“Revenge isn’t the primary motive of individuals who blow the whistle on software piracy. Neither is money — fewer than half of the informants who report their employers for using pirated or unlicensed PC software ask about financial rewards,” reports CW, quoting information from the Business Software Alliance.

It goes on to write about the case of “Bob” who reported his former company for using a copy of unlicensed software after he was “galled by the blatant dishonesty” shown by them. His foreman told him not to update an operate system since it would “freeze up” since the software wasn’t registered.

“That was mind-boggling to me, because without that kind of software, they weren’t in business,” said Bob. In my opinion, Bob makes a valid point.  It seems fair to me that if you make money from software, you should pay for it.

But here’s the thing. Bob didn’t report his company there and then. Oh no. He waited and waited and waited until not only had he left the company, but a whole year had passed. Only then did he inform on his previous employer.

It is very naive of the BSA to state that morals are the primary reason why people turn informant. For someone who had close contacts a number of years ago with an individual who worked with tip-offs at the government’s tax office, morals rarely come into it. Jealousy and general trouble-making come high up the list;

“My next door neighbor hasn’t had a job for 10 years – how come he can afford a new car and I can’t?”

“How can my ex-wife afford a foreign holiday on the money she bleeds from me?”

etc…etc

Bob, who naturally doesn’t want to be identified (does anyone like a snitch?), took a whole year for his “morals” to kick in. They only did so after he had left the company, which of course ensured that he wouldn’t be fired for his disloyalty nor have to suffer the effects of setting the dogs on the people who were kind enough to give him a job in the first place.

If companies use software to generate profit they should pay for that software. But please, don’t portray these snitches and whistleblowers as moral crusaders – most of them have their own axe to grind.

Article from: FreakBits

In the video the ‘to catch a pirate’ team uses a decoy to trap a ‘real sicko’ software pirate. When they do the police comes in to knock him down and cuff him up, just like that.

Even more sickening is the reference to Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” where suspected pedophiles or ‘sexual predators’ were lured to meer with a decoy after an online chat.

The BSA is known for its aggressive tactics. Several years ago they introduced the ‘Bust Your Boss’ campaign, asking employers to report their former employers if they were using pirated software.

The intention of the current campaign is less obvious. It seems like they hope to create some kind of viral video, hoping to shift the public opinion. However, the clip is so absurd that it may very well result in the opposite effect.

It is kind of surprising that they didn’t use a taser to knock the pirate out, that would have been brilliant.

via Gulli / ZP

Article from: FreakBits