managed to rouse everyone's emotions, I see. AGAIN! :hysterical:

Hey, there is an excellent side to this necropost: Titan got to post again! Let's rejoice! XD

Clearly, our only possible action now is to necopost all very old but sensible subject so our "venerable" members get to post again. ;)

Sure did.

I believe MP3 distribution should be legally allowed/free.

Bands/groups make almost all of their money from concerts/performances.

Most musicians make very little as it is. Only big names get massive profits. Even people like Weird Al get a few cents per song. The music companies make all the money. Paul MacCartney can't play the Beatles songs he wrote because Sony owns the rights. Stealing other people's property is still stealing, whether it's their music, their books or their games. If you think about it, royalties are all that's keeping Poul Anderson's widow fed and housed. (His daughter is on my favourite listserv.) If all property is theft, and should be given away for free, what about your stuff? You should let anyone who comes along pick out what they like from your home and walk off with it. The one good thing about the Internet, though, is that there will eventually be no need for huge record companies. Or so I hope. So maybe artists will get that much more income from their own work. Speaking of work -- I haven't gotten any yet. Oh well.