Thursday, October 29, 2009

Discoveries in Research

Part 1: In my research, something that was a discovery for me was that those who download free music off of the internet (ex: Limewire) are actually performing an illegal activity by breaking the copyright laws and all that good stuff. It's interesting because I'm sure a lot of us are doing just that. Why buy songs on iTunes when you can get free songs via file sharing? What also is interesting is that so many people do it that the government cannot successfully crack down on this issue.

Part 2: The main arguments on this issue of downloading music and video on the internet (without paying) consist of: 1) So many people are doing it that it should be accepted and even encouraged. 2) It breaks copyright laws and weakens the recording industry and cd/movie sales. 3) Certain file sharing websites should be banned because they are giving away music for free as well as negatively affecting the sales of cd's. I think I may side with the argument that file sharing should be allowed because of the sheer amount of people participating in it.

Part 3:
1) Comparison by Similarities-I can use this topic of invention in my paper by comparing different file sharing websites and discover how they are similar in their purposes.
2) Division of Whole into Parts-This can be applied to my paper because I can divide different arguments of the issue of downloading music into more specific, focused parts.
3) Definition by Class/Category-This can definitely be used in my paper. Some may define file sharing as a convenient way to get the music they love, but others may define it as illegal or unconstitutional.
4) The Witness Stand Testimonial-I can attribute this topic of invention to my paper by bringing up certain examples of those who are constantly participating in file sharing.

7 comments:

  1. It is kind of sad that so many people do this. I have a few friends who do this, but I honestly don't think they know that it is illegal. They have said, "Yeah! You can download songs for free!" It doesn't sound illegal when they say it like that; it sounds like a good thing. But I think it is a problem and people need to know it's illegal.

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  2. Emily-- I've had similar experiences and I know that out of a group of kids I know, the "cool" ones are the ones who have figured out how to cheat the system and get the most free (illegal) music.

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  3. I think that it's really easy to find music and download for free. It's something that I think is becoming accepted in our society, so I like that your bringing this issue up, and defining the differences.

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  4. Is file sharing really stealing though? Music is one of those that is really controversial.

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  6. In response to Liz's comment file sharing is stealing because its somebodys art that is copyrighted. It all boils down to the politics of music. No artist wants their work stolen thus they copyright it. These artists also are looking to make a living off of their work, thus they charge a small fee for their music. Therefore if people are sharing their work for free the musicians can't make a living.

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  7. Scott, you said that you may argue that file sharing shouldn't be illegal because everyone is doing it. I don't think that is a good arguement and probably not one you should use in your paper.

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