Official Game of Thrones Series and Book Thread of Fire, Ice, and CURSE YOU MARTIN

[Squirly]

Oh noes zoop. You gone done and spilt the beans now.

[Zoop]

I just think it's really ridiculous bitching on a forum because a few people download episodes of a series. It's right up there with bitching because people drive 130km/h on the highway.

[Squirly]

Eh. They weren't really bitching and peace has been made already.

Moving on... I wonder who the 'third' person is going to be that'll end up killed by.... that guy (forgot his name). I keep expecting Arya to pull some awesome coup and have the old fart employing her killed.

[Aesir]

I might download and watch it but I watch it every week on MnetHD again. Might be crap reasoning but yeah. :P

[Kharrak]

Either way, sucks that by the time I get to watch an episode people have already finished discussing it and have moved onto discussing the next one.

Not actually true. There's a five day delay from the original air date to the local air date - so if you watch on the local night, you won't actually be behind at all.

Anyway, it's really interesting to see how the series does indeed continue to deviate from the original fiction. Best of all, is that it's done well enough that none of those who have not read the books have noticed. So props!

[nukehead]

No I have definitely noticed... but I am still intrigued with the direction they are taking. Also I have foggy memories of these happenings that it takes me awhile to cotton on to the deviations having knowledge of where they need to go. Very well produced adaptation.

[Zoop]

I finally finished the first book last night. What a borefest. I literally knew everything as it happened, but I didn't want to skip the entire book because I might have missed some small details that were important. Hopefully I have the time to finish the second book before the series ends. :p

[Kharrak]

I finally finished the first book last night. What a borefest. I literally knew everything as it happened, but I didn't want to skip the entire book because I might have missed some small details that were important. Hopefully I have the time to finish the second book before the series ends. :p

Have you considered you may just not enjoy the literary fiction?

In general, I strongly recommend against reading parallel to watching the series. It's going to create more problems as the series continues to diverge from the source material. If you read the books just beforehand, you may be disillusioned at how "bare bones" the series is, and the changes it makes as a result of the medium translation. The other way around, the books may just be boring.

[Zoop]

Nah, normally I would have enjoyed the book. It's just that the series follows the source material so closely for the first book that it was literally like watching the series again.

I read the prologue in the second book before going to bed last night, and it managed to keep my attention a lot better due to the fact that it was new material. Further into the book I'm probably going to have the same issue I had with the first book, but eh. I really want to see what happens in the third and fourth books, but I don't want to wait that long or skip the second book.

[The_Furry_Cat]

Have you considered you may just not enjoy the literary fiction?

In general, I strongly recommend against reading parallel to watching the series. It's going to create more problems as the series continues to diverge from the source material. If you read the books just beforehand, you may be disillusioned at how "bare bones" the series is, and the changes it makes as a result of the medium translation. The other way around, the books may just be boring.

Who wants to wait for S4 which will probably be released in 2014 when you can just read book 4 right now? :D

[KimmyKae]

90% of the members on these forums also pirate videogames. Even members who **** their pants at the mention of piracy. One of the moderators here pirates videogames on a regular basis.

Sorry to bring this up again, but I think it raises an interesting point. If you're saying that members here publicly denounce piracy, and yet still do it in private, then how are we to believe anything else they say? What about the gay rights thread? Are closeted homophobes collectively gasping at how terrible the proposed bill is?

Kind of a slippery slope.

As far as I know, pirated television series are in a legal grey area anyway.

You must either be exceedingly fortunate to have avoided all the forced (as in cannot be skipped) segments at the beginning of certain series DvD's/Blu-rays, warning you about the EVILS OF PIRACY, or you literally pirate everything you've ever seen.

There's no "legal grey area", it's illegal, full-stop.

[Zoop]

Sorry to bring this up again, but I think it raises an interesting point. If you're saying that members here publicly denounce piracy, and yet still do it in private, then how are we to believe anything else they say? What about the gay rights thread? Are closeted homophobes collectively gasping at how terrible the proposed bill is?

Kind of a slippery slope.

Indeed, but if there's one thing everyone should know about the NAG forums is that most people here like to liked. There's quite a number of people here who would jump on any opinion just to gain the 'approval' of the more prominent and well-liked members. Lots of hypocrites here. This might be an online forum, but schoolyard principles still apply. ;)

You must either be exceedingly fortunate to have avoided all the forced (as in cannot be skipped) segments at the beginning of certain series DvD's/Blu-rays, warning you about the EVILS OF PIRACY, or you literally pirate everything you've ever seen.

There's no "legal grey area", it's illegal, full-stop.

I'm not sure, I read on a forum a while back that it's frowned upon, but not technically illegal due to the law surrounding recording stuff of TV not holding much water internationally, hence placing it in a grey area. I'll have to do some digging and see if I can come across it again.

As for the anti-piracy propaganda, it's one of the reasons I no longer buy movies or series. I'm fine with them trying to demote piracy, but then they make the most absurd anti-piracy campaigns, often spanning a few minutes on a DVD and to top it all off, make it unskippable. I'm quite honestly not sure why they shove anti-piracy propaganda down the throats of the people who actually bought their movies/series. Not to mention the fact that they're ridiculous enough to equate pirating a movie to stealing a car, or make it out to be a crime worth getting your door kicked in by the police.

[Kharrak]

There's no "legal grey area", it's illegal, full-stop.

Not entirely true. It's only illegal if pirated within a country that owns the right to air it - part of the huff regarding the plethora of anime pirated locally. Then again, in that example, hte vast majority of Japanese studios couldn't really care if their shows are pirated outside of Japan - they make it for themselves, and barely get any money from international licencing.

But yes, since GoT is licensed locally, I would think that signs are pointing towards "illegal" - even if it's always been difficult to actually say why piracy is a crime. It's certainly not theft, since nothing is removed. Piracy also arguably encourages word of mouth - still the most powerful form of "spreading awareness". It's an interesting point of discussion, but always devolves into two extreme sides of the argument having a **** flinging fest.

[pArkEr]

The way I see it, under the circumstances that the show in question is not broadcast locally, it's perfectly acceptable to pirate it. I mean, your choices are either not see it, which you would be doing anyway, or pirate it and increase the chance that you'll but the DVD set later on. I have friends that have plenty of unopened box sets, and I myself have only seen the special features on my beloved LOST set.

As for the anti-piracy propaganda, it's one of the reasons I no longer buy movies or series. I'm fine with them trying to demote piracy, but then they make the most absurd anti-piracy campaigns, often spanning a few minutes on a DVD and to top it all off, make it unskippable. I'm quite honestly not sure why they shove anti-piracy propaganda down the throats of the people who actually bought their movies/series. Not to mention the fact that they're ridiculous enough to equate pirating a movie to stealing a car, or make it out to be a crime worth getting your door kicked in by the police.

Buying DVD sets are one of the ways to support a show, why would you not want to do that solely because of a few minutes of easily ignored "propaganda"?

[GeometriX]

KimmyKae, Zoop: You'll find that there are hypocrites everywhere. Forums, like the rest of the Internet, are just an extension of society. Actually, I think you'll find that schoolyard principles kind of ring true in offline life as well ;)

If someone is two-faced here, there's a pretty good chance that's exactly what they're like.

[Zoop]

Buying DVD sets are one of the ways to support a show, why would you not want to do that solely because of a few minutes of easily ignored "propaganda"?

Mostly because I already pay my DSTV bill, from which their channel receives its royalties, and it's highly unlikely I'm going to pay R500 for a series that I'm never going to watch again after the first time. If they made an online service which allowed you to purchase episodes as they came out, similar to Steam or iTunes, I'd gladly buy it, even if it ends up costing more than the box set. By the time the box set comes out, I no longer have need for it.

As for the anti-piracy stuff, I feel the same way about it as I do about Ubisoft DRM. It's something that ****es people off more than it does any good. The only people who are honestly scared by that absolutely rubbish piracy campaigns are the lesser intelligent or lesser informed people, like Tannie Hanna en haar sewe plaasjaap kleinkinders from Rietvlei.

[brazed]

I was actually thinking the other day about the whole pirating of GOT in SA. The local air date of episodes is only a week after the international air date, so there really isn't any need to pirate it. That said, however, you're already paying for the right to watch it (via your DSTV subscription) and it's perfectly legal to PVR and record it in that way. My question is why is downloading it then, and keeping a digital copy of it that way, frowned upon (bearing in mind that you -are- actually an active DSTV subscriber)?

[echo]

My question is why is downloading it then, and keeping a digital copy of it that way, frowned upon (bearing in mind that you -are- actually an active DSTV subscriber)?

That is actually the reasoning I use to justify downloading series that I have missed (Soprano's etc). I've already paid for it, I just missed it. Shows that actually never come here (and movies/games that I can't find anywhere) I don't have to justify. Make them easily available and I'll pay for them.

But I'll still never pirate a game that I can easily buy. Not even to just check out. Just feels wrong.

[MonGooS]

I might be completely off here, since I know nothing about the matter. But doesn't Multichoice track how many people watch a show, and determine if its even worth showing? Like I said I could be completely wrong, but this is the impression I was under.

I was actually thinking the other day about the whole pirating of GOT in SA. The local air date of episodes is only a week after the international air date, so there really isn't any need to pirate it. That said, however, you're already paying for the right to watch it (via your DSTV subscription) and it's perfectly legal to PVR and record it in that way. My question is why is downloading it then, and keeping a digital copy of it that way, frowned upon (bearing in mind that you -are- actually an active DSTV subscriber)?

Also, that is pretty stupid reasoning. Its like fooling yourself and saying "I wasn't going to buy X game, so I will just Pirate it instead. But you know... I wasn't going to buy it, really. But I figured since I wasn't going to buy it, you know, id just pirate it and play it anyway... You know..." Its a way of justifying your actions, and its weak. Just admit you pirate it, and get it over with. Or don't admit it, keep it to yourself, and don't try to pretend like you have a "good" reason.

Your DSTV subscription is essentially letting you watch it once. Unless you record it, in which case it is confined to your decoder. If you want to watch it multiple times, on many tv's and give it to all your friends to watch, that is the equivalent of having the DVD. Which is a separate cost even when you have a DSTV subscription.

[echo]

I might be completely off here, since I know nothing about the matter. But doesn't Multichoice track how many people watch a show, and determine if its even worth showing? Like I said I could be completely wrong, but this is the impression I was under.

I'm not really sure how but it's one of the reasons I wait for a Friday night showing. Just to throw my support behind the channel and the show. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but you could argue that by pirating the show you don't support it at all. If you watch the show on TV (in the US or here) you push up the numbers, which increases advertising, which increases demand, which increases the quality of the show.

Now, what about PVR? You're still paying the monthly DSTV subscription. Piracy is the only option where you don't show appreciation for the show. Might be a warped view, but I think it's true.