How do companies know if I use cracked software or assets for my personal gig?
For context, I want to run a small personal gig (offering stuff on Patreon). Nothing too fancy.
In order to do that, I would need to use the Adobe suite, Windows, some audio and video effects, all requiring a commercial license.
In theory, I start to make money. How would Microsoft and Adobe know that I don't pay for their software?
If I use some audio effects, how would their owners even be able to tell / find my work? We're talking about basic sound effect, like rain, door knocks etc.
>User posts a support query for paid software in a piracy sub.
>"Why not use FOSS instead?"
Every single time.
Not everyone has the time and resources to relearn a new piece of software when they already have their workflow sorted out. Nobody asked for FOSS alternatives, it's a piracy sub.
Besides, shit like GIMP isn't even half as good as photoshop.
Also, I wouldn't mind people pirating Photoshop for personal purposes, but if you're going to do this for your business and make a profit off their software, you ought to pay for it.
There are plenty of artists who use pirated software to create shit but haven't got into trouble, the trick is to block the network requests and strip the Metadata.
And MS/Adobe would not go for a small patreon artist because they know that if they go too far, people will be pushed towards their competitors, which they don't want since their business model hinges on being the most widely used software and thus not allowing any competition to grow.
Plenty of people ignore The Law and have zero repercussions. This IS a piracy board after all
But I've also been in situations where we needed to demand proof of a valid license from contractors. That usually is because the company was very strict about dotting every i and so forth (either government work or we wanted governments as clients) or as a "random security assessment" that was really an excuse to stiff someone on the bill because they pissed us off.
At the end of the day, any form of piracy is a risk. You can theoretically be the one person who gets made an example of because you pirated a sniper elite game or something. You probably won't. But said risk factor goes up exponentially when you are a business (and contractors are businesses).
As for pushing people toward competitors: What competitors? In the video editing space there are arguments that tools like Resolve and the like are competitive with Premier. In terms of 2d art and touch ups? Photoshop has no competition, period. And once you look at the entire Adobe suite... yeah. That is why almost every single youtuber's "I tried out something that wasnt' Adobe for a month" almost invariably boils down to "And I went back to Adobe". All of which also ignores the ease of finding staff who don't need to learn a whole new toolset.
If OP JUST pirates the Adobe stuff? I know a lot of artists who would still say "Serves them right" because they "play fair" and license everything and, quite honestly, are "okay" with the annual fees because there are new features on the regular. But if OP also steals assets as they said they would: All sympathy goes out the window instantly.
I'd rather pay for stuff if the creators really deserve it. Like independent video game developers for example. Or I'll donate to developers who give away their work as well.
If we pirate everything, don't be surprised if smaller players disappear and only the big ones remain and take advantage of their position.
Sometimes, I search for information on how to resolve Windows-related issues because I often assist my relatives and friends with their computer problems. It can be quite exhausting when I come across online discussions on platforms like Reddit or StackOverflow, and instead of finding relevant answers, I encounter responses from individuals suggesting a switch to Linux or something like that. These responses are unrelated to the original question.
So consider your attitude before making simple suggestions "in good faith". There's nothing good in it. What you're doing is not helpful and toxic, even if the toxicity is subtle.
Have you also considered though that this is how knowledge spreads.
For every 100 people who read this they might say “here we go again with the FOSS…”, but a handful of people might say “GIMP? What?” and go check it out.
Open discussion instead of strictly direct question and answer is important.
I've made the switch to FOSS. When faced with tasks that would only require two clicks in Photoshop, I turn to online searches like "how to do X in GIMP." However, the results are often in the form of either a 10-minute video or a 10-step article. I'm not engaged in professional work. While I partially agree with your point of view, I find it the suggestion to "consider GIMP and Inkscape" superficial in this context. I could accept it if the person I was responding to had shared useful links or information to aid in the transition: sets of useful plugins, free tutorials, and other resources aimed towards those, who are familiar with Photoshop. Any software is just a tool. The OP's objective is to accomplish tasks, so it's natural for them to stick with familiar tools instead of learning new instruments. Consider another thing: if they are professionals in the field, they must have practice and deep knowledge of tools like Photoshop, not GIMP.
I'm chill and polite. I've precisely explained what's wrong with the answer, I wasn't talking about you. So if you have no counterarguments, just stop arguing. There's no need to act childish and to try to undermine the other person.