I don’t necessarily even disagree with this feature but I can’t help but imagine the outrage if that was almost literally any other group of people.

That’s a definitive maybe

The amount of computer generated special effects used in a movie directly correlates with the likelihood of me not liking it.

Superhero movies for example are completely unwatchable because of this.

I’m not arguing against piracy here. I partake in it myself too.

I don’t really see that difference there. Of course the difference in scale is massive when you compare a multi-billion company doing it to an individual, but what about the harm when everyone does it as individuals versus one big company doing it? I don’t think the difference matters anymore at that point.

Doing something morally wrong can’t be justified just because only a small number of people are doing it. You wouldn’t use that defense for any other immoral behavior either. Me dumping my car’s old motor oil into the woods is still bad even if I’m the only one in my country who does it - and if I then go ahead criticizing a drilling company for causing an oil spill, I’d be just as much of a hypocrite.

That at least would be a morally consistent stance and I have no issue with that. I’m talking about the people who criticize them for pirating while doing it themselves too.

they don’t earn anything with it.

That’s not entirely true either. There’s no practical difference between saving 50 bucks and earning 50 bucks. In both cases you’re left with more money to spend. Piracy is equally a financial decision even if it’s just for personal use. You’re saving what ever amount it would’ve cost to buy that media.

I’m using theft an an example due to it being the closest equivalent. The point still stands: if it’s wrong for an company to do it at scale, then it’s wrong when an idividual does it too.

There are edge cases where you could argue piracy is morally justifiable. Those aren’t what I’m talking about here, though. I’m talking about movies, TV series, games, and software that people pirate not because they couldn’t get it elsewhere or couldn’t afford it - but simply because they want it for free. That’s the vast majority of online piracy.

The difference is only in scale. Stealing is stealing independent of if it’s for personal use or not.

You can keep the insults to yourself.

It’s virtually never the case that people genuinely can’t afford it or that it’s simply not available for purchase anywhere. In the vast majority of cases, people pirate because they don’t want to pay. It’s a financial decision that leaves them no ground to stand on and criticize others for doing the same.

Stealing is wrong whether it’s for personal or business use. Which one is more wrong is besides the point.

I’m getting the feeling that the average Lemming is a pro-piracy advocate only for as long as it’s them financially benefiting from it but the script interestingly flips when a company they don’t like does the same thing.

If money wasn’t an issue, there’s be no reason to pirate anything. It’s a financial decision. There’s no practical difference between earning fifty bucks and saving that much - in both cases you’re left with 50 more bucks to spend.

I don’t feel like caffeine even effects me that much. I might have an energy drink few hours before bed and I’ll sleep just fine. Same as with coffee - I drink it for the taste. Generally around 3 cups (400ml each) per day.

I think it’s the exact opposite. Lemmy is worse than those other platforms in this regard. There you atleast have normies around to even things out where as on here the userbase is almost exclusively ex-redditors who are ideological/principled enough to switch platforms. It seems rather undeniable to me that this place was destined to become a massive echo chamber since the day one.

So many people here are on a constant hunt for a reason to attack, dunk on, or insult someone. They don’t bother reading what’s actually being said or giving anyone the benefit of the doubt. Instead they jump straight to conclusions about who you are based on one thing you said, and any disagreement immediately turns into a mud-slinging contest where nobody’s even trying to change anyone’s mind.

Your options end up being: speak up anyway and take endless grief for it, or start self-censoring and tweaking your views to fit the majority opinion on the platform - which basically means joining the crowd sniffing each other’s farts and pretending they have something in common besides shared hatred of the outgroup.

it makes me uncomfortable to be potentially judged for things later

“I’ve changed my mind on that and I no longer think this way.”

People actually paid attention to that number? I don’t get the point.

The only time it matters is when you create a new account and can’t post anywhere due to low karma. Losing my points whenever I made a new account never concerned me one bit.

I was facetiously suggesting they use one to hide the bias already baked into the article - not to add anything that isn’t there.

I’ve been sharing that link around for a decade. It was written way before anyone had even heard of LLMs.

Edit: I noticed you acknowledged the error. Hats off to you for that.