1. Posts must be related to the discussion of digital piracy
2. Don't request invites, trade, sell, or self-promote
3. Don't request or link to specific pirated titles, including DMs
4. Don't submit low-quality posts, be entitled, or harass others
📜 c/Piracy Wiki (Community Edition):
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the first thing you need to understand about the law is the concept of jurisdiction.
there is no meaningful way of asking a question about the law without specifying jurisdictions you are or may be subject to. which means you need to figure that out in the first place. or ask for help figuring it out.
there is no law of any kind which applies to everyone in all situations.
You can speak freely in anonymous and encrypted channels e.g a matrix server on I2P/TOR, a signal group (just don't use your name), simplex, retroshare over I2P, etc. Telegram is not encrypted!
Just search for "piracy $channel" e.g "piracy I2P chat", "piracy simplex chat", "piracy signal chat", or something similar and you'll find something. There might even be a forum hosted on TOR or I2P if the piracy community is that motivated.
But always remember not to give too many details about yourself. Being anonymous isn't just a technical requirement, it also required personal effort. Tech can't do everything for you.
I'd say the rules of such a community usually factor that in. Don't directly link to pirated content etc. So the first thing is to read the rules.
It's also always a good idea to watch other people. See what they do and how they talk before you ask where to find the latest pirated Nintendo collection, a mere minutes after creating an account.
General media literacy applies. Choose a pseudonym and not your real name. Don't attach your main email address and phone number to your piracy accounts. And maybe generally don't mix all your online life together.
And some mild trick is to phrase things so you don't outright admit to committing illegal activities. Say you think a friend of yours did this, or what would happen if someone were to do that... But this doesn't really change anything. People can tell. And if law enforcement takes interest in you, they don't really care how you phrased things after they found evidence.
But talking about piracy isn't illegal. And avoiding names and links sometimes is more about protecting the server you're on, since the place could get closed if it's the where the actual pirating happens. So in everyones interest, I think we talk about piracy here, but don't do it here...
And there is a Megathread, a FAQ etc in the sidebar. With all sorts of good information. And lots of links. So if you read that, you can skip asking some questions in the first place.
You left out the part about always post behind 16 proxies!
#undernet
Yeah, I thought about including a NordVPN advertisement in my comment... Do people do that? I mean sure it's an additional privacy technique. But I regularly just talk about whatever legal things I like and I don't take this too seriously. It's my regular internet connection. I make a clean cut after that, though. If I now were to download something, I'd think about not doing it in plain sight. And I'd use a different username to sign up somewhere if needed.
Though, I forgot to talk about different jurisductions. And for example where I live, I can't give someone instructions on how to commit a crime. Or help doing illegal things. So that's another thing I avoid.
And I'm kind of talking about: talking about piracy. Not doing it. If you share links in an underground forum, or upload some movies, you'd need way more security measures in place.
And from public internet perhaps?
Always speak using the terms SWIM, someone who isn't me, to avoid legal culpability. Or post as if it were your goldfish or hamster describing their piracy activities. This is foolproof, i learned this secret spell in the ancient era.
Depends a lot on where you reside.
In where I live; no one cares for personal piracy. There have been local tracker owners busted; but the law enforcement did not go after each member individually; even though they could've according to law.
Legal ramifications? Highly unlikely; unless you're explaining how to break copy prevention methods. That's considered illegal in a lot of countries afaik.
As for lines you should not cross; I see ethics as more of a concern than anything. If you're trying to learn how to use some software feel free to pirate it; but if you go into the level where you make a significant income out of it; you really should pay for it.
That's pretty much dependent on your and your platform's jurisdictions.
Or how good you are at hiding yourself vs the very low risk they try to dox you.
I think it probably is somewhat less than legal to advise people to break the law, but I like saying everyone should pirate everything so fuck it, they aren't going to waste their time prosecuting me for that