I cannot even imagine how it would be like to even considering being paranoid when downloading pirated stuff.
Megaupload, Rapidshare, Mediafire.. Torrents, sitcom streaming, etc. And nobody can do SHI T about it. There is no way that Im paying to watch something that I can get for free in less than 2 minutes.
It just doesnt make sense.
Really, it sucks to be you guys.
Argentina hit the nail right on the head.
This is the primary reason why people pirate.
In life, we want as much as we can while doing as little as possible. We're born selfish. We learn to be magnanimous growing up, coming up with coping mechanisms that allow us to get what we want without getting in the way of others (but, of course, some people never learn this).
Despite the learned behaviors during childhood, if we can get what we want with little effort and little consequence, we do it. If a Wal-Mart had no security and no legal recourse for shoplifters, shoplifting will most likely increase for that particular Wal-Mart.
The Internet is not a democracy or republic. It's an anarchy. It's the wild wild west. Nobody governs or controls the Internet, aside from certain rules for domain names and whatnot. Aside from that, anyone with a web server and enough bandwidth can make a presence.
To add to that, data can be duplicated quite easily. Physical property can't be duplicated without tools, materials, and knowledge on how to do so.
If physical property could be duplicated easily, I'm sure many companies would hire their equivalent of the RIAA, MPAA, or ESA to bully people as well. "Hey, I like that Ferrari! "CTRL-C + CTRL-V = I now own a Ferrari!" How about "DRM" in that Ferrari? How about a site to rip the DRM out of a Ferrari so it can be cloned again?