Poll: Why Do You Use BitTorrent?

Anon

What if I use it for all of them?

Reuy

I mainly download Songs/Movies/Games that I can’t get here, or at least not without spending the double or triple price for them.
Meaning:
Japanese/Korean/Chinese Drama, Japanese Games/Songs/Movies.
No, no Narutard.

Charax

Depends on what I’m downloading really – I download music so I can try before I buy (although since Spotify came along I haven’t DLd – or bought – any music)

For games it’s because they’re free – the cost of PC games is stupid right now, and most of my second-hand or cut-price buys are games I’ve downloaded.

For RPGs (yes, I download RPGs) it’s because I can’t get them here without paying insane postage costs.

I also like trying out different linux distros, so I tend to torrent legal ISOs a lot. I tend not to download TV shows because you can just find them streaming online anyway.

Oliver

Where’s the option, “I use BitTorrent for maximizing my bandwidth use to make sure my ISP doesn’t earn money on me as an individual.” ?

If you have an unlimited 8/1 Mbit/s DSL line like me for example you could theoretically download over 2.5 TiB of data and upload over 300 GiB in one month.

Most people doesn’t know what they’re paying for, just saying :)

greenpete

I need to check two of those boxes!
Plus it leaves the results open to interpretation.
I share legal stuff and I download because it’s free, but I definitely wouldn’t buy, I just wouldn’t have it if I couldn’t have it for free, I have very little money and certainly none spare to buy music and movies.
But I give back by making my stuff available for free (using BT).

DJ Sketch@1337x.net

I wont ever buy another CD without trying it out first, I made that mistake with the last 4 metallica albums, those turds owe me for all of em……GGGRRRRRRRRR

Quasimodo

I’m a pirate, no excuses.
Always have been since C64 times and will be until i quit the show.

I just take what i want whenever i want, whereever i get it and i almost always give it back to fellow pirates.

Bittorrent is only one way among many of aquiring stuff.

Simple as that.

Rob

I’ve become a fan of music and movies in foreign languages from other countries, and pathetically, non-american stuff isn’t very easy to obtain here in america. But it is on the internet.

sss

all.

Ollie

I would love to vote on this, but can’t. The option “To consume DRM free content” is not available.

These days you might be able to purchase DRM free mp3s. But I can’t find much Film/Video or games – legally – so torrents are my main choice.

Mikal

You forgot an important option:
“It is more accessible than the legal options”.
Partly because of:
- I don’t know how to get the itunes:// protocol working in Ubuntu.
- Hulu is blocking me because I’m not in the U.S.
- Some movie sites demand I have Windows Media Player 9 installed (No go because of Ubuntu).
- Others let me buy, but give me a DRM’ed WMV I can’t play (And if it did, can I put it on my Creative Zen?)

Even if we don’t get a good micropayments implementation Any Time Soon, it is possible to come up with something better than we have now. Greed and fear is holding the media companies back.

Love man

Because sharing is caring.

P.s. Google ‘free wii’.

ChasW

None of the above are my main reason.

My main reason? Because its fast and easy. As an example, I ordered a book recently on Amazon. Uh oh, shipping! So, I “pirated” it off the Internet and was reading it before it arrived (which, ironically, was the same day… Go Amazon).

SeawayOutset

I listen to European Trance/Dance and the CD’s are way too expensive. Some more are becoming available on Amazon, but if I wanted to purchase these tracks legally, it would cost The price of the CD + Shipping costs to send it to the states.

Regarding TV shows, I like having them available on my computer. My life is centered about technology, and my computer is the hub of it all.

Kaminsky

Most of what I torrent is FOSS. I’m happy to give up some bandwidth to help out the sites with their bandwidth costs.

Pitel

They’re free
Lot of movies or games aren’t good enough to get my money.

I want to ‘try before I buy’
It applies to the good things. I tried GTA4 and then bought it.

I can’t get them elsewhere
Latest episodes of TV shows

I share ‘legal’ content
Linux distros

So I guess I need to check all off them.

Jasper van Weerd

All four, but voted the FREE option, thats most with TV torrents.

Kai

I’d love to see TorrentFreak publish an annual survey that is open for a couple of weeks, and asks more comprehensive questions, rather than just four.

I think an interesting question would be:
“If you download copyrighted media via BitTorrent, if BitTorrent wasn’t available, would of you of purchased the media?”

I think it would be an interesting exercise if some first hand research was done by TorrentFreak.

Ades

Dude, no jobs in Sweden.. Technological Unemployment ..

Im broke.

Bittorrent = Free

Mike Cane

How else could I do a post like this?
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/leverage-the-bank-shot-job/

My PC is crap and can’t do the online repeats they offer (it can barely do YouTube at times!), so an AVI combined with vlc is FTW.

Also, some things are UK or Japan or elsewhere-only, with just about zero chance of showing up legally here.

I’m not out there grabbing movies or most stuff. Most movies are crap simply not worth my *time*, even for free. Same for music. Same for 95% of US TV.

jonong

I use bit torrent as a replacement for renting movies. Blockbuster has lost a lot of business from me. I rarely download movies in theatres cause I refuse to watch cams, and if a movie is good enough, I will still go to theatres to see it.

I have never paid for music. Ever. Without the internet, I would never know half of the world of music. It is really good for people as a whole. Because it opens up the world of younger people to old bands like the Beatles, or Stones or Bob Dylan etc, as well as new stuff. SO more people listening to music is a good thing, and making people pay $20 a CD only narrows people sphere of musical influence.

I download software for free, cause some of that shit is mad expensive. Like Final Cut Studio which cost over $1000.

Me

I chose the first one, because I would never buy half of the games i download. (just downloaded Race Pro and is that bad.)

But, there should be more options, I think that what makes me a fan of BitTorrent is the fact that I can get everything when I want it!

I just bought the xbox guitar hero pack 8 days ago, and I’m still waiting, for me, the best thing about BitTorrent is that it never happens.

The 3rd one was another great possability for me to vote.

M1

Definatly “Try before buy”! Without it – I never explored so much music as I have …

Thoku

I do it because its easier, multi platform. In short torrenting is hassle free. I don’t need an account, or HAVE to be running Windows, or any such rubbish. I can just get what I want when I want do with it what I want.

Also, TV shows come out on torrents months/years before they do in the UK. Why should I have to wait when all the review/discussion sites are talking about the most recent episodes?

greenlight

Def. missing “all of the above”.

1. During dry spells i’ll download albums that I intend to buy later. I’ll also download cheesy movies that aren’t worth paying for
2. I’ll download new artists to try them out. Some i’ll buy, some I won’t.
3. I download lots of mad fansubbed japanese stuff that is impossible to find elsewhere.
4. BitTorrent is a really fast and efficient way to download stuff like linux distros (run a server at home)

Thomas

I missed the option of not using torrents at all.

Kosp

I chose “I can’t get them elsewhere”, although all the others apply too.

I see some TV shows that are not aired in my country, so BitTorrent is the best way I know to see them.

There’s also a good number of movies I got from BitTorrent and are not available in the market or are very hard to find.

And above all reasons: it’s convenient. I can get any movie or TV show without having to look at a couple of local rental shops (that can have the movie I want, or not), without having to signing up to any online service selling DRM crap…

As for music, I discover most music through P2P. I wouldn’t buy it all, even if I wanted I couldn’t afford it, and anyway, I wouldn’t buy it before trying before.

RIAAtarded

Yeah I hate to say it but few are going to be able to definitively one way or the other. I use all 4. All my linux software I grab via torrents to save on bandwidth and loads to the parent site.So that is totally legit.

I have bought stuff based on the fact I’ve downloaded it first and probably encouraged others to buy based on my recommendation.

I do download stuff that isn’t available in my country and never will be. Stuff is always driven by profit margins and market share so if there isn’t the possibility for that it will not be offered. That being said why should I as a consumer not be allowed to enjoy it. I’m certain those involved in the initial production would love their products given to as large a viewing audience as possible. Unfortunately for them and me the bulk of the money and decisions are made by a 3rd party.

As for pirate hell yes i do. If RIAA, MPAA or any of these legal morons can explain to me why if i tivo it then it is legal but if I download it i’m a criminal I’m all ears. Both are digital copies and in my possession. The only one losing money off me is is the rental stores. So if blockbuster wants to come after me they have a gripe. you guys however do not.

QsM

I use it for TV shows mostly. Just because I hate commercials and I refuse to pay the cable company 50+ bucks per month. I watch NBA on NBA broadband, I watch MLB on mlb.tv and I watch shows from torrents. No need for T.V in this era.

BAndido_B

Two reasons: I can’t get them elsewhere and because it is free. But if there is something I really love, I often ending up buying it. But the main reason is that it is so easy to find things that I would been using years to find elsewhere!

that_blonde_bird

All four and additionally: because some originals have DRM/protection that prevents me from using them

Lora

I usually pirate movies b/c it’s just EASY and I find dvds very overpriced (I still buy a lot of dvd’s though, if they’re down to 5-7 euro).
I’m currently downloading a movie that’s been out quite a couple of years, and when it was a bit slow I checked if I could maybe buy it somewhere (online)… I could, but it was over 10 euro (!) and for some strange reason it had to be imported and would take 4 weeks. Apart from the fact that I think a movie that has been out for a while shouldn’t be that expensive, this is not the first time I have trouble buying something that’s really not that out of the ordinary.
And then if you do decide to buy & wait, when you finally have the dvd you have to deal with the hassle of either ripping it or handling the disk every time you want to watch it (at the risk of damaging it), and sit through all the anti-piracy warnings etc.
I’d rather just run bittorrent for a bit then, it’s just less of a hassle…

GSaw

Convenience to watch TV when I want where I want. I still pay for cable, I just usually can’t watch it when it’s on. I use hulu for the most part and BT for the things that aren’t on there.

TemplarLord

First 3 reasons for me, but ‘I can’t get them elsewhere’ best applies for me; I live in Croatia, and the local TV stations are awfully slow when it comes to new TV shows or movies, even games.

HackedServer

The main reason for me is money. I’m broke, there are no jobs (I live in Michigan, the state with the worst unemployment stats), in a “village” that only has a bar and a church, and I need to save every penny for college. I can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollar for the music that I listen too in my spare time. I can’t afford to spew out hundreds of dollars for office that I use for school work and photoshop that I use once a month if that. I use open source on a lot of stuff, but sometimes it isn’t compatible and sometimes you just can’t beat it. And I can’t afford to go to the movies constantly or rent, and I’d really rather not wait 2 or 3 years for it to come out on TV. I watch TV shows on the TV though.

And I love the community and sharing. It feels great seeing your client uploading GBs of data to other people, you know your helping them.

And lastly I dislike the money hungry corporations. I’d like to support the producers and directors, but the money goes to the business, not them. If I ever have the money I’ll donate to the people that deserve, some unknown artists I’ve found and downloaded, and those people that upload their movies for free, like the Blank director.

HackedServer

brainrust

Sorry I don’t have time to read all the responses, so I might be repeating someone. However, I am definitely missing a fifth option where I fit in.

I definitely download much more than I buy. As far as movies go, I download a lot of movies, but rarely buy one. The reason for this being that a movie is often relatively expensive. 15 euros for a movie that I’m gonna watch once is just not worth it, unless it’s a super great movie, but even those I usually only watch once, because there’s such a wealth of great films and so little time. Television series I download because I like to watch them when I want to. My work is very diverse and causes me to have different working times every week. That said, truly great series like Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks or Curb Your Enthusiasm I have all bought.

Then on to music. I’m a completely music lover, and I cannot get enough. I like just about all genres except for most of the mainstream stuff and there’s just so much stuff that’s great. So I download what I can. If I really like it I buy it on vinyl and I buy about 30-50 vinyl records every year. Still, I can’t buy everything I like, but if downloading didn’t exist I wouldn’t buy more, I would buy less. The only thing holding me back from buying more is a lack of money.

Also, cd’s have lost all meaning to me. Between ages 12 and 22 I’ve acquired about 700-800 cds but I’ve put them all in boxes. The format is just so horrible. Vinyl + mp3 is the future!

Anonymous

I fit in all those categories.

Anonymous

tv show’s b/c its free and there is no other way to get them. B\c its not stealing its a copy not a phsical item that cost someone money and trying before buying bought 7 games that i torrented and liked so i supported them for making a good product and they update the game often making it worth it to buy a game thats been around for 3+years

Anonymous

A combination of “Try before Buy” and “Can’t get it here”

Anonymous

I’m a massive music fan and I use as a ‘try before you buy’ service.

I have saved thousands of pounds this way. I like to own my music on vinyl.If I like I buy.

This is also a great way to discover new music….. a lot of the artists I’m into actually promote file sharing, they are starting to understand it can be beneficial in gaining new fans.

Its just history repeating itself, they told us pirate radio would ‘kill the music industry’. The industry needs to wake up and embrace new technology, not fight it…. they cannot win!!!

Anonymous

i use torrents to download the tv shows i missed. Basically i use torrents in the same way i use a vcr.
to bad that was not an option on the poll

123

1,2,3,4,
adding:
5. don’t want to feed this crapsystem
6. way easier, more accessible
7. for the love

BritSwedeGuy

All/none of the above – mainly because I want to watch what I want, when I want.

Anonymous

I would like to say try before I buy, but if I bought everything that I downloaded and liked, my entire student loan would get used up in about two weeks.

Name

I use bittorrent because:
1. I can’t get them elsewhere
2. Its easy and fast
3. I can store them if I want to watch/play later on it again, or if I missed it
4. Its free, but with a twist. They’re too expensive here, I can’t afford to pay 70e ($88) for a game! Music is around 25e/cd ($31), the dvds usually the same 20-25e, and a bluray-movie is good 30-35e ($37-45). In US games are ~$70 and less (55e), movies about $20 (15e), bluray’s $30 (23e) and CDs $20 (15e). Well, maybe not exactly, but something along those numbers.

1e != $1

Name

Oh and may I add, I *do* buy games and movies. From the discount sales where they’re 50% cheaper.

Hoshpak

I would say for me it’s more than just on thing. Of course I share legal torrents like GNU/Linux-distributions, Jamendo, legaltorrents.org and so on. There are also some TV shows I can’t legally watch or buy somewhere. So instead of waiting 3 years for the synchronized version to arrive I just download the TV-Rips from the US through Bittorrent. Another thing are movies I’d like to watch but would never buy myself. I just download them, watch them and delete them afterwards. Another strong reason for using Bittorrent is that it is definitly a superior distribution system.

I would be willing to pay for high qualitiy DRM-free content but for now it seems the media companies don’t want my money and are completely unaware of the possibilities of modern P2P technology.

yogi

The 4 answers are not mutually exclusive and the pll should reflect that.

JBoy

Out of convenience.

Anon

All 4. Completely depends on the subject matter, however I will complete the poll with my main use for it.

KingJing

In some cases it’s ‘try before you buy’. Even though I don’t download all that much.

But in some cases I download because it is free, or rather because I wouldn’t buy it anyway.

Ralonto

For me it’s a mix of the following:

65% of what I download = Option 1 (the stuff I don’t really care to pay money for but if it’s free I’ll download it)
10% of what I download = Option 2 (the stuff I have downloaded and like, will buy it if I see it somewhere for a good price)
25% of what I download = Option 3 (lots of out of print and really obscure stuff that’s not in the shop and would cost a fortune to buy off the internets)

GrX

pure and simple for games.

i buy a game i get told when i can install it, how many frigging times i can install it then i have to jump through hoops of fire to activate it.

god forbid my net is down, god forbid i decide to take my game on a trip with me..

paying users get screwed there is no legal methods or get recent games without diving through hoops first to use what you paid for.

Does mc’ain or birds eye say you can’t use our food in a Toshiba or Panasonic microwave? does PG tips teabags state you can’t use them in tea makers by Philips or takieo..

sounds stupid doesn’t it … seriously this is how crazy it’s got and just how clouded your minds are or they think your minds are when it comes to being told what you can and can’t do…

imagine cutting the grass in the front yard.. then take the lawnmower to the backyard only to find out you don’t have a license to use the mower to remove the grass at the back of the house lol..

this is exactly what game/movies/tv companys are doing and were just letting them..

end of my rant but here’s a kicker for you all…

—————

you can legally buy FCC approved DivX players that play divx/xvid content..

Show me 1 legal place to buy movies or any other media to use on these legally bought legally sanctioned players???? not 1 god damn single outlet makes legal DivX/XviD content to play on these but yet they are selling them in the millions….

Work that out :)p

/rant

muuh-gnu

> Why Do You Use BitTorrent?

Stupid question.

Similar stupid questions woudl be:

* Why do you use computers?
* Why do you use phones?
* Why do you use cars?

Answer in every single case:

Because its there and because I FSCKING CAN.

Suggestion for a more proper poll question when were done with this one:

“Do you think copyright should be enforced on private filesharing?”

Let me guess that such a poll wont come into place in order to prevent a 99% FSCKING NO!

Big pimpin

I only download stuff that I can’t justify buying or could not afford to buy. If all the torrent sites in the world were shut down and I couldn’t download anything then I still wouldn’t pay for the content that I download, so the movie industry wouldn’t get paid either way.

flash88

I listen to hardcore Punk Rock and have lived the lifestyle for almost all of my life, so I have embraced digital piracy quite naturally. I hate the government, the cops, society…and now I get to hate the MPAA and the RIAA!! Great fun!! Due to my dysfunctional lifestyle I have spent about 16 of the last 20 years in a state sanctioned slave factory (prison) and so I am very new to BitTorrent and P2P…actually I am quite new to technology in general, but alas I have found a new love. I love my old Dell laptop and I love TPB and I love TF!!! So in short my answer is to get shit for free of course, and I dont really think any of the members of the bands that I dl would be pissed…this is the type of shit that we punx are all about!!!LONG LIVE TPB

Anonymous

I rarely bought things before P2P and I rarely buy them now.

Average Dave

I would say I download everything in the guise of try-before-you-buy, but then end up keeping said download even if I don’t buy because it’s free.
In the case of music, it’d be before I decide on seeing a band that’s new to me, or if someone recommends me something and I can’t find the music for free elsewhere.
In the case of movies, it’d usually be to see if it’s worth getting a DVD. Or, if I saw a movie at the cinema and wanted to check it out again.
Games is the one it applies to most though, if it wasn’t for piracy I’d never have bought some great games like Galactic Civilizations II, Civ 4 or KotOR. I spent weeks looking in stores for KotOR, and that was when I had the game for free and had completed it. And they think piracy hurts them…

Toost Inc.

Based on what I download the most (anime, tv shows) it’s mostly option 3 for me (because I seriously doubt Dutch television will EVER pick up a good show, and then it’ll still take years for them to catch up) but the other options count as well…

Isaac

Before I even heard of BitTorrent, I’ve only been to one movie in a cinema, never bought a movie and rented from BlockBuster no more than a handful of times.

I did watch a number of movies from the library, though.

I now get movies occasionally from BitTorrent. Why? I guess because its free. And convenient. And easy. If there wasn’t BitTorrent I wouldn’t have gone out and spent any money. Does that mean I don’t care about the free aspect? Maybe…

On the flip side, I’ve donated money several times to various artists who decided to release stuff to BT, such as Steal This Film ($5USD when I got I and II and maybe more when I got 2.5). I guess you can scratch that ‘free’ vote. That’s not the important part…

I guess its convenience. Though I voted ‘free’…

Dan

It’s convenience for me, though I voted and fit with the “free” option most. TV and movies you can get them before any other place has them (legal or illegal) and in a format my hacked xbox can play the second I’m done downloading them

Peter

Two main reasons for me:
1) being up to date in what i watch, i dont wanna wait weeks to see the newest 24 when i can wait a half hour and find out? release dates need to be global not staggered

2) im a serious retro gamer, love old games and dont wanna risk crappy cartriges, old discs being scratched, finding a reliable seller. its so much easier to type what i want and even if its 15 years old its there waiting for me uploaded by other fellow retros

daviddanut

Either because it’s free and I wouldn’t usually buy it, because I seriously disagree with the principles of the company (Apple – not paying artists on iTunes, Microsoft – Insanely expensive (£49!) support for a seriously support needing OS, Games – DRM infested) or becuase I can’t get it in the UK, ie South Park, Japanese anime.

On the other hand if a company changes (Like Ubisoft no longer bundling SecuRom on games) I will pay for them. I recently bought Shaun White Snowboarding, such a shame it’s crap :(

I don’t find BT paticuarly convienient as I have such a rubbish internet connection, I get average speeds of about 10kb/s. 12GB files take an age.

Crynsos

My main reason is that I can’t get the stuff elsewhere, such as rare music, old games and movies, emulators and games, some japanese stuff now and then… and more…

Jerm

WoW stopped me from downloading pirated games because who needs other games.(I also bought Quake Wars, so I have my FPS and MMO fix taken care of)

I haven’t used any P2P to get music forever. Why bother when google can get it for me faster and safer.

I don;t torrent movies because I’m on Comcast and I’m scared.

I mainly torrent Howard Stern to listen to on my PSP at work, and a ton of TV shows. Because watching TV on a TV at the scheduled air time is for losers(and people who aren’t busy raiding all night). If it isn’t on Hulu, I get it from torrents. I have my TV and 5.1 sound system hooked up to my PC. So I actually get better audio and HD quality video by using torrents for my TV viewing pleasure, without paying for the rip off that is broadcast HD television.

So I guess I fall into the “because it’s free” category, somehow.

Alexey

I guess, “can’t get it elsewhere” is closest to “don’t want to get it elsewhere”. Buying “legal” content or waiting for shows to appear on TV is far too inconvenient.

Anonymous

i actually don’t use torrent a lot because i got an RS premium acc (10€ for 1/2 year ~=free) but it’s basically the same isn’t it. Reasons are just everything. I get stuff earlier, bigger choice of products than any shop could possibly have, neither having to go out nor waiting for mail, all free of course … etc it’s just beautiful :)

Anonymous Coward

I am a bit poor tbh but I watch anime, it isn’t broadcast in the UK to the best of my knowlege.
I do however keep a list of what I have watched, in the hope of one day getting a job good enough to buy it all.
That said at £20/disk with 4 episodes… its just too much for me.

kiwi pirate

i use it to try before i buy and because i refuse to wait months or years for dumb ass program directors on free t.v to play what i want to see.i work away from home 24/6 so i want to watch what i want when i want.i do use BT to find old music i miss but thats it,not a big music person.

Gordon

All of the above.

1/2 Free/Try before buy

I download music before I buy CDs, because I want to know that it is worth my money. I own every Sonata Arctica CD, and several CDs from Juno Reactor and Infected Mushroom. I downloaded music from each of these groups (over BitTorrent), and liked it enough to buy it. The fact that all of these groups are on non-RIAA labels is good, too :)

3 Otherwise Unavailable

There are some really old computer games (20+ years) that cannot be found anywhere, or are for systems that no longer exist (Commodore 64).

4 Legal torrents

EVE Online patches.
WoW patches.
Other patches from game-updates.org.
Linux ditributions (Gentoo/OpenSuSE).
Transferring files between computers on my LAN.
- If I want to copy my files to three different computers on the LAN, why copy it three times? Just make a torrent, use a decent client than supports LAN transfers, and load the torrent up on the other three computers. Also works great for distributing game patches when I don’t want to download the thing separately for each computer.
Game mods – Pirates, Knights, and Vikings. Sven Coop. Dystopia (before it was available through Steam, now if only Steam would implement P2P-based transfers). Project Reality.
Free games: America’s Army, Vegastrike

mete

lots of linux distros come in torrents.

kiwi pirate

ditto on the more comprehensive survey.maybe next time huh?

Virate

Free sh*t. To be blunt :P

B

*Because it’s free, sure.
*Also because it’s risk-free, so kind of “try before buy” even if I don’t “buy after free-download”
*Because it’s fast and easy: I think of a movie, I download it even if it’s sunday. No need to go to the shop and see if they have it or not.
*Sometimes, I discover new things (particularly for music, but as another guy said, since there is Spotify, I haven’t downloaded music. Almost.
*For Linux distro !!

my 2 cent car crash.

The 8track recorder didn’t kill radio.
The cassette recorder didn’t kill radio.

Batamax/Vhs did not kill movies/Tv
Dvr recording does no harm to movies/Tv.

Audio/video stream recordings do no harm to those media

We live in a digital age, folks have been sharing from the first pressing of a 45 r&b record.

Industry of said media is NOT losing money due to this. Prehaps they do from money wasted fighting new technology. And money wasted in leagl matters of such. As well as buying off distribution methods(isp/anti psp) to implement draconian rules/laws.

Danny

Although I do use BitTorrent to get things for free, and things I can’t find elsewhere (ie. old stuff), the main reason I use it is for convenience. Basically so I can watch anything I want, any time I want. Hence I have around 1.8TB of TV shows and movies.

CopyCat

An answer with which many probably will agree:

“Because it’s easy and fast.”

Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE

HOW about option 5
CAUSE id rather not support people that sue little kids and disabled people and it dont have sony rootkits involved

Dereks

Yes, 5th option “all of them” would be the most appropriate. However, I picked up option 3, because that’s the main one for me…

http://www.10ch.org/ www.10ch.org

I hope that the people behind TorrentFreak already know about the general uselessness of open online polls – and if this is the case, then I wonder what is the purpose of having such a poll. Is this meant to be some form of entertainment or something? Because it sure is not informative. I guess having pointless polls once in a while might be fun to see.

Anon

I use it for all those purposes. But for #1, the only reason I don’t pay is if I didn’t like it, or because there is no easy way to donate an amount of my choice to the people who made the tv show/movie.

r0ck

I use BitTorrent for the sheer joy of looking at my client while it’s seeding and imagining the shared experience of all the people from 20+ different countries all over the world that just got a piece of data from me because they enjoy the same things that I do. Doesn’t get better than this. And all of the aforementioned four reasons and several others of course.

Bort

Because I’m lazy; I don’t want to run to the next shop only to find out they don’t sell it.
Because I don’t want to pollute the environment. Physical media (dvd, etc.) are stupid.
Because I don’t have enough room in my flat to store all those DVDs.
Because I want to try things out before I pay for it.
Because I don’t want *any* cent to go to the copying industry, they infringe on my human rights.
Because all “legal” download sites are complicated.
Because removing/hacking the DRM from the files to make it work with linux takes my valuable time.
Because my favorite anime takes too long to make it to my country’s TV. And the synchro sucks. Fansubs are much better.

I’d really love to pay the creators of culture for their effort, but I’m still searching for the “pay” button. Yes, the world needs a simple and cheap micropayment system!

beast

i mostly download things that i hear about or am curious in. it might be a random movie or a current blockbuster – maybe one that isnt playing in my area, or a new band or an old one with a vast backcatolouge. i download them first because its free and quick. but if im genuinley impressed i might buy the extended DVD or get that album on vinyl or go see them in concert. i dont fall into one specific category..
i used to spend lots of money buying CD’s and going to the cinema, but got disenchanted by the hype and dissapointing content I paid so much for..
I dont feel that file-sharing is stealing at all, I feel that it is the entertainments greatest marketing tool of recent history and puts everybody on a level playing field. if a much hyped film turns out to be a load of baloney I wont feel cheated (like when I went to see Indiana and the curse of the crystal skulls), but I might watch an indie film or one not released nationwide, or a band with one hot song but no others, or a great artist that never gets any airtime. quality will always make money because we appreciate it. crap however deserves to makes financial losses.

matt

Options 2, 3, and 4 all apply to me at different times. It would be mostly 3 though, so that’s what I voted.

And don’t get me started about how game publishers and movie distributors like to treat paying customers (unskippable propaganda and having to put the CD in the drive to play with annoying DRM in both cases).

Haze4peace

I use bittorrent, because

1. It’s quick and easy
2. Can find media from anywhere in the world.
3. I’m poor (I plan to do my part after I finish college)
4. It’s an open system that anyone can use.

BuggerMeButtocks

Bort = Nubcakes. Etc. Etc.

Anonymous

Being a poor student, it’s all about it being free. I wouldn’t be a customer is the only way to get it was to pay, because the disposable income is just not there. Given I never would have been able to buy it in the first place, they didn’t lose a sale, and I still get the product.
If they wish to antagonize me now for pirating, then I certainly won’t start paying when I finally do have some money for such things.

BuggerMeButtocks

Im poor too….To bone idle after i finished college……lol….We all have our excuses…

BuggerMeButtocks

And our crosses to bear…..

Anonymous

Sometimes it’s not something that I really want to see so badly that it’s worth picking up. For instance, I wanted to watch the movie Role Models but I have no desire to own it nor will I do business with the local video rental stores at their outrageous prices.

BuggerMeButtocks

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam…:+)

CQ

I use it to listen to music and then ill go to the concert or buy the merch for the bands i like.
I never bought cds before i started using p2p’s but nowadays i go to a lot more concerts cos ive heard of a lot more bands and im building up an impressive collection of band related posters and tshirts :)
i feel the solution is to link the free downloads with real revenue sources for the bands.
free downloads are a way of life but artists still need to be paid. the problem is that adapting to the new environment means havin to reorganise the music industry. they need to catch up with the times

Anonymous

free

Darth_yoda

For me, I can’t really commit to any one choice as it depends heavily on what I am downloading at the time.

If I am downloading music then my answer would be “Because its free”. If I am downloading software then my answer would be “Try before you buy, and partially because its free”. If I am downloading TV shows then my answer would be “Because I cant get it elsewhere and I cant be bothered to wait in some cases 1 year or more until the next episode/season” If I am downloading movies then my answer would be “Try before you buy and because its free”

Method

I use BT to get things that are drm free, good quality, and can be placed wherever I want them. If the things I download were offered at a price that reflects the quality of the content, then I would buy more. However, that content must be drm-free, high quality, and easily purchasable. I don’t buy things anymore unless they’re great, simply to spite the MPAA and RIAA.

Dark Apocalyptica

Same here i really cant commit to any one answer: They’re free I want to ‘try before I buy’ I can’t get them elsewhere. Its pretty much all 3
Like why buy Avg when i can Download it. Some stuff i have intention of buying so i try it out. And other stuff i cant buy like certain psp roms that are only Japanese release and will never be in american. but really i suppose if i had to choose its because its there and its free so why not…

Vertimyst™

I’m in all 4 categories.

I download almost all my music. For bands that I’m a big fan of, and if I like all the songs on an album, I’ll usually buy it if I can. Otherwise, I just download.

For games, I buy the ones I know I’ll probably like or if they have some multiplayer function I want, otherwise I’ll download to try them first. The ‘if I like it enough’ rule applies here too – if I like the game enough (and especially if it’s a indie game), I might buy it. For old games I usually download, because I don’t want to bother to track them down on say, eBay or something.

I’ve never downloaded movies, simply because I rarely watch them, and when I do, I go the theater when I can. Other times I rent them. But there’s always a first time. :P

Only TV show I’ve ever downloaded is Heroes, because up until a week ago I didn’t have a TV subscription (canceled it for a while), and, being Canadian, I can’t stream it. I’ll likely download more shows as I find stuff I like. Plus, it’s on-demand with no commercial breaks. ;)

I also download all the anime I watch. Otherwise I’d have to pay for overpriced poor-quality English dubs.

I also use Linux, so I download different distros through bittorrent.

Tony

also there should be the category of “because it’s easy”

Anonymous

“What if I use it for all of them?”

The question was what do you MOST use it for, you retarded retard.

However, a valid further option could have been “Because it is DRM free”…

I’m not surprised about the results and am glad people were honest to fess up to downloading because it doesn’t cost anything.

Eleriel

for anime… it’s cause it takes well over a year for a show to get professionally subtitled, if it gets it at all.
for music… it’s cause it’s free. if I really like an artist, i’ll buy their albums (i still buy enya, enigma, live! and Era CDs, cause I know they almost never dissapoint).
for movies… heh, never download movies. enjoy them more at the cinema tbh.
for games… try before I buy. with the ridiculous prices on games these days you have to! or get stuck with a game you paid $80(700 SEK), played for ten minutes and then realized it was utter crap, but because you’d tried it, you couldn’t get your money back.

TPM

All 4 apply for me too, but the main one is I just can’t get most of the stuff I download. This applies mostly to TV series which do not go worldwide for months after the premiere of it’s respective country.

Also, there are many more reasons than the 4 specified in the poll – bittorrent is very convenient and easy to pick up. Besides that, I haven’t used a physical media in several years and don’t plan to do so anytime soon. Why would I need a BluRay player, for example, when I can just get a 720p/1080p version downloaded and plug the PC to a large TV?!? So physical media is old, but the subscription services are also DEEPLY flawed – for one, almost all of them are exclusive to the US, and second – they all have a catch, being it a specific codec you have to use, or specific player, or some crap like that. Case in point – I hate WMV and for HD only like H.264. But most services would stick to one format and offer no choice. Another thing – I prefer FLAC to mp3′s but have yet to see a legally sold FLAC file.

I could go on and on, but the idea is already clear – convenience, vast choice, incredible speed, and getting (for example) my TV episodes a mere 30-40 minutes after they aired in their country, instead of several months. AND you feel part of the community by sharing ;))

TPM

Got another big reason for downloading TV series. I realize there is not very much demand for this, but I definitely demand that I watch shows in their original language. Most shows that eventually get to the foreign TV networks are dubbed, and I hate it. Watched a dubbed version of Top Gear once – half the jokes are gone, and I nearly had a brain freeze trying to understand what the 3 lunatics (I mean it in the good way) were actually saying in English. Never Again!

Anonymous

I don’t have cable TV, just a dtv box. So when I want to watch Breaking Bad I have to download it. Plus I like the fact I can watch them anytime after I download them. It’s the same as Comcast On Demand.

Stacey Lover

Next poll should be:

What do you use bittorrent the most for:

- Porn
- TV
- Movies
- Music

Qix

I have only bought 3 cd’s in the last few years. Every single one of them was after downloading the music.

One of which is legally free to download right off the owner’s website (Jonathon Coulton). I bought it anyway.

The other 2 are not from the US (Europe and Japan). And I am not paying $40 for a CD unless every song is good. Even then, it was a tough sell.

Out of all the music I have downloaded, those are the only 3 worth paying for. I paid for them AFTER downloading entire discography’s from the artist/band. Also, flac is good, mp3 less so.

TV shows on the other hand… Bit Torrent is convenient and easy. Available in the format I like. Able to play whenever I want, wherever I want. Cable is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. Most TV shows are legally available on the internet somewhere already. But I don’t like watching TV ONLY on the internet.

Movies… I am in the process of converting all my 300+ movies to DivX. Some movies just wont copy easily. Rather than having to research different programs, and audio fixes, its just easier to download the movie (that I already own).

Also, thanks for asking.

Ravenheart

Mainly because the cost of games/movies/music is overpriced here(one game cost ~17% of a standard monthly paycheck). The few games that I have bought are either packs(like The Orange Box) containing a few games or promotional games(like Audiosurf and Oddworld).

yo

All of the above…
Plus im broke, so there is noway i would buy, hence it is impossible for the industry to have lost money on me!!!!

javimena

Here in Colombia, Latin America, the TV shows are always more that 1 year late. Why to wait?

The games here are really expensive, because they cost the equivalent to US$ 80.

If p2p would not exists, i wouln’t buy it anyhow.

no suitable answer

The poll doesn’t cover my use of torrents.

I download culture based on recommendations of others or search results, and the works I really like recommend and share with others.

“because it is free” doesn’t quite describe it – rather convenience and the ability to select the culture I consume myself (as opposed to TV etc), and a will to share culture I appreciate.

Coke

I agree with post number one; I use it for all of the above, but I like to think of myself as using it for legal stuff (linux distros, etc)

The Mighty Buzzard

Two beefs with this poll:

A) No all of the above.
B) No CowboyNeal option.

Anonymous

I can’t belive how many preople download because its free, I download to try it first, I upload so others can try it first and then if they like it buy it. Its kinda dissapointing to see a large number like that, I’m poor as hell and still manage to shell out 20 bucks a month to buy the dvd of the movie I liked, ro if its still at the cinema I watch it there. no excuse
for the middleclass americans here that like to talk shit about the authors getting overpaid, I write and I paint, yet I’m still in the fuckin’ gutter.

BuggerMeButtocks

I like to think of myself as ‘using it for legal stuff (linux distros, etc)’
But in the end….Its all total bollox…Its cos its free..;.Pirates of The World Unite….Lol..

nurgle

I also use for all of the above.

nka

OTHER: …because downloading DRM protected music and dealing with all the restrictions is ridiculous. The hoops that you have to jump through just to break the encryption and then add them back to your library are numerous and time consuming. Here is an example: Why should I pay more for DRM free music ala iTunes? So that I can use music that I have purchased unrestricted I suppose. However, isn’t that why I bought the music in the first place? Who are these b@stards that think they have the right to restrict what I do with what I buy?

I use bittorrent out of PRINCIPLE and convenience. F!#ck the RIAA!

potatoe man

i have a different angle i think.
i am lucky to be part of one of the greatest trackers out there (join #trace) ;)
and i can honestly say i couldnt pay for a better service.LISTEN
i donated a hundred euro to this tracker and i got like 200GB of upload credit.im a cold calculating pirate, i know i dont have to pay.
i use this GB ratio wise to decide which rls i dl.
site has music games appz movies you name it, all the latest stuff even tv shows extremely fast to the web and very fast to the peer.
the site has no ads.
IT IS A P2P TORRENT SITE.(saving lots of dough thru non hosting locally.)
the rippers crackers nerds and hackers make it possible.
im very grateful.
but imagine a tracker run on ratios with the admins BEING the record co.’s…..thatwould be truly beautiful…a licensed account at universal records tracker……i’d pay hundreds…..

Tiny

I don’t like this poll.

Kalq

I live in Canada and half the stuff is only offered in the US, like Hulu and ABCs video player.

Also, for me, bittorrent eliminated the entire renting aspect of movies and games. Before I would always rent a movie and game and then buy them depending on if I thought I would definitely watch the movie again or if the game was truly good.

Now, bittorrent is more convenient because I can leave it on overnight, it’s free and admittedly more permanent than renting. However I usually never keep the movie or game if I don’t like it, even if it was free so it’s really not that big of a difference.

The two games I actually bought after torrenting them were Fallout 3 and World of Goo. Also, I bought Wall-E after torrenting it as well.

Anonymous

I download because i refuse to pay hard earned money(well whats let of it after obama “changes” my paycheck and takes 40% in taxes and gives it to people who do not need to be in goverment programs(aka people who live together and both collect welfare and foodstamps allthough the collective income is over the limit)).
CD ‘s are $20-25 when a dvd is $15 for the latest movies which provide a full length feature film,trailers,deleted scenes,outtakes and other content.They need to adapt to the future and realize there not going to rip artist off anymore by taking 99% of there record earnings.Bands have allready realized sadly they only make money when they tour and from merchandise.If the execs would see this and adapt to selling full length cd’s in lossless format(AAC,FLAC) for $5 then they would make their money,but until that time i refuse to buy anything.

Anon

For me it varies. I write for a rock webzine so a portion of my music I get sent for free by the artists/labels/promoters themselves. Most of it is watermarked so sharing it is out of the question. Some music I download because it simply isn’t available where I live without the extra cost of shipping and customs from the US. Some music I just download for free because free is better than not free.

As for movies, I have an extensive collection of DVDs (350+) and I tend to buy rather than download those. If there’s a movie I want to see for shits and giggles I might download it because it simply isn’t worth paying for. I might also download movies that I’m stoked about because they tend to come out much later where I live. I usually end up buying those movies later.

As for Software – I’m a student. I can’t afford some of the software that I’d like to use for study-related things, and most of it isn’t provided by the university either. I occasionally buy PC and Xbox360 games that interest me though.

SeawayOutset

Because I have trouble finding some music I listen to in illegal ways, much less legal ones.

Now if only…

Not all content is available in my country & also try before buy is a large part of it as i’m sick of paying for some sub standard S__T thats been manufactured by corporate whores.

Thank you…thank you very much.

Paul

This is a very vague poll- should of let people email with life stories why they pirate.

2 lazy to get link, but slashdot had an amazing article about a indie developer who asked why people pirated HIS games, he got thousands of emails from people on why they pirate in general, and he posted a conclusion of the results, and what he changed in his games (like lowered price and no DRM)

Matheus Svensson

Another category could be ‘Because you can.’

It can be a Pirate-Bay style sticking two fingers up at the content industry. When I heard that ‘No Line On The Horizon’ had leaked, I immediately downloaded it and started seeding. I can’t stand U2’s music. I think it’s truly awful. I did it because I could, and because it would contribute to annoying some people.

Widget

Wow, tons of comments. Anyway, I’ll just copy/paste the comment that I left on the IsoHunt post =):

guess I count as all 4, but it really depends on if A includes people who can’t afford the music in the first place. I’m just a 16-year-old kid who doesn’t have a job (and it doesn’t look like I’ll have one soon with our economy) so it’s not exactly like I have any money (much less the $20/album that they want) to spend on music. Most of the music I listen to would have to be imported from the UK or Netherlands if I bought physical copies (which I plan to do eventually, being a cDJ would be a nice hobby), so it would cost even more. Believe me when I say I wish I could buy the songs since none of the music I have on my iPod is published by any RIAA member companies to my knowledge (other than the Rickroll, but that’s necessary for when showing people my music) =).

C kind of applies for me for older Game Boy and N64 games that I’ve lost the cartridges too or the batteries died in them. Plus I get to use XBox controllers and 1440×900 completely owns the 20″ TV I have =P.

And I definitely use D a lot. Anything over 100MB (like OpenOffice.org) and every Linux distro I get is through torrents. Otherwise I generally agree with Lareolan, especially since the advent of CCMixter.com and others

Jgood

depends on what it is i’m downloading, i mean some stuff that is rediculously priced i dowload because i do not value that product to that degree, i value it, and i’ll pay up to what i value it at, but the prices they are selling it at are way more then what i value, therefore i choose not to pay it.

some times i download stuff thinking that i don’t value it at that price and it turns out that i was wrong, one example of this was half life… i was so impressed and amazed at this game, not only did i go out and buy it, i bought other games from valve because i figured if that one was so amazing their other ones must be good.

some movies i’ve downloaded because there is absolutely no other place i could find them… mr. blanding’s builds his dream house. i check every single rental store in my area looking for it, none had it.

and i have downloaded legal stuff as well

Captain Hazard

I can afford a very small amount of music with my struggling budget. It’s through piracy that I can appreciate all the great music people are making out there, instead of burning out on a dozen albums and living a life with that much less beauty.

What I do is download everything that I like or want to try, and a few times a year, buy a couple of my top albums from that season, to show what support I can manage.

Faris

Cuz i mania by Anime and Cartoon that translated to arabic language or even in english cuz this remember me about the beautiful Childhood days ! i found it just on Bittorrent.. so simply thanx to Bittorrent.

“Sadeeq Elhiwan – Animals’s Friend”
http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/8904/64027974bx6.jpg
==============
“Tom And Jerry”
http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/wallpaper/placard640x480.jpg
=================
“Turtles”
http://www.rmlicensing.com/ENG/Ninja/ninja4.gif
==================
“Treasure Island”
http://www.aramovies.com/movieimages/3817.jpg
=================
“Capten Majed”
http://dvdenlared.com/data/docs/20060914010104/TSUBASA+++img001.jpg

shutz

Like some of the others, I can’t respond to that poll because my answer is “All of the above”

skipper the flipper

I have no other option i live in Germany and to see a movie in English i have to drive a few hours away and tv over here is so delayed some stuff that came out years ago is just now coming on.

Napoleon

I will by default use the official sites to watch my shows. Hulu, cbs.com, abc.com, etc… but the networks for reasons I cannot understand do not stream every show. I download Big Bang Theory because CBS doesn’t seem to want my ad revenue.

thinksthisispollisntwellthoughout

to fill my hard drive with things i most likely will never use but only once.

lovestobeat

i use it to spank my sausage to naked women and or men.

dargon

Generally I use it for a few reasons. That aren’t covered by the poll. I put down try before I buy, but there’s a couple others.

1) TV show that I missed but that I do get
2) Digital copies of music that I own, but that’s on cassette, lp, etc that would be annoying awkward to convert.

B

I’m willing to by albums and support bands, but sometimes an artist has five or six old albums that I’m not willing to spend $60 on.

lauchazombie

i cant get it elsewhere mainly because it is underground music…

ash

mainly just for my favorite TV show that’s limited to pay TV now, and takes up to 16 months longer to come out in my country (versus USA) on DVD /BluRay.

I buy all the DVD’s and recently bought the most recent release in my country purely to the support the show and pay back for the downloading of it.

InTheSea

Just before it had many more ppl stating I can’t get them elsewhere
than the first option. Bot attack?

Anyhow it’s bad poll. For me it’s everyone of them. But mostly is.

I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MEDIA I WANT.
I need to eat, I need to pay transports, I need to flush the toilet. Should I not flush toilet to buy that brand new CD Japanese edition with plus 2 more crappy tracks and a live one of Avril Lavigne?

Should I not have it? Should I deprive myself from a certain game, music, movie just because I don’t have enough money? (Sure same goes to stealing a car I can’t afford) but we’re talking about culture and companies powerful and rich enough to lobby with governments in order to prevent culture the best way it can and known for failing to embrace new technologies.

Beside that by being able to download what I can’t afford I can actually put many things on my ‘to buy’ list, to ‘go watch’ list and so on. (which fits in pole answer n. 2)

J

Because I can; that’s the best reason to do anything. I have no qualms about being a pirate, and I enjoy the feeling of breaking a stupid law.

InTheSea

best way it can spread*

Anonymous

One of my favorite music Genre’s is trailer music, which isn’t even available to buy since the companies want to license it out for movie trailers.

Also, I bought an episode of battlestar galactica off itunes. I went into premiere to cut out a song clip- Whoops, DRM! No thanks, if you won’t let me even use what i bought, why in the world am I going to pay you when the free version actually lets me USE what it is! Astounding how that works isnt it?

istara

I’m someone who would like to pay for more stuff, but being outside the US it’s usually not possible.

I’m also not prepared to pay for DRM-infested content if I can get the same stuff for free without DRM.

It pisses me off enough that whenever I buy a legitimate DVD (which is often) I have to sit through those copyright notices EVERY TIME. Whereas pirated DVDs never have them.

So fk DRM for online content.

NubCakes

I use it to download hardcore gay porn.

The privacy of torrents allows me to aquire such items without scandal.

Jimmy

None of the above. I use BT as a DVR. I’d rather download TV and watch it on my own time, with headphones, and commercial free. Where I live I’m forced to buy “basic plus” cable TV so I hardly consider it stealing. I’m also hikikomori which means I have no friends and leave the house only to buy groceries, so going the the theater isn’t at the top of my to do list, so if I have to download a movie that netflx doesn’t have, which I also pay for, you know… I’m not beating myself up about the “immorality”, I mean I can check out a book at the library so why can’t I dl the first season of Outer Limits? It’s information, and that’s what the internet is all about, the free distribution of human knowledge.

Karai

Because it’s free is what I chose, but I would want to choose them all:

Free – There are things I just plain wouldn’t put the required money in to purchasing, but still want to use. When Adobe drops their prices, I may consider purchasing.

Try – I tend to download games and dick around and if I actually want to play it, I’ll buy it. Demos usually are too short to really make a decision.

Unobtainable – Anything foreign that is reasonably difficult to purchase such as Asian music, or watching the latest episodes of aniime that has not yet been released… Anywhere, let alone in North America.

‘Legal’ – Linux distros, games that use bittorrent as a way to distribute patches, etc.

BlueMaximaX011

I can’t get anything good over here. I tried to find Darwinia, Multiwinia and Uplink after I tried Defcon (all Introversion Software) and I couldn’t find them or get them.

john

there should be a subcatagory for it’s free. how about because it’s way too over priced.

bowelmover

I actually preview movies before i go to the cinema as nothing beats the big screen ( i have a movie card …lol) and the music i download i use in my car but if i like the album i add a legal copy unopened to my collection.

Think about it

Why are people choosing the free option? Would you take my turds just because they are free?

evilkarl

I fall into the top 3. Its free is good but i often download stuff then buy it anyway and some stuff just isn’t available to purchase.

Steve

“Technically speaking, it is impossible to steal something when you are using BitTorrent, as the original files always stay intact.” You are stealing the creative content of the file not the existing data. If someone steals a CD that CD is only worth about one dollar the rest of the price is the creative content. I’m so sick of this “original files always stay intact” argument which is spouted by people who apparently don’t think about why things cost money to buy in the first place.

Him

I use it because I cant seem to put my futurama season 2 on my computer without caring the disc, so i download what I already own.

Dominic

What is the difference between recording a TV show or a movie just out that manages to get on cable for free – To downloading the actual file for your convenience.

Nothing.

In addition to that, I have never payed for any music EVER in my life. First I used google to find my mp3 files, then I started using P2P (Everyone finds P2P sooner or later) I have tried before to buy music but its a major hassle, registering your account and setting up credit cards not to mention the expensive nature of all music.

I think it would be a good idea for creators of any content to make it available for download. Each torrent downloaded in any one time will have a small fee of $2.00 attached. So no matter how much is in the torrent or how much the actual files in question cost, a fixed rate will apply.

Anonymous

Actually it is all of them.

Some programs really have no not comercial equivalent… mh, what am I using…

other programs or music is that good when I have downloaded it, that it makes me wanna buy the stuff… well I would rather donate, but still artists are humans too, they need money.

Of course I download at least the things, which are older than a year, due most commonly the stores do not even have them anymore here – well and waiting for an item from an online store often not a choice.

Of course I use it for legal torrents too.

IMHO it should be a multiple poll, where you can just check the things.

Tom

I don’t buy CDs anymore because I don’t like having to carry something around when I want to use it. The few CDs I have left stay in my car. DVDs: I can’t justify building a “collection” for the sake of it, and there are few movies I’d ever want to watch more than 5 times. I would do Blockbuster more often, but I never return on time and always get reemed on fees. I’m an engineering student, and the biggest usage I get out of the bittorrent and usenet are engineering programs and ebooks. There’s no way I could afford the $10,000 programs, and I’d rather have an ebook library on every topic than a paper copy that again, you have to have with you to use.

ZPX

I buy most of my Music

Find me “Little People” in stores
or “Careful confessions” In stores
the only REAL option is to DL them

most of the stuff I listen to is Either indie or N/A Here in the Stores

But if there is an Artist that I love Ill buy their Music.

As for TV shows? im not going to be tied to a chair from 7-10 at night to watch some 40 min show that takes 60 mins to get through

I torrent all my TV so I can watch when I want to watch. Again if I love the show, I buy it. on DVD

as for movies, I like to Buy them
i dont mind Paying the Money as long as the Extras are great.

and full DVD/BR with extras is just too huge to DL.

Mark

I wish I could say I do it only for legal files or for files I can’t find elsewhere, but honestly I torrent stuff just because I’m a college student and would never pay for it. I don’t really see it as stealing; it’s just violating certain companies rights. And honestly I don’t give a crap, they need to enforce their own copyrights if they don’t want people to download their stuff..

Old cow

I am homeless. I barely have enough money to pay for food and gas for my car. Not to mention repairs. I would go crazy without my free entertainment.

gitanoc

I don’t use it, I mainly use megaupload, and for watching movies, I use qxtream.com, it’s still in a very early stage of development, but it allows me to see the movies while downloading, so I don’t have to keep a computer running several hours just to see a movie, nor store them. The internet is my hard disk.

lovestobeat

spanking my meat on broken glass to downloaded videos of the jonas brothers is mainly what i do with bittorrent.

Jacob

I pirate things because/that are/ or when:

1.)Markets are saturated with content and considering this the content they are selling is overpriced.

2.)If it is unoriginal e.g. A tv show that is a write-off of 1 or more other tv-shows that has no original content in it. E.g those csi or whatever they are called write-offs.

3.)If I where to buy things like TV shows I would probably only watch it once so I do not want to waste money.

4.)The content they are selling is over priced.

5.)The content they are selling is not over priced but I can not afford it.

6.)The content they are selling can not be brought in my region or can be brought but at a price more expensive than other regions.

7.)The content they are selling can’t be brought at the current time in my region but is available in other regions and will be in my region later on.

8.)When the products are alright but not good enough to be brought or brought at the price it is sold for.

9.)When the products are good and every other aspect about them are ok but they are made by corporate firms that are not nice, fair to the people but are instead evil! Or if they are the distributors, publishers etc of that product.

10.)When the products contain any DRM that is annoying to me such as: Installs rootkits, opens up vulnerabilities, stops working after a pre-defined period of time, limited installs or watches etc.

11.)Because I do not have enough money to buy all the media I want. And I am only 16 so I don’t have lke money to buy non-physical crap tv shows with drm etc. And so I download stuff because why should I go without? It doesn’t hurt them if I watch/use/listen to their stuff for free as I wouldn’t buy it because I do not have the money. And so it is only them being selfish if they deny me stuff.

12.)If a game is buggy.

13.)If software is poorly made (like windows!).

14.)If I can not do what I want with it.

15.)If I can not back it up onto another format then reproduce a copy of the original on the original format that will work. And if I can not do this without buying new hardware.And if I can not do this cheaply.If I can not do this legally. (E.g. Ps3 games would require me to buy a blue ray disc writer, a ps3, moding the ps3 and buying the blue ray discs. This would be expensive, time consuming and illegal.)

16.) If their are restrictions which make the product censored or unavailable to me e.g. Age restrictions, government bans on say games or something violent, software restricted to people in certain industrys etc.

17.)If the RIAA, MPAA, similar groups and or their members have touched the product.

18.)If the money I am paying for it is going to go to paying for a store when I could order over phone, internet and get it shipped directly to my house or download it while saving money.

19.)If it is restricted to a physical format e.g. cds, tapes, dvds, records, blu-ray discs etc.

20.)I am to lazy to go to a shop. Why should I. I mean it is readily available over the internet and they can sell it effectively over this medium.

21.)Because I do not see why I should either go without or pay a price for something that is decided by the person who owns the monopoly rights (Copy rights) as monopolys are evil and they will get what their given. If they are evil and if they do not accept my money or do not make it easy then they get nothing.

22.)Why should I pay so much money for things that are marked up heaps or things that can be reproduced almost free. Considering the people who sell this own the copy rights they are essentially price fixing. Also on a side note price fixing is illegal and if all those price fixers do not follow the law, do not get in trouble for it, and do not have to follow the law then why should I? I may aswell download their stuff illegally!

23.)If the content creators have been scammed of their rights on a product.

24.)If the money I spend buying the product will essentially not or a very small fraction of it will make its way to the creator.

25.)If the formats it is sold in are crappy. I want music in “FLAC” format. If they do not sell it in such then I will not buy it.

26.)If the thing I am buying is old. I don’t know how old is old but just old in general. For example ancient music or tv/movie that have those ridiculously long MONOPOLY RIGHTS.

27.)If the content is only available on pirate webs.

28.)There is so much crap out their and I will not buy any of it. In fact a lot of it is crap.

29.)If buying this will deprive me of buying something else that is physical.

30.)If the money from buying the product would go to people who already have more than they need then unless I decide to throw the money at them I will keep it as I need it more and any non-selfish human shouldn’t mind.

31.)Considering that their are more than 30 reasons/situations or whatever where I will not buy things I have probably got so little left elidgeable for purchase by me that we could round it down to 0. Considering the majority of content either; has DRM, is over priced, is crap or at least average, touched by the MPAA or RIAA or similar, can be reproduced free yet is charged alot for, are sold under a monopoly, unavailable (age, region, censored), content creator gets near nothing, they are rich and should not care about my money, I do not have much money and that their are physical objects I would rather buy etc I am left with hardly anything to buy. As a direct result of their “supply-not and demmand yes” (we supply not what you want and you demmand and buy it) business model I am left with very little to buy.

Unfortunately the lack of content is not my fault and I can not fix it for them. I can not supply the content for them or make them supply it. It is up to them to supply the content. It is not even my desire for them to not supply the content and I would prefer it if they did. Yet they continue to call me things like “thieve!, cheapo!, killer of industry and jobs!, a minority :(! etc”.

They continue to blame me for their lack of sales. It is as if they where trying to avoid work or enjoyed blaming people like me more than work for why they fail.

To think the CEOs of these corporations are either very stupid and do not understand supply and demmand (you supply a demmand with whatever it is it wants) and cheated to get their flash education certificates or they are extremely lazy or determined to do it the hard way.

Seriously they should fire the CEOs and replace them with teenagers who barely passed level 1 economics because even they understand supply and demmand. And this is a matter of supply and demmand. If they supplied people with what they demmand (e.g. what they want to purchase) then they will buy it.

If that means it needs to not be average out of 1000000000000s of movies then so what. If that means no DRM then they say “YES SIR!”. If that means they have to work then WORK….

krispee

because in Malaysia the originals are

1. Hard to find
2. Very expensive
3. Even it’s legal the quality are stripped from the actual original by leeches
4. Censored
5. Corrupted officials get paid by the organized criminals that make money by pirating them for financial gain
6. I can go on but that would be whiny

Broke

Well for one thing, some of the programs I D/L I could never ever afford. If I use a program often and its less then $50.00, I’ll buy it. I also get really cheesed off when I see companies giving the biggest pirates, Hint Asians, a break on the price of software, movies, music, etc, I go ,what gives. I decided whats good for them is good for me. So if the companies want me to buy their products, sell to me at the price the Asians get it for and I’ll quit downloading tomorrow, not till then.

Bottom Liner

Bottom line is people are pissed at the system. lets go burn shit and bootleg all night. welcome to protest 2009!

Cable Guy

I download Linux distros, but most of my torrent flux is of TV shows. I still have a satellite TV subscription, which I pay a lot of money, but I hardly turn it on. If they offer an option to download the content, I would be glad to pay for it (a reasonable value of course) and cancel my satellite subscription. But I can’t. Hulu doesn’t work outside US and the TV content legally available on the Internet here has very poor quality and diversity.

I still pay for TV subscription because money is not the primary issue, but the availability is. I can’t get the TV shows anywhere else other than torrent sites. So I pay for the subscription, but I watch from torrent downloads. I think this is fair use.

So why I prefer downloads than TV?

1 – Because I can’t watch the same commercials over and over on the cable channels. I pay for them, so why I have to watch that c*r*a*p instead of real programming? It would be fair to have a sponsor in the beginning of the show, but seven commercials per movie is too greedy in my opinion. I can’t stand it anymore.

2 – Because in my country the cable channels promote new TV series that have already been canceled in the US. They don’t give a c*r*a*p if the series will end without a proper plot ending. I understand that the control of which series are canceled or not is out of their hands, but I wouldn’t be so pissed if the series were broadcast at the same time here and US. The problem is that they do a lot of promotion of new series that have already been canceled before starting here. So basically, they are selling us a dead product. Then I spend a lot of time watching that c*r*a*p, until they simply stop broadcasting without giving any explanations.

3 – Because I watch a show for 3 seasons on channel “X”. But then, when I’m already hooked up to the show, one of the big studios buy the “X” channel and decide to move the show to channel “Y”, which is not on my line up. They give a c*r*a*p if you like the show and paid for it.

4 – I like to watch TV shows in their original language and all free-to-air programs here are dubbed. So, the only option I have is cable. But then, a stupid CEO of some channels decide to dub the entire line up and they do this in the middle of several seasons. So in a matter of a week, all my favorite shows started to sound weird, because of really bad dubs. Again, they don’t give a c*r*a*p for their costumers, all they want to increase their consumer base. I can’t watch a dubbed series after 7 seasons watching it in the original language.

5 – Because I want to watch TV shows on my own time. I don’t want not change my life schedule because of them or double my subscription price to get a digital recorder box. Besides, 90% of the time I check the TV guide, there is nothing I like being broadcast. I have to pay for dozens of cable channels, but I can count by hand the ones that have good programming. Most of the programs are pure c*r*a*p or reruns.

Here are some data about how many times a movie was broadcast in the last two months on my cable channels:

Title……………………………………..# of broadcasts

Scooby Doo and the Goblin King…………..46
No Reservations………………………………….42
Ratatouille………………………………………….32
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix …..36
How to Eat Fried Worms……………………….58
Ballet Shoes……………………………………….49
Underdog…………………………………………..38
My Stepmother is an Alien…………………….36
Look Whos Talking..(OMG)…………………..31

The list goes on…but as you can see, there are several movies that are broadcast once every two days, sometimes more than once EVERY DAY in two months. I’m not talking about basic subscription only here, because I have 10 HBO channels.

I don’t have numbers before two months ago, but I can’t hear anymore about the “Legally Blonde” movie, because it has been broadcast hundreds of times (usually in the same channel) and every time they announce a new schedule for it, they do like it is the first time. I feel robbed when I pay my TV subscription, but there is nothing I can do (well there are torrents).

6 – I have to wait months before a TV show is broadcast here. In the best scenario, a new season starts 2 months after starting in the US. But this scenario is rare.

Just an example, the series “That’s My Bush!” took EXACTLY 6 YEARS and 11 MONTHS to start here.

That’s My Bush Premiere:
US: April 4, 2001
Here: March 4, 2008

The series was canceled a long time ago and had only 8 episodes.

This is ridiculous. We pay for a lot of channels we don’t want, for a lot of programs we don’t like, for shows that have already been canceled, for a lot of reruns and a lot of commercials. I can’t stand this c*r*a*p anymore.

The TV provider has to pay for satellite broadband 24/7 for hundreds of channels that nobody watch. This is a frakking stupid method. When they will realize that BitTorrent could cut the cost to virtually zero and reach a much broader consumer base than they have now and make everyone happy? But I guess they don’t want this, because we spend money on theaters because of the big screen, then we spend money on TV subscriptions because free-to-air sucks really bad, but since good programming is hard to find even on cable, then we spend money on DVD rentals and if we want a copy we have to pay for the DVD itself, which is very expensive. So why don’t they plug me in the “Matrix” and suck all my life to sustain their billion dollar industry?

I’m a “pirate” because I have no option. Torrent sites are much better than official sources not because they are free, but because they offer a much better product for my needs and the movie industry doesn’t offer a legal option that I could pay for, in order to get the same quality and easy of use.

GFORGX

I use it to download and share legal content (Linux/BSD distributions, free films) or content I can’t legally get here (J-Rock, anime).

GFORGX

Btw, I like the BT protocol itself.

name

first 2 options.

jackob

32.) if i give the money to charity intead thus making a donation on behalf of the company which will probably upset them as they couldn’t claim it as a tax deduction.

Marc

There is one possible answer missing: there is no non-free alternative or I don’t know it.
Something where you pay and you can download as fast as you would download a popular torrent with the same quality (hd 720p) and best, more stuff (obviously because it would be created by the majors). So the question is: why the hell they don’t create something like that instead of fighting like idiots? They could even propose torrents which you pay to get and to save their bandwith and push people to share you would get points as you upload giving you access to free torrents. Something like 1 free torrent for 2Gb upload (just a sample).

johnofaaa

Hmm… let’s see. I can wait 2~4 years until the idiots distribute movies like “Secret Sunshine” or “The Good, The Bad, The Weird”, or I can get them NOW through torrent. Hmm…

martin

Here’s my deal:
1: availability.
2: portability. (call me crazy!)

I would pay, but not with the restrictions that MPAA or RIAA would enforce, it’s sad to see that they loose all that potential profit because they want DRM or similar technology.

I don’t want it, I want files I can play wherever and whenever I want as many times I want too, without further cost. ever.

But I don’t think things will change, if they do change we might get streaming content, and stream is not at all what I want, thats not portable.

UK Resident

I tried downloading legally. I took a subscription from Audible. As soon as you subscribe, the “unsubscribe” button vanishes! Had to get the credit card company involved. To my mind, P2P seems a lot safer.

mike

ease of use
i find is easier to dl a torrent that converting a cd into itunes.

Insanara

Primarily so I can watch all my favorit TV-shows, up to date. I don’t like to wait from half a year up to 3 years for the tv-show to come on local tv, for the channel who have paied for it can air it at 2am…
They are getting relatively fast at airing them here, but the availability is still too poor to be acceptive.
Same goes for any other genre, cba to search the internet 8 days for place to buy a track when I can find it in 2 minutes with torrents and other.

so…ok

Not enough Options.

Some times its because i cannot get TV Shows here. Other times is coz i want to Try Before buy… many a Game has been leeched only to find that its absolutely dog $hite and not worth a A blank DVD never mind retail price…

stofzuiger

u shuld make checkboxes instead of this XD

(all of above like all)

Softly

I do not use BitTorrent
Where is this type of answer?
http://www.softwarely.com/

PG Tips

I use it mainly to download UK tv shows that are unavailable by any other means – not on DVD, out of print, etc. Most of the current shows are already available for free legal download on network websites but only to UK residents and I’m across the pond.

Ravenholm

WOW Jacob – What a diatribe!

El Rorro

I hate this simplistic polls… what if I use torrents for all that options? This should be a priority poll…

Anonymous

As many have already mentioned, you omitted a few too many viable responses for this poll to be taken seriously, I’m afraid(including *all of the above*).
The most glaring omission imo, being that media corporations have had it too good for too long already. Since inception they have expoited artists, duped audiences, spoon fed the masses garbage with no alternatives, and reaped massive and disporportionate profits off professions(entertainers) that have always provided SERVICES and tried to pawn them to us as PRODUCTS.
The answer I would have chosen, given the choice, would have been *to avoid funding a flawed and unjust industry that refuses to change in the face of its certain collapse,…*

Jim

I download from torrents becuase I’m lazy and cant be bothered going to the shops to buy them, and not too keen on forking out £25+ for a dvd, and £40+ for games.

harpdog

I mainly torrent TV shows. Sure I could cap them anyway. Then spend time converting into manageable format then edit out the ads.

or I could d/l TV that someone else did all thew work on.

Also I dont have to wait months for the shows to screen here in europe.

t0m5k1

i use apt-torrent on my ubuntu desktop & getting updates for my OS this is a lot quicker than the normal http & i also by seeding i help take the strain off the main ubuntu servers.

i also use it for other opensource software software as well as ‘try before i buy’

iam also investigating ways to use bittorrent to connect to normal websites via a tunnel type connection

hot sex gary

I use steam for my games, and download tons through there because its mega convenient. However, some games aren’t on steam, and no decent online music stores are out, so its way easier to torrent an album than trying to find where to buy it from.

RoestVrijStaal

I can’t choose: I want vote for all the four options :)

mynonys

Where’s the “because it’s faster than anything else” option?

Filesize-wise, I definitely download “legal” torrents more than anything else- buttorrent is the fastest solution for that.
But number-of-torrents wise I find things on bittorrent that I just can’t find anywhere else (legal or otherwise). If people aren’t going sell me music that I can find an MP3 of, I’m still going to listen to it.

Sell me an MP3, make it so I can find the thing, then I’ll buy it.

OWW

because it opposes my political, religious and moral views

Anonymous

Because it is easier. I will happily pay £60 a month for unlimited downloads of 1080p movies, 720p TV shows and FLAC music. DRM free so I can also satisfy my desire to archive the internet.

Jerry can

“i use torrents to download the tv shows i missed. Basically i use torrents in the same way i use a vcr.
to bad that was not an option on the poll”

I second that emotion…

twigg

I download stuff that i wouldn’t normally buy but i still buy the things i would. So i sort of download them because they are free, but if i really like something then i buy merchandise. So the artist/director/developer or whoever makes either makes money from me or not, either way, they don’t loose money.

Anonymous

I use torrents to download TV shows so I can share them on my network. I do not feel the need to pay for a high end Tivo box when I can download torrent files and watch the show the next morning.

Technically all I am downloading is the same thing I could record with over-the-airwaves network broadcasts, but do not record it myself.

For shows I really like, I end up buying the season anyway when they come out on DVD.

Stuffn

They need the answer, “Because I’m Poor”.

Because, really, I’m not downloading stuff because it’s free, only because I’m poor. There is a huge difference there. If I had the money to spend I wouldn’t mind buying it — even if it were ‘free’ online. And this would help to prove my theory that most people steal because they’re poor and wouldn’t buy whatever they’re stealing anyway.

djnforce9

For me it’s a variety of reasons actually. Most of the time it is because it is free and very convenient (I wouldn’t have gotten to experience nearly as many games, movies, and music if it weren’t for torrents). Also, sometimes there are no legal alternatives for what I want to do. For example, I don’t have a bluray player in any shape or form nor do I own any high definition televisions. Therefore, the only way I can watch HD movies is to download them and play them back on my PC (works extremely well for me since after all, 1280×1024 fits 720p perfectly). So far, I’ve yet to see a service that allows for DRM free downloadable high definition movies (maybe in the future).

John

Several reasons;

1-I enjoy old games, just as FFVIII, SWAT 4, and others of the like. Many of them you just cant find in stores anymore. I’ve looked often for a PC copy of FFVIII, and found nothing, so I torrented it.

2-It’s convenient, I have a 15/2 mb/s line. It takes me about 5 minutes to download a 700 MB movie, and about 30 to grab a 4 GB blue-ray. This is the most convenient system ever to grab content when I want it.

3-It’s free. I’m going to be honest about it, I’m a 17 year old saving up for college coming from a relatively well to do family that fell apart about 6 years ago. We barely have cash to pay the mortgage and keep put food on the table. To that end, it’s a very good investment to dish out $50 a month for internet, and not pay for cable or the like.

pods

mainly shows not broadcasted in my country which led me to buy the DVDs of those shows later

James WOods

Thats easy, cause I like it FREE!

RT
http://www.privacy.at.tc

george

My option isn’t represented.

I mostly download current TV shows. It gives me the Tivo experience without owning a Tivo. The torrents are always commercial-free, and you can watch your favorite shows on your own schedule. And the video is often at a much higher quality than my analog cable TV.

Even if one of my favorite shows is on TV, I’ll still wait and download it.

Maroan

Let me put this straight: I see a review of an old game, or movie, or song and look everywhere to get it legally.. but most of the time without luck. So I use BitTorrent to find the files and download them. The last stuff I downloaded was a game from 2003.. Once should think it was still avaible, but no.. and I really looked everywhere! :-D

Reasoned Mind

I use it to download depraved acts of bestiality and also homosexual army films. I encrypt all my stuff so the wife dont find it and no-one see’s me coming out of the porno vid store.