This is the second time in this thread someone has responded to me with “end of story” or “full stop” as if those statements are some kind of trump card that removes any room for debate or changes the fact that what you said is an opinion.

I pirate if something is otherwise unavailable simply because I want to. But I don’t believe I have a right to whatever I want. It’s pure entitlement. I will almost always go the paid route if I can.

I disagree. I believe artists and creators should have the right to control the distribution of their work. There’s plenty of room for criticism of the way we have it structured, the role of profit, whether companies should have the same rights, etc. But I don’t think every person has an intrinsic right to anything that anyone else has ever created.

So I put on a mask to hide my identity and take the cookie if I want it, but without believing that I am entitled to it.

I don’t think “because I want it” is a justification for having a right to something. I also pirate things sometimes, which is why I’m here, but I don’t believe I have a right to the content.

I agree with your second statement, but not your first

Internet anonymity in general is a terrible thing and I would do away with it if I could. I’m impossible to say who’s a real person, who’s a bot, who’s an alternate account. It’s allowed every evil and terrible person to find others like them and embolden each other without the oversight of social pressure from the rest of society which I think is an essentially needed social cue of healthy human communities.

Yes I realize the irony of posting this on Lemmy.

Pick your poison.

And all goods and services require some amount of humans putting in work in order for them to be provided. Nothing is truly 100% automated yet.

But labor is a necessity to survive, and always has been. We need the production of goods and services. Of course the distribution of wealth and goods is also an issue, but somebody (or something) has to produce the things we use.

Not yet, but it’s an interesting thought experiment if nothing else. Someday, thanks to advances in robotics and computers, human labor will become largely obsolete. So the question is how do we structure our society when that happens?

It’s 2025, use your smartphone

Cubs won, had a baked potato bar for dinner. Pretty good day.

No, cause I’m not a fuckin degen

Human beings are social creatures, and being able to connect with one another is one of the best parts about the internet. But the internet’s incessant need to streamline and optimize how I connect with friends by sending me notifications the moment they’re active on TikTok, posting new stories on Instagram, or liking the same video as me is has turned those real friendships into supervised ones and that fucking sucks.

This author is making a mountain out of a molehill. There are other ways to interact on social media that aren’t just sharing memes and posts (and I’m pretty sure you can pause suggested content on Instagram anyway). You can have an actual conversation with somebody, an algorithm can’t “beat you to it” or “rob you of the opportunity” or whatever.

Or just call them up and hang out with them in the meat space if you’re so concerned.

I don’t think this is about politics

If it were socially acceptable, I wouldn’t have any reason not to use it.

As for how I feel about it being taboo now, it’s whatever. It’s just a natural consequence of how language shifts and evolves over time.

Going to the UK in the fall, first time going to Europe, I’m pretty excited.

I got the YouTube premium family plan a long time ago. Been worth every penny for the amount of YouTube we watch.

I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but if there was one streaming service I was gonna pay for it’d be YT premium. You can pirate everything else pretty easily.

If you get the chance, I highly recommend it.