Why Do You Say What You Say?
People often ask me my motives. That’s fine, though frustrating. I must admit, it’s annoying when you write an article saying, “I think this, and here are eighteen reasons why,” and people write you saying, “What’s the real reason?”
I don’t have and have never had any financial, social, or any other connection to RIAA and Company. To my knowledge, I’ve never even had any contact, written or oral, with anybody saying they represented them.
My primary reason for talking about this subject a lot is that I just don’t want my audience to become cannon fodder. You want to fight the war, I can’t stop you, but at least know you’re in a war and you could get hurt.
Yes, I think doing this is wrong (though not the greatest of sins). Yes, I think people usually ought to follow the law. But when you see a tank coming, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re on the tank owners side or not, you ought to get out of the way, or at the very least know that that tank is real and not out to do you any good.
The odds on getting hit may be long, but don’t you think you ought to know as much as you can about the risks and then be the judge of how much risk you ought to take?
To me, it’s a matter of responsibility. If somebody told you, “Sure, put up to 2V in the Northwood, no problem,” to me, that’s irresponsible. If you do that, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have a dead processor, and sooner rather than later. That’s something you ought to be made aware of in any discussion about it.
I’m more than happy to lay my cards out on the table, but what about everyone else? You may say, quite rightly, that I rather emphasize the risks. That’s true, but simply because nobody else is.
Leading the Charge From Behind
Sure, question my motives and reasons, but don’t stop there. Question the motives who say things you like hearing better, too. How come they rarely if ever talk about the sort of things I talk about? Why don’t they talk about the risks they want you to take, too?
You ought to ask these people a couple questions, too, and see what answers you get:
Are you doing the same thing you want me to do? If people tell you, “Don’t worry, share,” are they following their own advice? Or do they find you “one of the stupid ones” they’re going to leech from?
Ask these people, “Well, do you share files? Really? What’s your handle so I can go look for you? What songs do you have, so I can check you out to see if you practice what you preach?
See what answers you get. I don’t doubt some do. I don’t doubt many don’t.
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