Kickass Torrets taken offline; owner arrested

[Hydra009]

Why is pirate bay still up?

I dunno.  They certainly had their share of raids.  Apparently, the survived.

Now that Kat is down, a lot of traffic is going to flood back to TPB, which is not ideal.  Relying on a single site just makes it that much more devastating when it gets taken down.

[PickelledEggs]

It did get taken down, I think. They just came back though. I think ka will come back too, if the trend with these sites stay the same

[Hydra009]

Somewhere there needs to be a compromise between outright piracy, and being charged 22 dollars to buy a DVD that is worth a fourth of that.

I agree.  There are some services that try to do that (Humble bundle sells comics on the cheap and Netflix has a relatively cheap subscription model), but that sort of middle ground is not very common.  If you want to see the latest blockbuster or TV show, you basically only have two choices.

And infuriatingly, the movie/tv/music industries have had an abysmal track record with consumers and other businesses - SOPA/PIPA, the RIAA suing XM radio for allowing users to save songs they hear on the radio, suing Pandora for songs that aren't even covered by federal copyright laws, even youtubers using clips that clearly fall under fair use hasn't gone unpunished).  They're creating their own resistance.

"It is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant." - Shakespeare

[Nonsensei]

From what I understand, TBP is now run out of a country that does not recognize US copyright law and has no international agreement with the US regarding the issue.

[marom1963]

They'd make more money and run the pirates out of business if they sold the stuff at rock bottom prices, say 50 cents per download. People would go for it to save on fears of being hit w/copyright infringement. 100 million downloads at 50 cents is 50 million dollars, which is still more than 1 million sales at $22 per unit. Volume is what counts in sales. The more volume, the more profit. It costs nothing to "manufacture" this product - so sell it CHEAP!

[Hydra009]

From what I understand, TBP is now run out of a country that does not recognize US copyright law and has no international agreement with the US regarding the issue.

IIrc, they're still in Sweden, which can be kinda lax with copyright.  But Swedish courts can have some pretty troubling rulings from time to time and of course, Swedish authorities did raid TPB.  So, not the best safe haven in the world.

But from what I understand, TPB has taken steps to be more resilient.  The authorities can't just kick in the doors and shut them down anymore.  It's a shame KaT wasn't similarly prepared.

[doorknob]

nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT's the only one my ISP doesn't catch me for!

[AllPurposeAtheist]

There seems to be a complete disregard for people actually getting paid to work for a living or maybe it's just me. I pay a paultry 12 bucks a month for Netflix which lets me,  my dad, my daughter and my sister all watch it in 3 different cities..  if you're too cheap to pay 12 bucks or less watch over the air network TV ..
I dunno..maybe all of you work for free and like it that way.

[PickelledEggs]

nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT's the only one my ISP doesn't catch me for!

NZB reader, my friend.

[SGOS]

There seems to be a complete disregard for people actually getting paid to work for a living or maybe it's just me. I pay a paultry 12 bucks a month for Netflix which lets me,  my dad, my daughter and my sister all watch it in 3 different cities..  if you're too cheap to pay 12 bucks or less watch over the air network TV ..
I dunno..maybe all of you work for free and like it that way.

As Hydra pointed out, Netlfix offers a common ground between sky high prices and affordability.  And I think it's worth what you pay for it if your willing to accept the limited selection and reduced visual and audio quality.  But while the selection is very large, much of it isn't of interest to me.  I got spoiled when Netflix used to send me blu ray disks through the mail from their inventory of almost any movie I could remember from the past 50 years.  Twelve dollars a month is cheap, although last time I looked it was more like $7. 

But when I lived in Alaska, I paid something like $40 a month for an almost unlimited selection with 7 disks at a time (there was a one week turn around from Seattle so I paid for the option of "7 out"), and that was a great deal, because I could watch a crisp clear movie of my choosing every night on my boat all through the dark and lonely winter.  While $12/month is cheap, it's more limited than what I got for $40, which may still be available, but having gone to streaming, Netflix no longer provides the original quality service or selection of DVDs.  The money is in streaming, requiring a smaller inventory and less complicated infrastructure, but it's a more limited viewing environment with Netflix doling out choices as it sees fit on a substandard medium.  I'd still be happy to pay $40, even living stateside, for a better selection of higher quality.  I don't have cable, by the way.  All I can get is DSL.

Even at $12, Netflix streaming isn't worth it to me.  It's going backwards toward the time when Network TV showed you what they wanted when they wanted.  OK, not quite that bad, but it's a step backwards.  I use Red Box, which is not terribly convenient, but does offer most current movies in Blu Ray at reasonable prices.  And the selection?  Well, forget about renting a 30 year old classic, or some film you remembered seeing in the 1950s.  However, you get Blu-ray quality viewing.  I project movies on an 11 foot screen, which is partly why I'm a fanatic about resolution, and my sound system shows off the extra bump of Blu-ray audio.  Granted, that's not a big issue for many people.  For me, I'm not impressed with Netflix, although I think you get $12 worth of viewing, but I'm probably in a minority in my perception of Netflix.

[Atheon]

KAT was always my go-to site when TPB is down. I used to love BTJunkie, but they closed down 4 years ago.

But technologies change and adapt. First there was Napster. Then there was peer-to-peer. Then there was torrents. Then there was magnet. And on and on and on.

TPB has been the most resilient torrenter. Didn't they operate out of North Korea for a while? They certainly don't recognize Western copyright laws.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

There seems to be a complete disregard for people actually getting paid to work for a living or maybe it's just me. I pay a paultry 12 bucks a month for Netflix which lets me,  my dad, my daughter and my sister all watch it in 3 different cities..  if you're too cheap to pay 12 bucks or less watch over the air network TV ..
I dunno..maybe all of you work for free and like it that way.

I don't know if I represent most people, but for me torrenting off of The Pirate Bay or a similar site is a last resort I use when something is either unavailable in my area, or so ridiculously expensive that the only appropriate response is, "Fuck you." If something I previously torrented becomes reasonable for me to purchase, I have always gone back and bought a legit copy.

[Hydra009]

^ What he said.

Typically, I only search online for items that are either difficult to get by normal means or outrageously priced.  I'm willing to pay, but I'm not willing to be gouged.  I'd imagine others feel the same way.

For games, I mostly use it to try before I buy.  If I like what I see, I'll pick it up on Steam.  There is a reason I do it this way.  I've been saddled with a couple $50 stinkers in the past and I'd like to avoid that problem again.  I also occasionally grab an electronic copy of an old game that I bought long ago but is either damaged or lost.  Thanks to Steam, that is becoming less of an issue now than it once was.

TV:  when possible, I use a legal streaming service like Crunchyroll or Hulu.  When I can't, for series that I enjoy, I make sure to pick up the DVDs.

Movies:  I typically wait to rent.  For the occasional amazing blockbuster, I will go buy a ticket.

[Shiranu]

There seems to be a complete disregard for people actually getting paid to work for a living or maybe it's just me. I pay a paultry 12 bucks a month for Netflix which lets me,  my dad, my daughter and my sister all watch it in 3 different cities..  if you're too cheap to pay 12 bucks or less watch over the air network TV ..
I dunno..maybe all of you work for free and like it that way.

The actors and musicians seem to be doing just fine to me... and for musicians anyways, the record companies are notorious for screwing them over. You aren't paying the musicians when you buy music, you are buying the marketing and executives of their label. I go to concerts and buy merch, so I support the real artists and workers far more than someone who just buys an album. That said, I don't even download music so... not an issue.

As for television... I don't have that type of money to watch series that have been out for 5, 6, 10, 15 years... and if I bought those series, none of my money would go to the actors anyways. And most modern series are offered for free anyways through their own company sites... which means watching it for free is apparently not hurting their business too much.

It's not a matter of being "too cheap", though as a college student that certainly plays a part; it's a matter of realizing my money would not go to the people who deserve it (the artists) but rather corporations that fuck the artists over and fucks anyone who doesn't 110% follow their rules over. I'm gonna pass on that, thanks.

[Hydra009]

It's not a matter of being "too cheap", though as a college student that certainly plays a part; it's a matter of realizing my money would not go to the people who deserve it (the artists) but rather corporations that fuck the artists over and fucks anyone who doesn't 110% follow their rules over. I'm gonna pass on that, thanks.

Now I'm curious exactly how profits are split in the music/film/tv industries.  Perhaps my DVD money is being wasted on some executive's mansion and not the production staff.  I've had a surprisingly difficult time trying to find the answer.  I know that actors as well as guilds and unions take a cut of the profits but these figures vary.  Ultimately, it's not entirely clear where every dollar spent on a movie ticket or DVD actually ends up.