this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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Comic Strips

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[–] [email protected] 99 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

PSA: Download all your kindle books. Even if you don't plan on cracking their DRM, you'll have the option to in the future should you want to.

[–] [email protected] 70 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Though do it before the end of the month! (Edit: the 26th) Amazon is taking that option away

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Wednesday the 26th, not the end of the month. If anyone is thinking they'll get to it later, you have three days from this post

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago

I have all of his books in physical format. Would recommend.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

And that's why Bandcamp exists. No DRM, whatever format you like and you support the artist.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh man. One time, at band camp…🐈‍⬛ 🪈

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

Let's hope the new owners won't destroy it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Plus prices on there are lower than basically everywhere but amazon, and amazon doesn't really count because they only give you low quality MP3s

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I'd pay for it once to support the creators. Once and once only.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

After I paid Metallica for their music, more than once in some cases, and then they went to war on us fans, been stealing since.

Blast from the past GenX!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

But think of the shareholders? How can they afford that 8th yacht?? 🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago

I use audible, but remove the drm with Libation.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Support creators though. Especially if the thing you pirate isn’t from a soulless corporation. This is why creators should always have something like a ko-fi or Patreon page. So I can pay them directly if I enjoyed their work.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

Dox them and send an envelope with cash.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Small note: iTunes doesn’t have DRM anymore (since 2009)

Apple Music (the subscription) has DRM though, but you should never have a collection on a subscription service, because it can go away at any time

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, exactly. The comic was published on October 13, 2008, according to Explain XKCD, that's probably why iTunes is in it.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

I buy most of my music from Qobuz or Bandcamp. Perfectly DRM-free with lossless compression, and it's mine forever.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago

Last time I bought audiobooks I got them from Downpour which included DRM-free downloads as either MP3 or M4B files, in addition to listening through the website or app. I believe Libro.fm may also offer this. Most of my ebooks are through Kobo and are DRM free as well.

Does depend in some cases on the publisher.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago

Libation is your friend.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

Always knew xkcd is a bro

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

There are probably some teenagers pirating stuff right now who weren't even alive when this comic was drawn. I'm old.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

When purchasing isn't ownership, then piracy isn't theft.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I have to download pirated video games otherwise I can't play them offline on my handheld. They also launch 10x faster. I learnt that you can't use everything you own a copy of offline!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I use a mix of Goldberg emulator and GOG i prefer Steam though. Mostly for valves Proton compatibility layer and all that valve does for linux gaming. So if a game is drm free on steam i get it there.

Fuck denuvo tho that shit needs to die in a fire.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

xkcd comics are available under a CC-By-NC 2.5 licence, so you've successfully pirated by not including attribution (as long as people can't tell at a glance that it's xkcd from the art style or comment thread you posted it to), but to seal the deal, it'd be a crime to sell it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I couldn't tell at glance this was from xkcd and am willing to testify to a jury, when's the court date?

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

I saw someone on YouTube pissed that they bought 700 ebooks from Amazon and now that they enforce a harder DRM he can't read them anymore.

Bruh, you voted with your wallet to get DRM in your ebooks. You can't complain if one day they change the encryption

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

I fully believe that if you paid for something, it gives you the right to go pirate another copy.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

Sony would like to have a word.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The most recent book I pirated was What If? 2.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I have DRM-free versions of How To and What If?.

They're made of trees.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I really like physical media. Thing is, I don't have the space for shelves upon shelves of physical media.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

Here is my idea: Everyone makes a private key. When they buy a song they receive the file and a digital signature by the label saying they sold it to your ~~private~~public key. When you are caught with a bunch of songs, you have to prove ownership using your key. Tadaa provable ownership, no blockchain, You loose the file, but still have the signature? You can download it again and all is good.

EDIT: Of course, they would sign the public key, sorry.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

For DRM free audiobooks check out Libro.fm.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

I buy CDs and rip them into lossless myself unless it's not available and then I'll sail

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I tried, but I can't, since it's Creative Commons

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Technically you can: if you distribute the comic but don't give the attribution, you are breaking the terms of the license which is just about the closest thing to "pirating" it that you can do.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

Feel like it's too arduous to pirate music these days

edit: Thank you guys for all the suggestions

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Qobuz and Bandcamp exist. You can buy drm free music from there. Head over to [email protected] for free options. It's not that hard.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

Try Soulseek, it has just about everything.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Arduous?! Why you little...

In the AOL days, I got on newsgroups and hunted songs. Good luck finding what you wanted. Then I'd download 6-12 pieces and use software to tack those pieces into a single MP3. At 56K. (Really 53K, at best, and that was with tweaking modem strings and whatnot.)

I repeat: Why you little...

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I just rip my songs from Spotify. It's not the highest quality, but it's easy to find stuff and I wrote a little script to quickly download lists of tracks and albums so it's pretty convenient.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Now that the US is run by literal criminals, any moral objection to something here on the grounds that it's illegal has no weight whatsoever.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Should I swap Audible for Steam and start another flame war? Is there a poll widget on this thing?

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