this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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Greentext

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 hours ago

Piracy free?

100TB isn't free Fast internet connections ain't free VPN ain't free Hundreds of hours ain't free

What is free is the freedom that comes with just being able to watch whatever the hell I want to watch when I want to watch it, without ads, without "oh now we found another way to make money, we shuffle media between providers so now pay someone else too if you want to finish this show"

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 28 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I have never once used a VPN to pirate shit.

[–] Sporkbomber@lemm.ee 1 points 10 hours ago

Same. I get notices from my ISP on occasion but nothing of consequence.

[–] Alpha71@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

I did ONCE, and got a notice. 😂 VPN all the way boys!

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 15 hours ago

My ISP couldn't give a rats arse if I pirate games or not. That's the benefits of a local ISP, they are so small they don't care.

[–] slappypantsgo@lemm.ee -1 points 9 hours ago

But no girls or nonbinary folks.

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[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (8 children)

No money, no friends? Maybe that a signal it's time to take a break from the screen

[–] insomniac_lemon@lemmy.cafe 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (10 children)

Going outside when you're nowhere near a city:

A man (Mr. Bean) in a suit and tie is standing in a field of flowers looking at his wristwatch... with cuts of him playing with grass while sitting on the ground, standing and looking at the horizon, and then laying down on the ground with eyes closed

(in USA at least)

[–] Charlxmagne@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

If you're from the South in England, and haven't made any friends by uni (if you even get accepted) just give up, you're never gonna make any, not over there at least.

Northerner terrifies Londoners by saying "Hello"

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

I moved to the southeast like a year ago and yeah, people here are firmly aloof. I once said hi to a neighbour too loudly and I think he moved away.

[–] FreakinSteve@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago

That's all of Alberta CA I think

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[–] scytale@lemm.ee 102 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Technically you don’t need a vpn if you live in certain countries where the government doesn’t give a shit that you torrent.

[–] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 33 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Only thing Eastern Europe does better than the west

[–] Khrux@ttrpg.network 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Maybe it's luck but I've shamelessly torrented in the UK my whole life, I wouldn't be surprised if in the past fifteen years, I've downloaded a petabyte on pirated content.

I've never used a VPN and the one time I got a letter from my ISP, I suspect it was a scam anyway. I have used at least 4 ISPs in this period and two mobile networks, I've even used public and work WiFis with not issue.

I'm not sure if this a UK thing or if I'm just wildly lucky.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Have the same story here in Belgium.

Never gotten a letter.

In the Netherlands they pay a small fee (3.5€ on a new phone) on every electronics "with which you can download", which allows them to pirate without much worrying.

[–] jedibob5@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm stateside, and I torrented something once without a VPN and got an email complaint from my ISP not long after.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 10 points 1 day ago

Brazil and most Latin American countries are also safe pirate havens, unless you set up a for-profit piracy site, then you're painting a huge target on your head.

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[–] Turret3857 87 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

$14.99 Netflix subscription

$11.99 Gamepass subscription

$11.99 Spotify Premium subscription

Want more than one networks programming? Hulu/Max/Paramount/Peacock all cost around the same

ISP still sells your damn data to advertisers

OR

$5 Mullvad subscription.

You tell me what makes more sense.

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 56 points 1 day ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

Unfortunately I cannot recommend Mullvad for Torrenting. They blocked port forwarding, making seeding and thus contributing back to the network that much slower

I just went for ProtonVPN since (next to iVPN I think) it's the only other one to at least be partially OSS and still viable for daily-use

[–] Turret3857 31 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Thats fair, and I agree with you for torrenting, its the one thing I wish they'd change. For privacy though, I feel like Mullvad is leading the pack. (Not having to provide an email, crypto and/or cash payments, DAITA)

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[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 day ago (4 children)

You also need an ISP, which isn't free either.

If you have a non-sucking ISP, you don't need a VPN. But a VPN is incredibly cheap, so just lump it in mentally with the cost of the internet service.

[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 4 points 6 hours ago

You also need something to play the games on, a place to play them, electricity for the internet and device, etc., and none of them are free. But they're also not exclusively used for playing a single game, unlike the single game you're pirating instead of buying.

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[–] Bruhh@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Direct downloads are fine enough. No need for vpn.

Edit: Depends on your location. US is fine with ddl

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 6 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

Right? They only get your IP from torrenting because they’re torrenting it too.

A single download source you trust is usually fine unless you’ve got a super-narc for an ISP.

[–] Flickerby@lemm.ee 4 points 18 hours ago

Unfortunately in my area Comcast has a super monopoly and they're huge narcs

[–] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Depends on where you are. Don't try that in Germany, you'll get a hefty fine.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

A fine for pirating? How awful.

Yeah, we just get a notice from the ISP, if that.

[–] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago

A friend who lives both in the Netherlands and Germany forgot to turn off his torrent client on his laptop. A movie finished downloading when he arrived in Germany, he got a fine of €1500. I don't understand why anyone would use torrents. Since I told him about usenet he's never had an issue. But it might be that he has a VPN now too, but I'm not sure about it.

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