"Blocking ads and Torrenting" shouldn't be conflated, in the same way that "Torrenting and Containers" shouldn't be conflated, into a single argument. HN is a technical crowd and that's really the only connector between the two things you've mentioned; the technical knowledge of how to actually do it.
I adblock because of the cesspool digital advertising has become, and my conscience is clear in this decision.
Those who don't block ads probably would if it was easy. Ability is the barrier to entry that must be cleared in order to earn the 'reward' of a safer, less intrusive, less privacy-invading, bandwidth-wasting, and potentially harmful Internet browsing experience - which is a sad indictment on the current state of the Internet.
Ad-blocking isn't illegal; isn't intellectual property theft, which is another reason it shouldn't be mixed up with the discussion of torrenting.
Torrenting of copyrighted content is a different beast. There's, of course, the technical ability barrier to entry, but there's also the knowledge that it IS illegal and it is intellectual property infringement, and there's a specific value of the item to purchase legitimately. Where it gets all kinds of blurry is pretty much all ideological arguments that surround 'the products of creativity':
Who the money actually goes to
Availability / Geo-fencing
Restrictions of format
Restrictions of devices
Restrictions of platforms
The concept of 'ownership' versus 'licensing'
The cost vs. value of the item
The history of the Hollywood's inception
Payola
Cultural participation
Terms of copyright
Open source complications (related to devices and platforms)
Each of the above points could have a thesis written about them, and each and every consumer has individually varying levels of emotional response to each of them. None of that, however, changes the fact that it's illegal (copyright infringement) to download the 'product' without paying for it. But, for those whose emotional response to the arguments is extreme enough, and has cleared the barrier to entry, has the opportunity to feel that they're squaring the ledger to some extent, and therefore feel justified in their actions.
It's not a black and white argument by any means whatsoever.
I adblock because of the cesspool digital advertising has become, and my conscience is clear in this decision.
Those who don't block ads probably would if it was easy. Ability is the barrier to entry that must be cleared in order to earn the 'reward' of a safer, less intrusive, less privacy-invading, bandwidth-wasting, and potentially harmful Internet browsing experience - which is a sad indictment on the current state of the Internet.
Ad-blocking isn't illegal; isn't intellectual property theft, which is another reason it shouldn't be mixed up with the discussion of torrenting.
Torrenting of copyrighted content is a different beast. There's, of course, the technical ability barrier to entry, but there's also the knowledge that it IS illegal and it is intellectual property infringement, and there's a specific value of the item to purchase legitimately. Where it gets all kinds of blurry is pretty much all ideological arguments that surround 'the products of creativity':
Each of the above points could have a thesis written about them, and each and every consumer has individually varying levels of emotional response to each of them. None of that, however, changes the fact that it's illegal (copyright infringement) to download the 'product' without paying for it. But, for those whose emotional response to the arguments is extreme enough, and has cleared the barrier to entry, has the opportunity to feel that they're squaring the ledger to some extent, and therefore feel justified in their actions.It's not a black and white argument by any means whatsoever.