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I got caught

post #1 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
I recently received a letter from my local cable/internet provider telling me to stop my hardcore criminal ways because of a DMCA complaint sent to them.

You're probably thinking to yourself "how much must he have downloaded to get the attention of the Digital media copyright act"? Surely he must have a staggering amount of pirated digital media in his possession!

Nope, I downloaded one episode of Battlestar Galactica, specifically, the first episode of season three. That is the extent of my piracy, but it didn't stop me from getting this gem:



Has anybody else ever received a letter like this? I never torrent movies, music or anything else but know people that do it all the time. The one time I do to check out a series that I have waiting in my Netflix queue anyway, I get a warning letter.

Any thoughts?
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post #2 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:10pm
You're going to hell.
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post #3 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:11pm
I recieved one of these letters a year or two ago and promptly shredded it. Haven't stopped downloading my tv shows and music and I haven't heard a word since. What did you use to download Battlestar? Just curious.
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post #4 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:12pm
Next time you steal, do it better.
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post #5 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:13pm
You know i'm still laughing at this.
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post #6 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:14pm
I've read about people getting these, but not sure how common they are. From what I read, at least HBO was being very aggressively about these notices a while back.
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post #7 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:15pm
A friend of mine got one of these in 2008. Over ten thousand dollars in lawyer fees later, and he still had to pay a $8000 fine. All for the wont of a Heroes episode.

Heroes.
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post #8 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Hughes View Post
I recieved one of these letters a year or two ago and promptly shredded it. Haven't stopped downloading my tv shows and music and I haven't heard a word since. What did you use to download Battlestar? Just curious.

Friggin' Utorrent.
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post #9 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
I've read about people getting these, but not sure how common they are. From what I read, at least HBO was being very aggressively about these notices a while back.
Yep, I know someone who received one due to downloading THE WIRE eps.
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post #10 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:18pm
Wierd. That's just a torrent client correct? Like it's not like Limewire or anything? I just the standard bittorrent client off of the main site and haven't recieved anything else from my cable company. *knocks on wood and puts on tin foil hat*
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post #11 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:21pm
Shouldn't matter what bittorrent client you are using, they are listing all IPs on that torrent at that time.
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post #12 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minsky View Post
A friend of mine got one of these in 2008. Over ten thousand dollars in lawyer fees later, and he still had to pay a $8000 fine. All for the wont of a Heroes episode.

Heroes.
Tough decision - pay $8000, or commit seppuku out of shame? Seppuku's looking good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Hughes View Post
Wierd. That's just a torrent client correct? Like it's not like Limewire or anything? I just the standard bittorrent client off of the main site and haven't recieved anything else from my cable company. *knocks on wood and puts on tin foil hat*
Are you guys using PeerGuardian at all?
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post #13 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:22pm
Don't they usually go after people who are uploading data as opposed to downloading? Maybe I've been lucky because I never upload. Either way that sucks.
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post #14 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:23pm
Yeah, it's the internet provider, not the torrent site that NARCS, right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Hughes
Don't they usually go after people who are uploading data as opposed to downloading?
Well, torrents are technically both simultaneously, no?
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post #15 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Hughes View Post
Don't they usually go after people who are uploading data as opposed to downloading? Maybe I've been lucky because I never upload. Either way that sucks.
My understanding with BT is that you don't have a choice whether to actively upload or not - by seeding the torrent, you're automatically doing both.
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post #16 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:24pm
If you don't know this, they way they track you is they will seed a torrent and dubious users will connect to that seed and download parts. Then that torrent will record who has downloaded the files from them. They will then send a letter similar to what Cwise got to the ISP. And so on and so forth.

An easy way to mitigate this is to use a ip filtering product such as Peer Guardian. But it's not a complete stop gap.

The best thing to do is to get the file though legit channels, and dispense with the cloak and dagger nonsense.
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post #17 of 60
3/3/08 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minsky View Post
A friend of mine got one of these in 2008. Over ten thousand dollars in lawyer fees later, and he still had to pay a $8000 fine. All for the wont of a Heroes episode.

Heroes.
please say it was season two.... ha ha ha wow..you know you can just go online and watch the damn show from the website right? it's not too bad really...you just have to, you know, watch the second season.
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post #18 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:06pm
The only time I ever got one of these, it was also for a Battlestar episode.

PeerGuardian doesn't do jack, from what I understand. The only solution is to go through torrent sites with private trackers (which tend to be invite only).
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post #19 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:10pm
Buckeye Cable just sucks. I know this from experience.

Swice, do you remember that Buckeye Cable Sports ad promoting the channel with an effeminate man with a lisp doing the voiceover?

"Buckeye Tttttthhhhports!"
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post #20 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:14pm
so word to the wise DON'T DOWNLOAD BATTLESTAR
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post #21 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:21pm
This is why you should only download stuff that they don't care if you take. You know what I'm talkin bout. *wink wink* *nudge nudge*
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post #22 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:22pm
porn?
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post #23 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:30pm
Does this mean I can't download Ace of Base off iMesh in 1999?
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post #24 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott View Post
Buckeye Cable just sucks. I know this from experience.

Swice, do you remember that Buckeye Cable Sports ad promoting the channel with an effeminate man with a lisp doing the voiceover?

"Buckeye Tttttthhhhports!"
Is this recent? I haven't heard it but it sounds hilarious.
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post #25 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:49pm
I've downloaded TV shows before and that letter is intimidating. Don't get me wrong, I'll keep downloading them until I get the letter but it might cause me to pause for a moment.

It's not my fault that the damned cable company and tv networks don't have their shit sorted out. I have a DVR from the cable company. I choose "record all new, first run episodes" if the shit doesn't record or if it misses the last few minutes because the network is being cheeky with trying to get you to watch whatever worthless shit is on afterwards, how is that *MY* fault. ...
/ end tirade

Not that I would endorse you using that argument to litigate this matter if the need arises however, there is merit towards it. You've legitimately paid for a service and why should you pay twice(itunes \ netflix \ etc..)? Kids Incorporated legalese for the win!
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post #26 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by C.Swicegood View Post
Is this recent? I haven't heard it but it sounds hilarious.
It was like 4-5 years ago.
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post #27 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:56pm
Do what I did & dump Buckeye. Switch to AT&T...

Oh, wait.

And move out of Toledo.
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post #28 of 60
3/3/08 at 5:58pm
My little brother got one of these from his ISP last year for downloading Smoking Aces.

Kids these days. What happened to the glory days when you used file sharing for legitimate purposes like hardcore pornography?
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post #29 of 60
3/3/08 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeShaynePI View Post
This is why you should only download stuff that they don't care if you take. You know what I'm talkin bout. *wink wink* *nudge nudge*
Old episodes of Fastlane?
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post #30 of 60
3/3/08 at 6:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bancroft Agee View Post
Kids these days. What happened to the glory days when you used file sharing for legitimate purposes like hardcore pornography?
Oh, we still do, don't worry.
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post #31 of 60
3/3/08 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Kimbell View Post
Oh, we still do, don't worry.
There's nothing like 5 minute clips of a Girl on Girl shower scene downloaded for 15 hours via Morpheus that makes you feel like you're in your mother's womb again.
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post #32 of 60
3/3/08 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minsky View Post
A friend of mine got one of these in 2008.
When is your friend from?
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post #33 of 60
3/3/08 at 6:56pm
Sorry- I forgot to say that I'm on the Lost island, so for me it's 2004.
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post #34 of 60
3/3/08 at 7:04pm
Your name is actually Swicegood?

Wow.
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post #35 of 60
3/3/08 at 7:15pm
That's his last name.
His first name is C_ _ _
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post #36 of 60
3/3/08 at 7:22pm
Chester "Motherfuckin'" Swicegood! No, that would be too good to be true.
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post #37 of 60
3/3/08 at 7:41pm
And I thought you got caught masturbating.
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post #38 of 60
3/3/08 at 7:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Myers View Post
And I thought you got caught masturbating.
I'm pretty sure he frame by framed the Starbuck scenes.
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post #39 of 60
3/3/08 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ Fischer View Post
Your name is actually Swicegood?

Wow.
What?...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
That's his last name.
His first name is C_ _ _
Thanks, Mr. Nigma

Quote:
Originally Posted by billylove View Post
I'm pretty sure he frame by framed the Starbuck scenes.

One word: Sideboob
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post #40 of 60
3/3/08 at 10:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bancroft Agee View Post
There's nothing like 5 minute clips of a Girl on Girl shower scene downloaded for 15 hours via Morpheus that makes you feel like you're in your mother's basement again.
Fixed.
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post #41 of 60
3/3/08 at 11:26pm
There's this weird perception among the unwashed masses (at least I've encountered it) that torrenting is somehow safer than using a traditional file sharing service.

It isn't. In fact, it's proably worse. You're downloading and uploading at the same time, and since the vast majority of lawsuits are based around making copyrighted material available and not downloading it (I understand there's something of a legal gray area on whether or not downloading is actually illegal. Make no mistake that they're completely portraying it as such, but like I said, almost all the lawsuits have been brought against people for making copyrighted files available to others).

As for PeerGuardian...The only thing it's going to do is make you feel better about your chances of not getting caught until the letters start coming. It's essentially useless.
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post #42 of 60
3/3/08 at 11:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaieke View Post
I've downloaded TV shows before and that letter is intimidating. Don't get me wrong, I'll keep downloading them until I get the letter but it might cause me to pause for a moment.
Ditto here! I've used it to catch a show I either forgot to record, or missed the very end (or beginning) due to the recorder shutting down. Most networks seem to be doing a better job of putting the new episodes up the next day (30 Rock does this), but not all of them do...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Minsky View Post
A friend of mine got one of these in 2008. Over ten thousand dollars in lawyer fees later, and he still had to pay a $8000 fine. All for the wont of a Heroes episode.
18k for one episode?! Was he a serial downloader, or was this just the one episode?
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post #43 of 60
3/3/08 at 11:57pm
I do believe that we Canadians are safe from this. For now, anyway- The Tories are working to make sure they can prosecute and make sure the ISP's squeal.
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post #44 of 60
3/4/08 at 1:08am
I'm with Tati, I'm still laughing. Did you send the reply I wrote up?

And yeah, I've been downloading shit for years and Bell hasn't phoned, cut off, or mailed anything to us.
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post #45 of 60
3/4/08 at 1:12am
Quote:
I do believe that we Canadians are safe from this.
We are, but many moons ago I got a nasty call from Shaw for uploading too much in one month.

"But downloads are okay?"

"Oh, sure."

"Cool."
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post #46 of 60
3/4/08 at 1:52am
Uploading/downloading are being regulated by the almighty dollar with Bell. I'm pretty sure I'm getting charged per Gig that I downloaded above and beyond what my plan allows.

ETA: I'm leaving the past/present inconstancies of this post as a reminder that my brain is turning into mush mere months after graduating. Jeez, this post is at third-grade level English.
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post #47 of 60
3/4/08 at 1:55am
If they haven't sent a Rogers Death Squad after me by now, they never will. I'm gonna go jerk off to the national anthem now.
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post #48 of 60
3/4/08 at 2:34am
Goddamn Whitey strikes again, curse you whitey!
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post #49 of 60
3/4/08 at 3:03am
If you go to jail for downloading Battlestar Galactica episodes, where do you fit in the realm of the prison hierarchy? What sort of gang do you have to join? Will the Latin Kings or Aryan Brotherhood actively try and recruit you? What sort of prison ink will you get?
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post #50 of 60
3/4/08 at 3:06am
This is something that OZ should've looked into when it had the chance.
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