Let's test the morality of devRanters with this question:

You have to build an anti-piracy plugin that will be installed on every and I do mean every, device on this planet and it will monitor if the users are pirating any copyrighted content. If found guilty, they will be penalized by getting them thrown in jail or fined $5000 (let's say).

It's already presumed that you have the skills to get it done.

It's only you that this job is offered to, and no one else. If you say no, then this is not getting built in any way.

If you say yes, you will be paid $50 million.

Are you taking the job?

See I really don't know. Cause as it stands, I don't much care if anyone pirates and really with the way the streaming services are going, piracy is becoming convient again. I want to say I would but damn $50 million... I really don't like working

Easy, say yes and build something fake

I take it. Fuck those freeloaders!

@sutekh42 Building something fake is not an option and its already presumed that you have the skills to do so.

Also do you really think you can get away with a paycheck of 50 mill for a fake software?

@Sid2006 If it's presumed I have the skills then surely I have the skills to get away with faking it too!

But if that's not an option, fuck it I don't need that much money

$50Mil as downpayment. For every device using my spyware, I get paid. For every culprit caught, I get paid.

@fruitfcker you're a dumbass. It was a straight yes/no question. I don't see where I talked about it being a business.

@Sid2006 I'm a fucking dumbass

How those kind of jobs end up in reality most of the time:

> It's only you that this job is offered to, and no one else.

It's the only job that is offered to you, no other opportunity.

> If you say no, then this is not getting built in any way.

If you say no, someone else will build it anyway.

> If you say yes, you will be paid $50 million.

If you say yes, you will be paid $5K.

> It's already presumed that you have the skills to get it done.

It doesn't even matter if you have the skills, you will be one of 100 mediocre team members eventually getting it done somehow. You don't even have to sabotage of fake: when it's finished, stakeholders will need years to decide to go live, and then it will fail on most devices anyway.

I won't risk my life and betray the fellow pirates for just $50 mil

@fraktalisman

You nailed it. This is how it really works. No one gets rich building software. You are stuck playing with/against each other until some shit rolls out the door.

@fraktalisman Did I stutter when I said

"Let's test the morality of devRanters"?

I talked about morality and your'e talking about reality.

You must be fun at parties.

@fraktalisman

Then the owners of the software stab you in the back because they can and must because you are an overpaid intellectual prostitute.

@Sid2006

So we are all prostitutes. Does this answer the question?

@mansur85

Or join the oppressors as @fruitfckr wants to do. Those are your choices. Party? What party? We have bills to pay.

Such plugin sounds of dubious legality, and it's much harder than you think to verify who is breaking the law if you spot piracy. So probably not, or maybe take the offer but deny making anything that would break the law.

You should have added that everybody will know that you did it. Because it’s easier to do an immoral thing if nobody knows about it.

Anyway, I wouldn’t take the offer because I don’t need that much money and I don’t want to be an asshole.

I try to renegotiate the pay to at least $500M. $50M is too little pay for a product like that, and even $500M is not that good considering the aggregate amount of money the copyright holders believe they will be saving.

Btw, since it’s about morality, pirating in itself is a morally complicated matter.

Sometimes it’s legitimate like if the product is abandoned, not sold anymore, or not available in a specific country. In that case, pirating is morally fine.

But if you just want to save money and pirate the product that you definitely would have bought otherwise, that’s obviously morally not okay.

So, my decision about taking that offer to build that anti pirate software would greatly depend on the cases of pirating.

Funny I got a video recommendation about DRM after this https://youtu.be/YNUSxFX4elY

Google and Microsoft software devs already write this kind of stuff for < $200 a year.

Google will actually look at your storage. If it determines a file somehow violates copyright it will delete the file. Some dude who bought a digital book had this happen to him. He had bought the book legitimately. So you can see how well this would work with penalizing people. It would fail so hard and people would be accused of false copyright infringement.

I won't use these online storage because of this crap. I have to wonder if google searches my phone already and deletes shit.

Yes because there will be work arounds for this plugin in notime. It won't last

I can see through their play!
First they pay $$$, but then it's also on MY devices and they get $$$ from me..

@saucyatom you'll never pirate again with 50mln on your acc. On top of that, 5k fine? Meh, fine in you have 50mln

If the answer show no morality from the reapondant, why should he bother with following your rules ? 🤔

Aren't YouTube rips of songs technically copyright breach?

@MammaNeedHummus I think copyright is all about distribution. Don't setup a website for people to download songs or videos. Time shifting has been upheld as protected under fair use.

Nah, because I'll be spending all that money to buy the stuff I pirate anyway

@retoor you probably will still pirate because it's often a better experience. And you care even less about any fines you might get.

nah, I have been in a position in which the software I wrote made 15 people lose their jobs. I promised myself to never again write something that could affect people.

Piracy laws are stupid. Say I write a book and it is only available in the U.S. I am only considering my market to be the U.S, but someone in Ireland pirates it. I see no problem since I never even imagined the Irish to like my bs book, their market accounts for literally no loss.

So no, I wouldn't. I fucking LOVE money, and I am a merc, I will write shit in VBScript when no one else wants to, but even I have my standards.

*In Australian accent* Professionals have standards

@AleCx04 VBScript is like the shittiest thing I have heard on this website Do you like yourself? ;-)

@Demolishun I do, but I like money even more :V