corina

I also heard something else...its kinda along those lines..it's like..you can download music & stuff as long as you SHARE the music that you had..but then if you just downloaded the music and kept it to yourself that you could get into trouble about that...UGHH man...this blows..lol..i guess i'm just confused about the whole file sharing business and i guess it just need to straight up stop..lol damn

edit: also, sorry that this is being posted in the drag 757 part of the forum..i just saw how it was posted about odu & vcu and thought i'd reply..then i eventually started think'n and realized that this kina ish could happen 2 me...sorry again!

soulDistortion

Sharing is what gets people in trouble, because you're helping to pass along illegal files.

Put it this way: who do cops hold more priority over busting, drug dealers or drug users?

It's much harder to bust someone for downloading illegal music than it is to bust someone for sharing illegal music. Why? Because it's not illegal to download music that (and this is the key here you already own a valid copy of. It's hard for the RIAA to prove that someone doesn't own the music they download.

Here's an example: I download an MP3 of A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation". I'm doing so, because I actually own a copy of this song, but on vinyl. If the RIAA questions the legality of my having that file, I can simply point to my crates and tell them to go find it in the pile and then fuck off.

What makes sharing illegal, is that someone who doesn't own a valid copy of a song you have can obtain it from you.

Here's an example: I have an mp3 of A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" in my folder that is available for sharing. You download this mp3 from me. You don't own a valid copy of said song, therefore I have just helped you commit an act of software piracy.

Busting people for downloading music - hard, because the RIAA would have to physically check whether or not the downloader owns a legal copy of the song.
Busting people for sharing music - easy, because the RIAA would only have to have someone they know for certain doesn't own a particular song, download it from someone who has it, and boom, the sharer is busted.

So the long and the short? Don't share your music.

milanored95EG

personally i think RIAA is a bunch of whining ass pussies who are working for a couple labels and artists who are afraid of where there next 50 mil royalty check comes from....KISS MY ASS HOLLYWOOD!!!

Turbo Talon

amen broter, share no music and downlaod it all.

LudeDude98

I'm at VCU right now and i haven't heard anything about any lawsuits against the students for downloading music...

what i do know is if you download and SHARE a whole lot of music/movies they will detect it and shut down the connection to your room...so no internet for you and your roomate...

I dont see the point anyway downloading music in my dorm is horrible, they have blocked limewire my fav. p2p. All other p2p that ive tried to use has been slow as hell (.5- 4 kb/s) its not worth the hassle.

What we actually do is get itunes, and mytunes redux which allows you to download off of other people off the network. Since its on the network you download them instantly. My dorm is split into 2 networks, bottom 6 floors and upper 6 floors, i have acquired quite a good amount of music from i tunes.

Some_Day

you must be in johnson... i was in rhoads last year and our internet wasnt too slow i guess, but off campus is much better so far!

corina

yeah i'm in Rhoads and it was a total shock to me to hear about the whole RIAA cracking down on ODU & VCU...kinda sucks considering i have 1596 songs on this computer...and i came to school w/ 0 songs...and our building is split like that also only it's every other floor that are on the same connection..we all have iTunes and OurTunes and it seems to me that everyone has 1000+ songs...i think it'll be kind of hard for the RIAA to crack down on every single user who has downloaded/shared music...ughhh i don't even see what the big deal is...hmph.

Black Z-24

90% of the CD's I own are burned.

SoulD: Would it be legal if say: You actually had the cd at one point, burned copies, then lost the orginals (no proof of past ownership), then told the RIAA you had these CD's but lost them?

soulDistortion

In theory, it'd be illegal because you have no proof of owning a legal copy. Like they say, it's not what you know, but what you can prove.

But of course, RIAA could give a fuck about the casual downloader.. it's the uploaders they want to nail.