Counting Pennies

You may remember this post, where I talked about the fine line between getting something for free and stealing something from your boss. Turns out the issue has more sides that I could imagine at one point. Let me explain.

I travel a lot as a freelancer, both locally and internationally. I;m currently in Russia in what was supposed to be a two-week assignment and turned into a six-month deal (don’t ask). Since my Russian is limited to words like “priviet” and “nyenada” and since there are no TV channels, radio stations or movie theaters showing anything in English, I’ve often found myself in desperate need for something… understandable. I’ve been spending my down time on the internet, mostly because it means I get access to other people who speak my own language and somewhat understand what I’m talking about when I say I love the sci-fi channel. The thing is, I’m bored out of my mind. So when I accidently ran across movie and magazine websites this past week, I felt in heaven.

Let’s be clear on something from the start: these websites are definitively not legal. They’re peer-sharing sites, where people post ripped DVDs, cam-recorded versions of movies still on the big screen or review copies that are not intended for home viewing. Then somebody on a writer’s forum I attend suggested a magazine site, where apparently you can read ANY magazine you want for free (each page is scanned and uploaded, high-quality). The writer was quickly scorned by others for promoting piracy and the link erased, but the name is easy to remember and so I found it anyway.

Now, if I was currently in the US, I probably wouldn’t even be searching online for things to watch or read, but as long as I’m in a place where I have access to NOTHING in English, is it really so bad to do so? Downloads are not possible at this sites; you basically just go online, watch (or read) whatever you want, and then move on.

I don’t want to name any sites here, but popular places such as YouTube and GoogleVideo also have lots of things to watch, including episodes from some of the most popular TV sitcoms. So if they don’t take those down, is it really my place to worry about it? I’m not exactly feeling guilty here.

Anybody has opinions on this?

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