[zokier]

PSP is imho the prime example of how piratism hurts software industry. The problem was not so much that PSP was pirated, but that Photoshop was pirated. Most people did not need Photoshop, and would have been happy PSP users. But if Photoshop was "free" then it is natural that people gravitated towards the "industry-standard" "professional" tool.

Piratism hurts small low-cost hobbyist software most by dislocating them with free professional juggernaut tools.

[Patrick_Devine]

What's your take on big companies contributing and/or running open source/free software? Doesn't that also dislocate small low-cost hobbyist software?

[zokier]

Well I'm not a fan of "open core" products, for not all too dissimilar reasons. But I'll admit the situation with open source and commercial actors is fair bit more complicated, with no easy answers (unless you are Stallman)

[PhasmaFelis]

> piratism

"Piracy" is the usual word.

[Chronos309]

I like piratism more...but you're right....

[RodericDay]

now apply this to Google and Facebook's "free" offerings

[zokier]

Big difference is that those generally do not delineate naturally into "expensive/professional" and "low-cost/hobbyist" markets.