So yeah, let's talk about piracy.

DISCLAIMER: (for obvious reasons) I have never pirated anything, this is a joke and you should never ever even think about attempting anything said here.

Now just to be fully transparent: I don't know everything, I might be wrong about things, please do your own research, this is a really interesting topic. Anyway, with that out of the way, here we go:

Part 1: "Okay, that's cute Sascha, but why?"

1.1 "Isn't piracy harming creators?"

Yes it is. However sometimes creators deserve to be harmed. For example, most people my age, hells most people a good chunk older than me had a harry potter phase. I hate to say it but the movies still hold some nostalgia. But I'm not going to support J.K.Rowling because her works used to be comforting when I was like 12 and being bullied. I guarantee you whether it's a movie, a show, a book or whatever, you most likely like something with a really shitty creator. Alternatively sometimes the piece of media in question is only available on shitty streaming services, especially now that dvds are dying and often hard to come by and/or really expensive "collectors editions", especially when it comes to shows. In that case I suggest finding some other way of supporting the creators, buying merch, supporting projects that are available in other ways, signing up to their patreon if they have one etc.

1.2 It's impossible to own shit these days.

Now I'm probably too young to make arguments like "oh back in the day..." without sounding incredibly cringe so I won't. However I will point out that streaming services (and similar models for games etc.) suck. Call me old fashioned but I'd rather pay a one time fee for a piece of media and then either have a physical or digital copy of it than have to pay monthly for a bunch of stuff I don't watch without the guarantee that the stuff I do want to watch staying up on the service. And then there is the issue that not every streming service has every piece of media. To watch all of my comfort shows I'd have to pay six different streaming services and still pirate some stuff because it's not on streaming services and I can't get my hands on a dvd/digital copy. If I could buy a dvd box for all of them I would and I'd be happy. But I can't because they're either like 100 euro minimum collectors editions or I can't find them for the love of all hells.

1.3 Piracy is archival

Do you have a nieche piece of media you love? Is that maybe a very small franchise or just a single movie? For the love of all hells get your hands on a digital or physical copy that you own as soon as you can, through whatever means nessicary. Especially if it doesn't have a cult following/ only has a tiny fandom. Lost media happens and if you don't want your favourite whatever to fall to that fate piracy may be your only option. Aside from that, like I said, there are shows and movies that are almost impossible to find outside of piracy.

1.4 Or maybe you're just broke

I'm dead serious. There is a valid argument of pirating a piece of media because you're not able to afford it, then buying a copy when you can. Simple as that. Hells the dev of slay the princess actually suggested that on twitter.

Part 2: So what now?

2.1 Safety

First of all: Be safe. Get a good VPN (I won't make any recommendations, but please do your reasearch and make sure they're trustworthy. Your VPN can rat on you just as simply as your ISP) and/or use a Tor browser and for the love of all gods: use an adblocker and a good antivirus. And of course, I will repeat it again to make sure my ass is safe: Don't do this. Piracy is a crime, you wouldn't download a car and so fourth.

2.2 Different kinds of piracy.

2.2.1 "Streaming sites"

First of all there are what comes down to illegal streaming sites. These are little use to the archivistically inclined pirate, but if you just want to watch something these are one of the easiest solutions. Usually even just looking up "watch [insert show/movie here] will bring up quite a lot of these. Here a good adblock is absolutely vital. Aside from that there is not much to say about them. They are convenient but only viable for watching shows/movies. If you are not interested in downloading something these are for you. (Chances are that if you're a westerner who likes anime you've come across a few of these.)

2.2.2 "Cyberlockers"

Cyberlockers are basically file storage/sharing services that can't be searched. Because they can't be searched people who provide pirate content through them share them via blogs, websites etc. Some are harder, some easier to find, but depending on what you're looking for these are great. Especially if you're looking for games rather than stuff to watch, there is a solid chance somebody has what you're looking for in a cyberlocker. Just please, please have a good antivirus if you're going to download anything from anywhere on the internet, not everybody on the internet has your best interest in mind, but I'm sure you knew that already.

2.2.3 "Torrent sites"

Well torrent sites are what it says on the tin, here's a link to a good explaination of what the fuck a torrent is.

2.2.4 "P2P"

Okay, here's one of the big boys. P2P or peer to peer file sharing is an interesting one. Basically by using a P2P network (like qbittorrent which is a common one) you're sharing digital files with "peers". Basically this comes down to: you get access to a digital file that somebody offered up, a lot of other people gain access as well by accessing your copy and then making their own. It's a bit weird but it's quite useful. Personally if I was to pirate anything I would at least consider setting up qbittorrent but I get that it might be a bit spooky and there is a little risk involved. All in all though, P2P matches the spirit of communal access to files that is one of the motivations behind piracy.

3 Conlcusion

So yeah, like I said, do your research, these are some things to start looking into but it's actually a really interesting topic (both piracy and weird file sharing methods in general). Also I absolutely would download a car as long as the original owner got to keep it because that would be basically poofing a car into existance. Still, be careful, don't get yourself in trouble, only share your sites of choice in private chats and the group chat rather than your social media profile, have a good antivirus, don't be a cunt.

Love, Sascha