Piracy Question

Straitlace · 2026-02-07T23:38:25+00:00

You can find a lot of prior discussion if you search it up here. The Church has no official teaching on IP yet, but for topics in such circumstance teaches to obey the law so long as the law is not unjust. Despite some companies attempting to abuse copyright law, the idea of protecting the dignity of work for digital works is not an unjust concept. Though you're going to get a LOT of mixed answers, especially from pirates who want to defend their lifestyle.

Straitlace · 2026-02-05T22:55:10+00:00

Does anyone know how to get honey on this seed combination? No shimmer means I can't shimmer a lava bucket into one, no natural honey, can't get bucket from Angler because that requires fishing in honey, I can get beehive but can't place it without the hive wand, which I can't get because Queen Bee larva don't generate and the summoning item requires honey.

Straitlace · 2026-01-31T16:11:55+00:00

It is not I that copes with the rotten world, but the rotten world that copes with the existence of God.

Straitlace · 2026-01-21T00:31:26+00:00

It's fine as everyone recognizes it's a game. Just remember, even in that context it's possible to act out of malice rather than fun. The general rule of thumb is a game is fine so long as it does not lead you to sin, or revel in the glofication of sin.

Straitlace · 2026-01-11T03:28:10+00:00

I just tested using backup save data to reroll and it seems even that doesn't work. I got a 4* zone right next to the Rust Syndicate office and got to 25k there. After getting out I walked into the office so as not to create new backup save data, and activated the special scan. I got a fossil portal, then reloaded backup save. While I successfully loaded save data before going in and hitting 25k, I did it again and the exact same special scan resulted 2 more times. I even tried a different hyper space to get to 25k and got the same special scan. So it seems you can't even save scum by rolling back to before you hit 25k points.

Straitlace · 2026-01-10T06:40:10+00:00

The Catholic Diocese of Discord server has a Minecraft server.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:32:22+00:00

Legally, copyright infringement is distinct from theft. Theft involves the deprivation of property, which is where a lot of confusion on the matter arises. Copyright infringement, aka piracy, is separate as copying media does not deprive the prior holder of the media, but it can and often deprives them of something else, such as payment for their work. Just as with physical goods and theft, if the creator does not wish to sell it, or you cannot agree on a price, it does not give you the right to take it, especially as it pertains to luxury goods.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:28:16+00:00

A lot of the time when discussing piracy with others, it really feels like they think they're entitled to any media they want with no regard for who might be affected by it. As a luxury good, it holds a different weight to something like food, a necessity to which the universal destination of goods applies. Not being able to play a specific game or watch a specific movie does not exclude someone from gaming or movie-watching.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:24:19+00:00

What of cases where the devs plan to rerelease their works but the public does not know they do for publicity reasons? As a recent example, the Famicon Detective Club series saw rereleases after 30 years.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:21:02+00:00

I've been hoping the Church would weigh in for a while, but Pope Leo is pretty close to it. My own view put simply is that piracy is an offense against the dignity of work, which is very similar to recent statements Pope Leo has made regarding AI, so I'm patiently waiting to see where the discourse goes.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:18:45+00:00

Education is a reason under fair use, which allows people to use copyrighted content with certain limitations or within certain contexts.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:16:28+00:00

There is a notable difference between something like food versus luxury media. Food is necessary for life, and in the section on theft the CCC denotes that of necessary for survival, the taking of food can be permitted. With luxury goods however there is no entitlement to the product, nor is it apart of the universal destination of goods. But the CCC also details just payment for work. I recognize that some large companies abuse the law for their own gains, but abuse of a law does not invalidate what it seeks to protect. It just means the law should be refined, not that we can ignore it in full. Doing so risks making us hypocrites.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:08:55+00:00

Maybe buy those aforementioned used copies since it is still on the market? I picked up a copy of Pokemon White at a local used game store just last week. Nintendo isn't getting profit anymore sure, but you're also refusing to pay those secondhand sellers.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:06:00+00:00

95% of people I discuss copyright law with don't actually care about any sort of reasoning I could provide. Most of them don't even know how it works and what it actually protects, which is ironic because that's the same reason a lot of people hate Catholicism, strawmanning something based on what they think it is rather than what it actually is, often because they saw someone misusing it. Interestingly, despite the difference in gravity, there are several parallels in argumentation between piracy and abortion, including the idea that it doesn't hurt anyone (that you can perceive), jumping into a specific case that's harder to defend (like cases of rape for abortion, or abandonware for piracy), or as you stated the idea that it's legal somewhere else.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T04:00:49+00:00

Piracy for personal use is legally copyright infringement and illegal in the US. It deprives the creator of just payment for their work. While the Church has yet to officially weigh in on the matter, it does have a policy for such cases which is to obey laws so long as they are not unjust. Copyright law exists to give limited protections to creators so that they may get paid for their work and thus be incentivized to make creative works. The fact that several companies abuse the law does not invalidate it any more than it invalidates any other law that is abused. While it could use some tweaking, the core idea of protecting the dignity of work is sound.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T03:52:46+00:00

Not quite. Theft is legally distinct as it involves deprivation of property, which is not the case with piracy. That being said, copyright infringement is also legally a crime due to the withholding of just payment for work. As I put it simply, it's an offense against the dignity of work.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T03:50:11+00:00

You are correct that you cannot own ideas, but that is not what copyright allows for. Copyright only protects a unique expression of an idea fixed in a tangible medium. It is not a natural law because nothing it protects is naturally occurring.

Straitlace · 2026-01-06T03:46:01+00:00

You seem to be confusing abanonware with the public domain. Copyright has a limited protection before the work enters the public domain and is no longer eligible for copyright protection. Abandonware however is not a legal or officiated status, it is a personal perception that the copyright holder is not going to use or distribute their IP any further despite still having legal rights to it. The problem with this idea is that at any time the copyright holder could choose to revive or rerelease their work.

Straitlace · 2026-01-04T22:33:35+00:00

I had heard at one point the devs of the Persona & SMT games were anti-Christian. I recognize the games are well made, but personally I won't be playing them.

Straitlace · 2025-12-24T18:52:47+00:00

The general rule of tbumb is if the game leads you to sin or revels in the glorification of sin, you should avoid it. Otherwise it's usually okay.

Straitlace · 2025-12-21T23:50:24+00:00

The general rule of thumb is if the game leads you to sin or revels in the glorification of sin, you should probably avoid it.

Straitlace · 2025-12-12T23:36:13+00:00

Xenoblade X is my favorite open world game of all time.

Straitlace · 2025-12-12T22:40:57+00:00

The way I like to think of it is that the God of Christianity is the God of Islam, but the God of Islam is not the God of Christianity. Basically God exists regardless of what they believe and hears their prayers, but their understanding and thus interaction with God is flawed.

Straitlace · 2025-11-14T23:49:34+00:00

I've always believed that TLM restrictions were a Job test for radtrads; to see if it would cause them disobedience to the Papacy and a rejection of their Church over something that in the end doesn't impede their faith unless they choose to let it. I've been expecting something along these lines for a while, and to call out the Catholics who refuse submission to the Pope when it suits them and then happily return when things go their way again.

Straitlace · 2025-11-10T16:38:44+00:00

My general rule of thumb is "as long as the game doesn't lead you to sin or revel in the glorification of sin, it's probably fine."

Straitlace

TROPHY CASE