padib said:
If the main grocer in my area is the only one to offer content I consider worthwhile (or for example stocks a unique item I can't find elsewhere), and grossly overcharges me, I could take the item, put the money on the counter which I consider reasonable and smile. I may be arrested for it, but it doesn't make any of it legitimate or right. It's like j-walking a light which is clearly broken. |
No you can't, you pay for it the amount that's asked or you don't get it. Anything other than that is stealing. You can't barter for things without the other person's involvement.
What you're saying is that you've concluded that the bulk of the content you use on the internet should be free and therefore you feel right in using it for free, but that's not how you're supposed to vote with your dollars. The creator decides what they think is a fair price and then you can either have the thing for the price the manufacturer is asking of you or you can choose not to pay that and not have it. Eventually the market will then fluctuate to a point that the bulk of consumers find the price reasonable. Deciding that something should be free and taking that into your own hands is simply stealing.
Those in favor of things like adblock liken it to changing channels from commercials on your TV, but I think it's more accurately compared using a cable splitter on your neighbor's cable.
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