"Kopimism": Possibly the Stupidest Thing Ever
"Kopimism" is a fake religion in which people pretend to believe that stealing (aka "sharing") files is a sacred rite. Teen stupidity over this stuff is one of the thing that keeps me away from comments on Reddit.
Look:
1. This is not a religion. This is a moronic, transparent ploy to rationalize stealing files. No sane person is buying this. This is not anyone's religion, and only the terminally sophomoric would even attempt to deny that.
2. Freedom of religion is an important principle. You want something genuinely sacred, that principle is about as close as you can get. Transparent, bullshit attempts to get your bad habits deemed religious weakens respect for the important principle. Stop it. You are idiots.
Interlude: look, weed should be legal. There's really no denying that. But I've never had any patience for folks who have, periodically, tried to pretend that smoking weed was part of their religion. Some religions do actually have an established history of using drugs (Rastas: you're a borderline case, dudes. I'm going to allow it.) The thing is, smoking weed is genuinely harmless. Stealing files isn't. Allowing some folks to get by with recreational drug use is, in part, an acknowledgement that there's really nothing wrong with what they're doing. But you can't just start, e.g., the High Church of the Pedobear and expect the state to condone your nonsense.
3. I don't know how the file-sharing madness will ultimately shake out, but currently we seem to have big corporations--who are already ripping off artists--doing loonier and loonier things to protect their files, and pirate-friendly kids saying loonier and loonier things to defend their penchant for riskless theft. Look, I don't think there's any big problem pirating the occasional file. Individual cases aren't the problem. It's folks who routinely pirate that's the problem. I simply don't see a big problem with snagging an album or movie when you can't find a way to buy it, or if you're checking it out because you're not sure you're going to like it, or whatever. But a policy of pirating stuff all the time is deserving of prosecution. Why people think it's ok to steal something simply because it's easy to do so really is beyond me.
But look: if you are going to steal files, at least be honest about it and admit you're stealing. Don't get mad because someone wants to get paid for his work, and don't pretend you aren't stealing just because you wish you weren't. And, fer chrissake, don't pretend it's a damn religion.
4. Oh and: should religion be accorded this special status? Well, it should probably just be freedom of thought that's protected. Atheists' metaphysical beliefs deserve as much protection as those of theists. But "freedom of religion" is probably a decent approximation. It's probably close enough for government work.
Look:
1. This is not a religion. This is a moronic, transparent ploy to rationalize stealing files. No sane person is buying this. This is not anyone's religion, and only the terminally sophomoric would even attempt to deny that.
2. Freedom of religion is an important principle. You want something genuinely sacred, that principle is about as close as you can get. Transparent, bullshit attempts to get your bad habits deemed religious weakens respect for the important principle. Stop it. You are idiots.
Interlude: look, weed should be legal. There's really no denying that. But I've never had any patience for folks who have, periodically, tried to pretend that smoking weed was part of their religion. Some religions do actually have an established history of using drugs (Rastas: you're a borderline case, dudes. I'm going to allow it.) The thing is, smoking weed is genuinely harmless. Stealing files isn't. Allowing some folks to get by with recreational drug use is, in part, an acknowledgement that there's really nothing wrong with what they're doing. But you can't just start, e.g., the High Church of the Pedobear and expect the state to condone your nonsense.
3. I don't know how the file-sharing madness will ultimately shake out, but currently we seem to have big corporations--who are already ripping off artists--doing loonier and loonier things to protect their files, and pirate-friendly kids saying loonier and loonier things to defend their penchant for riskless theft. Look, I don't think there's any big problem pirating the occasional file. Individual cases aren't the problem. It's folks who routinely pirate that's the problem. I simply don't see a big problem with snagging an album or movie when you can't find a way to buy it, or if you're checking it out because you're not sure you're going to like it, or whatever. But a policy of pirating stuff all the time is deserving of prosecution. Why people think it's ok to steal something simply because it's easy to do so really is beyond me.
But look: if you are going to steal files, at least be honest about it and admit you're stealing. Don't get mad because someone wants to get paid for his work, and don't pretend you aren't stealing just because you wish you weren't. And, fer chrissake, don't pretend it's a damn religion.
4. Oh and: should religion be accorded this special status? Well, it should probably just be freedom of thought that's protected. Atheists' metaphysical beliefs deserve as much protection as those of theists. But "freedom of religion" is probably a decent approximation. It's probably close enough for government work.
posted by Winston Smith at
7:54 AM
12 Comments:
Usually when you steal things, you deprive the owner of its use. If I steal your toaster, you don't have use of your toaster. But when we share files, the owner of the original file isn't without his file. There are at least some important differences between stealing and file sharing.
File sharing is pretty clearly a violation of copyright law, but insofar as that has a moral justification, it seems largely utilitarian. We protect stuff with copyright in order to encourage people to keep doing what they're doing. It's certainly not obvious to me, though, that file sharing is discouraging people from, e.g., making music. If that's right, it's not clear to me what is wrong with file sharing.
How many times must a customer purchase a musical piece?
If I have an LP, cassette, 8 track, CD do I also have to buy the music on itunes or via other digital download?
But, like all things it's those who pirate millions of files that cause the problem...
It really hard to get past all the special pleading in this area, since just about everyone has an interest in one side or another. That being said, just labeling all violation of copyright "stealing" is clearly now right. Remember, copyright holders would have their level of control extend well beyond anything remotely resenmpling property, if they could. As I recall, the RIAA lobbied hard to have used-record stores deemed violation of copyright, and therefore "theft".
Well, I think the main thing to recognize here is that people are allowing their interest in this issue to extend beyond reason. I think WS is pointing that out.
People are angry that the RIAA and whoever is constantly attempting to take money from consumers in any way imaginable, but the result of that anger should not be the fabrication of a "religion."
People love to talk up capitalism until it works against them. People insist that the music out there just isn't worth the amount they have to pay now, so they turn to piracy. Of course, if they were being honest, they would simply stop purchasing the music, not start stealing it.
But they don't. The problem is, people really badly want music and they simply don't want to pay for it.
But all of that is beside the more interesting (to me) point here about Kopimism and reddit.
Reddit is a festering cesspool of self-proclaimed philosophers and scholars writhing in their own ignorance. I can't even look at the front page anymore because the /r/atheism people, among others, are astonishingly and painfully stupid. They constantly put up memes like "Scumbag Christian" who allegedly knows nothing about science but condemns it anyway.
Replace "science" with "religion" and "Christian" with "atheist" and you've got yourself /r/atheism. Or hell, how about this:
Scumbag Reddit Atheist: Knows nothing about science, insists it is the answer to every question imaginable anyway.
To the vast majority of reddit, religion is nothing but a feverish, masturbatory group dance around a collection of straw man idols they've constructed to facilitate their reveling in mutual, groundless acknowledgement of one another's purported superiority over those stupid straw men.
Reddit sucks. I was psyched when I found it because people seemed to have a capacity there for genuine humaneness in a medium which so commonly seems incapable of generating such a thing, but now I see that it's nothing more than an elaborate, tribal circlejerk.
One last rant: Did you see the recent post on reddit regarding the kid who killed himself by jumping off of his dorm? The girls' dorm across from the guys' dorm from which the suicide occurred put up words all along one of their floors' windows, saying something like "Remember we love you."
Instantly, the reddit comments light up with bitter assholes talking about how those girls would've treated the guys like shit if they had come over there just the week before.
Yeah, reddit, you're not just a group of fat, lazy Internet nerds stewing in your own misogyny and ignorance.
Nah.
This guy mocks Reddit and calls Kopimism stealing
This guy took his blogs name from a meme made popular on Reddit
The irony, it burns.
Anonymous,
Do try not to be a complete fucking moron. I was using 'philosoraptor' as a handle before there *was* a Reddit. In fact, so far as I know, I was the very first person to use it. (I started using it on a VAX in 1993 or '94...Reddit started up around 2005... Not that I'm that interested in this...)
Not that that ridiculous Ad Hominem would carry any weight, anyway. As you might note, even if 'philosoraptor' were not my own coinage, I wouldn't be stealing anyone's money by using it...
Vas -
Read this. You Obviously have no idea what Kopimism actually is or what we believe in.
At least those of us whom are real kopimi and not trying to pretend to be for fun or because they will think it will get them out of court if they get caught committing cyber crimes.
http://christianengstrom.wordpress.com/kopimism-level-1-the-creation/
I am currently in the process of taking thoughts such as these as well as those from the founders of our religion as well as my own beleifs I have had for many years to expand on all of this.
Why did I waste 30 seconds looking at that nonsense?
Because you are a close minded fool is why? What religon are you? Atheist? Oh wait...Atheism isn't even a religion. Which just makes you a blind fool that does not believe in anything.
Maybe if you had faith in at least SOMETHING in life and did not use your bigotry to fuel your ignorance and hatred towards things that you do not understand or agree with. Maybe you would become a better, more loving and understanding person.
Cooperation and Quality is certainly one of our core values good sir and part of that is understanding and respect.
Which you obviously have none of.
Copying
Cooperation
Quality
Blessed be these virtues in which we must all live by. Be free my fellow humans and life life happily.
Copy and Share
-Vas
You do realize that that's a bunch of sophomoric nonsense, right?
It is only juvenile and does not make any sense to you. Because you simply lack the ability to understand the simple concept of what it means to believe in something.
Its obvious you do not believe in anything what so ever and are a child. Either in mind or literally. Which ever may be the case. You to me as far as my impression goes and that last comment. I am pretty sure you might be borderline nihilist.
I mean seriously! Sure a lot of religions believe in some wild stories and many do not make a lot more sense. But Kopimism makes a lot more sense than any of the others in my opinion and still teaches the values of togetherness, cooperation, living life free and happily. We even believe in several of the 10 commandments as part of quality and cooperation as our virtues like thou shall not kill, steal etc. You know the ones that do not deal with the deity himself. I believe its numbers 1-4.
I do not mean to insult the following religions in this last statement but. To me it makes a lot more sense than these two.
Christianity believes: A Cosmic JEWISH zombie whom was our god, died for us to remove a evil force that god himself put there. All because a Rib woman was tricked into eating from a magical tree by a talking snake.
Scientology: (Which is a dangerous cult and not a religion btw) I still cannot make heads or tails of this one. Every time I try to read something about it...gah! Apparently you have infinite multiple lives and the whole religion is based off of science and fantasy. They take people and in order to be a part of the religion you are forced to "pay" them a lot of money and keep paying them money in order to be a part of them and they force you away from your family and never come into contact with them ever again (so that they cannot make you come to your senses and realzie your being brainwashed and robbed.) Its not only a rediculous beleif but its a dangerous cult that seeks only money, power and to abuse humanity.
and you have the gull to stand there and call ME juvenile and other bad names?
All I seek is to merely show you that real fundamental kopmism is definably NOT a religion based on "we should pirate things and get away with it" as a central belief because it is not. Its nothing like that at all.
The religions belief's have been around for quite a long time. It was just not until that whole thing in Sweden started that it was finally pushed into motion and received something for a name to call it by.
We are not the pirate religon. We are the copy religion. Our most fundamental beleif is that the universe, us as well as all life and all that we know. Came to be by an infinite of small particals and atoms and other things like that copying themselves, comeing into existence to form everything we know.
since our bodies are made of cells that have copied themselves many times over and are still doing it right now. Life is made of copies and there for. We see copies as beign a sacred act of creation.
When a new idea is formed, your brain creates something that never existed in the universe before. Something new and when you share your idea with someone. Their brain creates a copy that that idea and thus it becomes more important the more and more its shared and more valuable.
So hindering or restricting the act of creation simply goes against what our most fundamental belief is.
Which is why many of our leagal experts whom are kopimists are fighting against this new wave of unfair and increasing DRM and Copyright maximalists that are trying to increase the laws in favore of rewriting the laws entirely to make it more fair for everyone including the ones they are suppose to protect from plagerism and theft.
Well that is all. Continue to believe whatever. I just wanted to attempt to clear any misunderstandings if at all possible.
I really did enjoy writing with you and wish you a happy and free life.
-Vas
Dude, surely you must realize that none of this makes a bit of sense...right?
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