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by toomuchtodo 353 days ago
"Can this multinational company afford it?" and "Will this incur a felony or similar judicial record?" is my bar, broadly speaking. Never take from someone who cannot afford it, or where it would be material to them. Bits, never fiat. Laws are just words, how you decide which to ignore is a function of potential legal exposure and your belief system.

I pay for Spotify because I’m lazy and can afford it, but rip whatever I want from YouTube, for example. I own it, I do not care. Why would one care what random strangers think of them?
1 comments
sbarre 353 days ago
> Laws are just words

Spoken from a place of security, comfort and privilege no doubt.. All afforded by the laws of the land. ;-)

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toomuchtodo 353 days ago
Strange argument. The laws bind economically to extract (“these bits are gated, you must pay or go to jail for not paying for them” in this context), they are not affording what you describe. Ignoring or evading them is where the security, comfort, and privilege come from. Freedom is being ungovernable.

“Laws are threats made by the dominant socioeconomic-ethnic group in a given nation. It’s just the promise of violence that’s enacted and the police are basically an occupying army.” is a fun quote on this. Laws don’t protect me, they protect those with property and capital, as well as large companies that have limited to no liability. I protect me.

Anyway, I block ads and don’t care.

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immibis 352 days ago
Doubt. All the most successful people are the ones who push the limits of which laws they can ignore. Just see any big tech founder-CEO.
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