Off-Topic Poll

[laneiac]

If artists would put out a cd with more than one good over played track, I would buy more cds. But it seems every artist out there has one single played on the radio everyday that is great, followed up by a cd full of crap. Except for Metallica, Marilyn Manson, and a few country artists.

 

[judge09]

I do not understand the need for Hamlet-like soliloquies and tortuous rationalizations surrounding the ethics of pirating copyrighted music.

Perhaps my age and bottom-line mentality are showing. If so, forgive a near senile old geezer. It just all seems so simple to me: if something is illegal, that is really all that I need to know. That is the bottom-line.

That bottom-line issue settled, I am left to make an informed and conscious decision to obey or disobey the law.

The current I-Net music pirating situation has a partial analogy in the marijuana debates of 40-years ago. Back then, Doctor A claimed that M-J is bad for one’s health; thus, laws regarding control of M-J are necessary. Doctor B counter-claimed that M-J is not bad for one’s health; thus, laws regarding control of M-J are unnecessary. Dueling doctors, both opinions authoritative, armies of well-informed and well-intentioned supporters on both sides of the issue. That war of words continues to this day, with no armistice yet in sight.

As a practical matter, Doctor A’s and Doctor B’s opinions regarding marijuana matter for little or nothing. The people who put people into jail for illegal use/possession/sale of marijuana consult books of law. They do not consult books of medicine.

In a similar fashion, opinions regarding the ethics of pirating copyrighted music matter for little or nothing. The people who put people into court for pirating copyrighted music consult books of law. They do not consult books of philosophy.

There is little to debate because -- debate has been superseded by law.

You only need to make a choice: obey or disobey the law.

You understand the rules of the game, you choose to roll the dice; you choose to take your chances, you choose to accept the reward, you choose to accept the penalty.

Regards,

Bottom-Line Gadget

I hope your not suggesting to just accept the law for what it is and blindly obey. The beautiful thing about this country is that we have the ability to influence law. I dont think you should ever just cast aside debate and only "obey or disobey the law." I wont start to compare this situation to examples of civil injustices from the 60s. I realize that the causes are extremely different and any comparision would grossly down play the hard ships and trials of the African-American people. But I think my point comes across.

As an American I have been taught that it is my civil duty to speak out against what I believe is unjust. I personally dont like this "crackdown" on file sharing. The sharing of music has been an important part of my family and friends. I find it wrong that the govt makes it illegal for me to send my friend a song over the internet that I really enjoy. Remember Napster and Kazaa are just P2P tools much like e-mail and you have to remember that for us "younger" generation the internet is our main form of communication. When I started playing guitar my dad gave me photo copies of some sheet music he loved when he was a kid. Lock us up right. And no I am not going to have a sit-in at the local Record Towne