One thing that really bothers me is the sense of 'entitlement' some people seem to have nowdays. I see it all over. I'm not talking about passing on photos, jokes or stuff like that. I'm talking mainly about people out and out ripping off the work of others without permission. They see something they want, they just take it. Doesn't matter if something's copyrighted or they didn't ask first, they actually think they have a right to it. Often times they'll use the excuse "well, I'm not making money off it so it isn't hurting anyone". What they fail to understand is that it doesn't matter in the slightest if THEY think it's hurting anyone or not, it's whether the copyright holder feels wronged. They'll use the excuse that 'they are just doing it for the community/or everyone' but it still doesn't matter. You could have been doing it for Mother Theresa's charities and that still doesn't make it right. Taking something without permission - no matter what your motives - is wrong. This is especially galling when people could very easily contact someone for permission first, or take the time to follow the site where they are getting this stuff's Terms of Use. Many times as long as you properly credit someone you are free to use it. All it takes is to put forth a small effort to ask...after all the person who originally designed or created what you want to use put forth a heck of a lot more effort than that!
Yes, pirates and ripoff artists are really irritating! Good thing to be cheesed off about!
