The ability to change features, prices, and availability of things you’ve already paid for is a powerful temptation to corporations.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I’m a software developer, and I endorse the grandparent comment.

      • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        And you all just were happy and bro fisted people who ignored the licensing terms?

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Yes.

          Well, not literally, both because I’m more inclined to “high five” and you can’t do either gesture over the Internet. But figuratively, yes.

          • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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            9 months ago

            Why don’t you just gift away your software than? That’s an honest question. You obviously aren’t expecting to be paid for it, do you think in general developers shouldn’t earn money with software or is it just you?

            • grue@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Why don’t you just gift away your software than?

              Because I don’t make those decisions; my employer does. They ought to give it away, but they don’t.

              (The software I’ve worked on has tended to be either (a) tools for internal company use or (b) stuff used by the government/large companies where the revenue would definitely have come from a support contract even if the code itself were free.)

    • puttybrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 months ago

      If I made software that people cared enough about to crack and pirate, I’d be happy that it’s popular enough for that to happen.

      I am a software developer but I’ve only worked on SaAS and open source projects.

      • zerofk@lemm.ee
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        9 months ago

        I work on software which is pirated. It is even sold by crackers, who make money off my work. This does not make me proud.

        What does make me proud is when a paying customer says they love a specific feature, or that our software saves them a lot of manual work.

      • poopkins@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Pride unfortunately doesn’t pay the bills. It’s terrific that you contribute to open source, but not all commercial software can be open sourced.

      • aksdb@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        Tell me which so I can develop a competing service and steal your userbase!

      • satan@r.nf
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        9 months ago

        I’d be happy that it’s popular enough for that to happen.

        of course you would. you would actually give them your house and wife, because you’re so proud now. right?

        • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Ah yes, because downloading Shark_Tale.mp4 is exactly the same as someone taking your house away from you and obtaining your wife and owning them as personal property.

          Get some fucking perspective. I usually try to be polite online but this is just straight up moronic and you need to be told so bluntly.

    • iegod@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      You need to disconnect the badness with the term stealing because you’re just wrong. Yeah it’s ip infringement. Yes it’s illegal. Yes people are impacted. And still… Not stealing.

      • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        Yes I am. And the two companies I worked for both were small, offered their products for cheap and still had people pirating the modules or circumvent licensing terms. It’s a legit problem that a lot of people don’t see why they should pay for software simply because it’s sometimes easy to steal it.

        • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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          9 months ago

          circumvent licensing terms

          So to be clear: was it possible to purchase and own the software? Or did users have to pay a subscription for a license? Because personally I’m getting sick of every piece of software thinking it’s appropriate to require a subscription.

          • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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            9 months ago

            How about you don’t use it if it is to be paid by subscription? How is it justified to go against an agreement just because you don’t like it?

    • Rough_N_Ready@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I have been for over 20 years actually! What do I get for winning the bet?

      Edit:

      One of our games we actually ended up supporting a form of piracy. A huge amount of our user base ended up using cheat tools to play our game which meant that they could get things that they would normally have to purchase with premium currency. Instead of banning them, we were careful to not break their cheat tools and I even had to debug why their cheat tool stopped working after a release.