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Weezer · Oct 20, 2006, 07:07 PM

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...acy_Patch.html

WTF?

starman · Oct 20, 2006, 07:24 PM

I don't see a problem with it.

FireWire · Oct 20, 2006, 07:27 PM

Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music.

I'm effing sick of seeing this crap! Again some brainwashing from the MPAA... "see how many people can be harmed by film piracy" Bullsh!t!! If you wouldn't have bought it in the first place, they wouldn't be getting any money, so you're not harming anyone or making any difference if you pirate it. 0$ in their pocket still equals 0$ in their pocket!

Weezer · Oct 20, 2006, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by starman

I don't see a problem with it.

"The movie industry has developed the curriculum."

Why should the Boyscouts of America give the MPAA free access to kids? As an Eagle Scout, it just rubs me the wrong way.

JoshuaZ · Oct 20, 2006, 10:00 PM

To be honest, as a former Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, its not going to do anything. For the life of me I can't recall most things from any badges I earned. The kids are not dumb, they'll keep downloading because its easy and they can.

HungrySeacow · Oct 21, 2006, 12:54 AM

deleted.

starman · Oct 21, 2006, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by Weezer

"The movie industry has developed the curriculum."

Why should the Boyscouts of America give the MPAA free access to kids? As an Eagle Scout, it just rubs me the wrong way.

And as a former scout myself I'm not allowed to support it?

hayesk · Oct 21, 2006, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by FireWire

I'm effing sick of seeing this crap! Again some brainwashing from the MPAA... "see how many people can be harmed by film piracy" Bullsh!t!! If you wouldn't have bought it in the first place, they wouldn't be getting any money, so you're not harming anyone or making any difference if you pirate it. 0$ in their pocket still equals 0$ in their pocket!

People often use "I wasn't going to buy it anyway" as a lame excuse to rationalize pirating.

If it wasn't able to be pirated who knows how many people would come up with the money to buy it? Someone might decide a movie is better than buying a pizza one night. Someone might decide that a CD is better than going out to lunch instead of brown bagging one day.

It may have been $0 in their pocket from you, but maybe not for someone else.

While I don't necessarily buy into the MPAA's tactics, pirating movies does result in loss of income to movie studios and thus employees' salary. It's not a 100% loss based on the number of incidents of piracy as the MPAA would have you believe, but it is a loss.

The MPAA would have a whole lot more credibility if they were honest. If instead of saying "piracy cost the record companies $10 billion dollars last year," they instead said something like "if even 25% of the people who pirated music last year paid for it, that would be $2.5 billion to invest in new artists, etc." they would be taken even a little bit seriously.

lavar78 · Oct 21, 2006, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Weezer

"The movie industry has developed the curriculum."

Something tells me the public domain and the cons of copyright extension aren't a part of it.

Weezer · Oct 21, 2006, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by starman

And as a former scout myself I'm not allowed to support it?

You can support anything you want. Personally, I think implementing a clearly biased curicullum is a misake. Why don't we just have the phone company develop a curriculum about the evils of voice over IP, or Microsoft on software piracy. If you're going to teach them about copyright laws and piracy, atleast have a neutral third party involved.

In other news, I bought some Trails End Boyscout popcorn from some scouts in the mall today, love that stuff

Uncle Skeleton · Oct 22, 2006, 12:11 AM

I'm with starman. Piracy doesn't need an advocate. Any kid who doesn't happen to be smart enough to make up their own mind, even after the MPAA has its say, is truely better off playing it safe and obeying the law. A scout is obedient after all. And morally straight. It's kind of a no brainer that BSA would come down on the MPAA's side if any.

PS. this thread's title put dirty thoughts in my head

JoshuaZ · Oct 22, 2006, 12:13 AM

Don't forget he's also thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

Oh yeah. The random things I remember from scouts, yet for the life of me I don't know what I did on Tuesday.

SirCastor · Oct 22, 2006, 09:53 AM

Is there anything really wrong with this? The Boy Scouts is an organization devoted to teaching Young Men skills, values, and behaviors. Teaching them that movie piracy is wrong is a good thing. It seems to me like other social organizations don't teach this enough.

So I agree with Skeleton here...

Weezer · Oct 22, 2006, 02:51 PM

I guess I don't have a problem with the message, but rather with the clear bias and motivation behind it.

Uncle Skeleton · 03:55 PM

Um, everything about the Boy Scouts is biased. It's a private christian organization who's primary purpose is to perpetuate a certain set of conservative values in young people. My troop was very proper and tolerant and didn't have any problems, but they once told me something along the lines that it's ok for me to be jewish, but to avoid conflict I should never imply that I was atheist (which would be closer to the truth).

Furthermore on the topic of bias, it's not like they're talking about coke vs pepsi or macs vs windows (or dem vs rep). Piracy is not a valid lifestyle choice, and is clearly "wrong" by any measuring stick of right and wrong. On top of that, it's arguably one of the major moral battlefields of young people these days. I'm sure more scouting-aged kids are compromising their morals through file sharing than they are through drug use or violence or aberrant sexual behavior, which are areas I'm sure you don't object to the Boy Scouts taking a one-sided position on. Scouting is supposed to be a reminder to boys about which path is the right one; I'd be interested to hear your argument about how in any circumstances one could argue piracy is the morally straight decision.

Edit: I guess it would have been simpler to say, given that you are less biased than the MPAA, how would your argument for piracy go (we already know how your argument on the MPAA's side would go)? "Of course, piracy has its merits too, like saving money, and the giddy thrill of sticking it to the man"... ?

Weezer · Oct 22, 2006, 04:35 PM

I'd be interested to see if they MPAA has made any recent "donations" to the scouts. There's all kinds of moral/ethical/legal issues the scouts ignore, why piracy? Yes, they are a private organization that can do as they please, but atleast in my experiences, the scouts was about camping, outdoor activities, etc. Not trying to be my moral compass. I guess others had different scout masters/paradigms.

Cadaver · Oct 22, 2006, 06:28 PM

How about a merit badge for not masturbating? Wait... how about one for doing homework on time. Or one for not robbing banks.

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Chuckit · Oct 22, 2006, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by Weezer

I'd be interested to see if they MPAA has made any recent "donations" to the scouts. There's all kinds of moral/ethical/legal issues the scouts ignore, why piracy? Yes, they are a private organization that can do as they please, but atleast in my experiences, the scouts was about camping, outdoor activities, etc. Not trying to be my moral compass.

Were you in Boy Scouts? It has always been about instilling values in children — that's where we get the phrase "Scout's honor." That's part of the reason the Mormon Church is such a big supporter of the organization.

That said, this does smell a lot more like corporate strong-arming than an honest interest in morality.

macintologist · Oct 22, 2006, 11:13 PM

The Scouts are not entirely private as they receive a federal charter and are charged close to nothing to use public property for their meetings and activities. Please do not spread this lie that the Scouts are a private organization and can do whatever they want.

As far as this merit badge goes, are they going to teach the kids that region-locking is retarded?

Uncle Skeleton · Oct 23, 2006, 01:48 AM

Region locking is generally not a problem in the USA. I think they'll leave that debate to the Boy Scouts of Australia.

My scout master always told me the BSA was a private organization and can do whatever they want. That would be why it's ok for them to discriminate against homosexuals. Do you have a link?

It's not a merit badge. Did you read the article?

ChuckIt: what are you talking about? Do you say corporate strong-arming just because anything the MPAA does is corporate strong-arming by definition? I would say this is a welcome step in the right direction for them, to be using reason and education instead of lawsuits. As for an interest in morality, this is LA we're talking about, where most people are connected a media industry in some way or another; I don't find it surprising at all that they might take the issue seriously there.

Chuckit · Oct 23, 2006, 02:07 AM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

ChuckIt: what are you talking about? Do you say corporate strong-arming just because anything the MPAA does is corporate strong-arming by definition? I would say this is a welcome step in the right direction for them, to be using reason and education instead of lawsuits.

They're not ceasing their lawsuits; they're just adding indoctrination of the young into the mix. And if I really believed they had decided to straighten up and be honest about all this stuff, I would applaud their use of "reason and education." Unfortunately, I see no evidence that they've actually decided to do that. It sounds to me like they're just masking their propaganda behind an organization people haven't yet learned to distrust.

Dakar² · Oct 23, 2006, 09:06 AM

Remember, folks, if you want to have a back-up copy of a DVD, go buy another one.