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![]() | Text and/or other creative content from Ethics of file sharing was copied or moved into File sharing with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. |
Currently, whether or not Usenet requires its own paragraph, though this is an ongoing series of issues that began with the removal of an uncited program called linker34, where a third opinion was sought, with discussion here. The removal of this program progressed to arguments about Napster, an unsuccessful WP:WQA, an indef block of one of the editors under WP:LEGAL (now retracted), and a lack of fun in general. More input greatly appreciated, since discussion of content on the talk page is becoming increasingly nonexistent. 03:43, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
I suggest that the links and redirecting from "ethics of filesharing" to this article, which is about the legality of the issue, should be removed. Ethics is mentioned nowhere in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.224.41.96 ( talk) 14:13, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
File sharing in canada shoyuld be removed cos it is against of wikipedia policy and does not fits with article... Kindly discuss this...—Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.77.203.197 ( talk • contribs)
Worldwide File Sharing Website Worldwide File Sharing Website — Preceding unsigned comment added by Majorson ( talk • contribs) 14:05, 10 October 2011 (UTC) I propose to add File Sharing Internet clients at the Open Directory Project to the list of external links. As far as I can tell, it is at least as appropriate as the link already there (file storage web applications), and probably more so. I was going to be bold and add it myself, but there is a warning about inappropriate links, and apparently I should bring it up here first. ;-) leevclarke ( talk) 21:50, 14 August 2009 (UTC)
This is a survey conducted by the EU that stats that P2P software is not responsible for the woes of the content industry among other things.
Something regarding music downloads that might be interesting.
AngelFire3423 (
talk)
12:52, 14 September 2009 (UTC)
I have removed all unsourced 'they said' type comments in this section - there are plenty of poorly sourced cited claims of lost revenue and criticism here on this article as it is! —Preceding unsigned comment added by ArtemisChook ( talk • contribs) 05:14, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
The unsourced weasel comments were tagged back at the beginning of Feburary 2010 by another editor and there has been no response. Most of this section is poorly written.
-- ArtemisChook ( talk) 23:22, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
respectfully, I also have read all these arguments before and they ARE questionable and yes wiki articles do have tags to ask for citations to support claims but not one after the other like this section has with multiple weasel comments all in a row with nothing to substantiate the content!
-- ArtemisChook ( talk) 05:35, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
It has been commented that shareware still exists, well BBS's still exist in one form or another but there is a distinction between formats of file sharing. Although shareware still exists in some form we need to focus on discussing history and the majority of file sharing at the time we are trying to reference. I vast majority of file sharing uses p2p methods. But in the early 90's a vast majority of the file sharing that did occur was between BBS's. FIDO, and WWIVnet being the two major networks of file sharers. Please discuss this point in history don't just attempt to remove it from the page as this form of computer networking is just as valid as the Internet and not deserves to be recorded for historical posterity. Deathmolor ( talk) 13:34, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
Objective3000 ( talk) 15:01, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
Additional refinements made in an attempt to appease arguments against this contribution. I hope that makes people happy. Seems only semantics in the wording used is in question and worth further edit and review since the facts are not in question. Deathmolor ( talk) 20:04, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
![]() |
Disclaimers: I am responding to a third opinion request made at WP:3O. I have made no previous edits on File sharing and have no known association with the editors involved in this discussion. The third opinion process (FAQ) is informal and I have no special powers or authority apart from being a fresh pair of eyes. Third opinions are not tiebreakers and should not be "counted" in determining whether or not consensus has been reached. My personal standards for issuing third opinions can be viewed here. |
Opinion: The request made at the Third Opinion Project was procedural: "Request advice on proper method of editing article prior to consensus." This opinion is limited to that issue. Except for unsourced negative information about living persons and copyright violations and one or two other narrow exceptions, the best practices for unsourced or questionably sourced information (including original research) added to Wikipedia are, first, try to find sources to help the author who introduced the material, then, second, to tag it with one of the variants of {{ citation needed}} or {{ dubious}} and leave it in place to allow the introducing editor to try to properly cite it. If that has not been done within a reasonable period of time — I once had a reference to template documentation that said thirty days was a good rule of thumb, but I've either lost it or it has been changed — then it can be removed, since it is the introducing editor's obligation to provide reliable sources within a reasonable period of time. All of that is in the burden of proof policy. However, it must be noted that these are best practices, not policies or guidelines, and it is not a violation of Wikipedia policy or guidelines to remove such information immediately. If such a removal is reverted, then the only limitation on what happens next is that an edit war cannot result. While a violation of the three revert rule is the most clear–cut definition of an edit war, it is to be kept in mind that the three revert rule also says, "Remember that an administrator may still act whenever they believe a user's behavior constitutes edit warring, and any user may report edit-warring, even if the three-revert rule has not been breached. The rule is not an entitlement to revert a page a specific number of times." WP:EW defines edit warring as "combative editing (making edits they know will be opposed) and repeated reverting." What's going on here is clearly an edit war and I must warn you both that you stand a risk of having this page protected and/or being blocked from editing if it continues. Decide this dispute by discussion, do a RFC (which would be my recommendation, try {{ rfctag|sci}}), take it to MedCab, or use some other form of dispute resolution, but stop reverting and reasserting. |
What's next: Once you've considered this opinion click here to see what happens next.— TRANSPORTERMAN ( TALK) 21:15, 9 August 2010 (UTC) |
I wouldn't say covered; they're more mentioned. The previous paragraph talks about Usenet, but the paragraph in question here is more about the BBSes and shareware. I think it's pretty okay. — HelloAnnyong (say whaaat?!) 13:49, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
The article uses the term "illegal file sharing" in many places, mostly to refer the sharing of copyright protected contents. This is done without stating "where it is illegal" and therefore transmit the idea that sharing copyright protected contents is illegal everywhere, what is not the case.
The legality of file sharing depends on the laws of each country, so the use of "illegal file sharing" without any further detail is confusing and misleading.
I propose to change the term "illegal file sharing" for any other non-ambiguous term, like "copyright protected file sharing" or something more specific in any place the term is used.
I will establish a peer-to-peer file sharing article (prior redirect to this article), a lot of material in this article is about peer-to-peer filesharing, so I will move the detailed stuff into the new article. See also peer-to-peer article/talk page.-- SasiSasi ( talk) 12:44, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
Paul Ruch, please stop adding the Kazaa Lite text to the article. http://filesharingz.com/faqs/kazaa_lite/about_kazaa.php is not a reliable source and cannot be used to reference the text being added. Further, the text being added is awkwardly formed and generally inappropriate; it would be better suited on the Kazaa Lite article. — HelloAnnyong (say whaaat?!) 05:23, 24 January 2011 (UTC)
Ars Technica reported on a NPD report on some statistics on the use of filesharing and how it relates to illegal downloading here. AngelFire3423 ( talk) 06:56, 24 March 2011 (UTC)
Ken Masters uploaded this section and only referenced his own work. While the work itself seems legitimate, the act of self promotion on wikipedia violates WP:SOAP. If he wants to add this section again, he should do it in such a way that it does not constitute self-promotion. Random2001 ( talk) 14:24, 14 August 2011 (UTC)
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An image used in this article,
File:Pro piracy demonstration.jpg, has been nominated for deletion at
Wikimedia Commons in the following category: Deletion requests January 2012
Don't panic; a discussion will now take place over on Commons about whether to remove the file. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion, although please review Commons guidelines before doing so.
This notification is provided by a Bot -- CommonsNotificationBot ( talk) 19:11, 9 February 2012 (UTC) |
This edit was undone because it was largely duplicated from the section I rewrote on Trade group efforts against file sharing. That is fair. However, on account of this being a notable topic that is not very well reflected in this (the primary) article, I intend to trim the former section and replace the text here. If people wish to learn more about the effects of file sharing they can start here. — ThePowerofX 19:29, 4 February 2012 (UTC)
I'm placing here a poorly sourced section that adds nothing to help readers understand the effects of file sharing.
"Industry reports and industry-sponsored studies routinely report huge losses from file sharing [1] [2] [3] [4], with estimates of losses due to piracy usually in the range of billions per year, and of hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. However, many of these reports were heavily criticised [5] [6] [7] for flaws in methodology."
The sourcing is problematic and does not support the text. For example, the first two reports are measuring different things. The IPI Policy study (2007) attempts to quantify losses to US industries over a period of twelve months, whereas the ICC report (2010) forecasts European economic losses for the next five years. Not a major issue. But we are then informed that "many of these reports" have been criticised, followed by a vague New York Times opinion piece (published in 2004). The article argues convincingly that not every free download equals a lost sale. However, this is irrelevant because the studies above apply lower substitution rates, ranging from ten to forty-five percent (one in every ten downloads is a lost sale). The Oberholzer-Strumpf paper is good but it's already covered in the section immediately below. Nor do we need seven citations to buttress a statement that is uncontested when one reliable secondary source will suffice. Most importantly, this section does nothing to improve our understanding of the effects of file sharing. Much better to only describe what academics and independent economists have to say. — ThePowerofX 20:38, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
"In a 2011 study into the impact downloading has on society by the Swiss government it concluded that file sharing is not detrimental to copyright owners." [8]
The Swiss report is more nuanced than this. It acknowledges that digital piracy is rampant and notes that most economic studies conclude downloading decreases sales, but adds there are major "cultural" benefits -- such as downloaders listening to more music, regularly attending concerts, etc. -- and the price of doing something about it is not cost effective. Besides, if most studies say illicit downloading is bad for copyright owners, our article should reflect that. — ThePowerofX 22:39, 16 March 2012 (UTC)
It seems that the section on file sharing is currently weighted towards the negative, based largely on a study by Dr. George Barker and an article summarising some recent papers written by Glenn Peoples. The question is whether the weight is proportionate or not. Regarding the following paragraph: "In total, 75% of P2P downloaders responded that if P2P were not available they would have purchased either through paid sites only (9%), CDs only (17%) or through CDs and pay sites (49%). Only 25% of people say they would not have bought the music if it were not available on P2P for free. This clearly suggests P2P network availability is reducing music demand of 75% of music downloaders which is quite contrary to Andersen and Frenz's much published claim." I don't think the "reducing music demand" conclusion definitely follows. It certainly follows that some music which is downloaded/shared illegally would otherwise have been purchased, but file-sharing also increases consumer exposure to products and brands, which can lead to people buying related products that they wouldn't otherwise have considered. Having read through the paper, this "increased exposure" factor has been entirely ignored, and while it may not be enough to offset the lost sales from the genuine "getting X for free instead of buying", it isn't quite as clear-cut as Barker's study makes out. Some alternative points were written here: http://www.zeropaid.com/news/92723/cria-trying-to-debunk-industry-canadas-pro-p2p-study/
It remains to be seen what sort of scientific studies the Industry-Canada group and others will come out with to attempt to debunk what these above studies have been saying. The way the current Wikipedia article is worded comes across to me as saying that those claiming that file-sharing has a significant negative impact on sales have essentially won the argument, but since this spate of studies is very recent, I'm not convinced that it will be shown to represent the last word with time. Tws45 ( talk) 22:16, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
Not nearly important enough to be its own article. GSK ● ✉ ✓ 23:14, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
Not nearly important enough to be its own article. GSK ● ✉ ✓ 23:15, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
No extradition has been granted. My edit comment was missing claims. Lostinlodos ( talk) 21:27, 4 July 2015 (UTC)
I removed an addition to the lead that should be discussed. First, a few minor items. Napster was illegal. Napster (pay service) is legal. YouTube is not downloading. But, more importantly, this doesn’t belong in the lead. File sharing is not about copyrighted material. Adding this to the lead sways the article towards distribution of copyrighted materials. There is a section on copyright concerns. Placing such discussion in the lead gives undue weight to piracy. Indeed, “sharing” is a poor word to use when discussing anything related to legal issues as illegal distribution is not “sharing” any more than robbing a bank is sharing. Objective3000 ( talk) 02:08, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
This article uses a modern definition of file sharing as understood by the general public but not how the term has been historically used in all it's senses. "File sharing" prior too and in the early days of the computers was largely about in a literal sense about sharing files between computers by some means. As modems and client-server networks (including both LANs/private WANs and the public internet) became a thing "File sharing" in the more modern sense took to mean electronic/software methods using file transfer protocols and programs and networking & modem tech to allow files to be transfered between computers including servers/client setups. This is where protocols like Microsoft's SMB, Apple's Appletalk and Unix file sharing protocols came to be. Also dial-up modem communication software and BBS software provided a means for non-networked computers to transfer files including the public prior to the internet being opened to the public in the early to mid-90's. P2P file sharing, cloud file sharing (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, etc only came to be in the 2000's (thought the first P2P file sharing service Napster technically debuted in 1999). The imtermet brough file sharing via Email attachments, Usenet, Web sites, FTP, etc. Since the 2000's what most people think of when you mention "File sharing" is illegal/semi-legal P2P file sharing services like Napster, Limewire, Grokster, and BitTorrent, which can be used for illegal fire sharing but also legal file sharing too. More recently with the rise of the Cloud you also have Cloud file sync services and cloud storage services in the public consciousnesses like Apple's iCloud, MS OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. So while these latter services might be what people mostly think of with file sharing these days, they are not the entirety of what constitutes "File sharing" between computers. Thus what we really need to do here expand the article to cover all the types of file sharing methods that one could bee (or have been) referring to when using the term "File sharing" such LAN file sharing, Linux CL tools like wget, FTP/SFTP, etc, BBS file sharing, Usenet file sharing, Web page file sharing, dial-up modem to modem file sharing methods, transferring files over crossover serial cables connected between to PC's, IR file sharing, WiFi/Bluetooth device to device direct file sharing, transferring files by disk via sneakernet, etc. For the methods designed to be used on LANS & private WAN, dial-up modem to modem, directly linked computers, direct WiFi, and sneakernet, we can summarize the info and link to larger articles on those sub-topics. We can then leave the majority of text in this article to the subject of P2P and cloud file sharing as it is currently.
Below is the basic timeline of various file sharing protocols/methods in order of the first appearance: 1950's - Sneakernet, 1960's - Early Modems, 1970's - ARPANET, 1980's - LAN networks (Tokenring, Ethernet, Appletalk, etc), Internet (FTP, etc), BBS's, & online services (like CompuServe), 1990's - Web sites, Email attachments, IrDA, Napster/P2P file sharing, 2000's - Bluetooth file sharing, WiFi Ad-hoc/WiFi direct file sharing, cloud file storage/sharing.
As you can seen, file sharing is much more then just P2P and Cloud services and goes much farther back then them and thus this article should reflect that. -- Notcharliechaplin ( talk) 03:19, 11 February 2022 (UTC)
In addition to the mentioned "file sharing" methods, I would like to add a little information to this article. We may hear a lot about free file upload sites, but we may wonder if they are secure enough to save or share our files safely. So we may talk about the providers of these services such as Mediafire.com, Bestfile.io and many of them. In my experience with the providers of these services, I found that they offer something really great to facilitate file sharing, so I always recommend knowing where to put your files Alphatech500 ( talk) 18:00, 1 January 2023 (UTC)
Many operating systems support file sharing over local area networks. Why is this not mentioned in the article? Jarble ( talk) 19:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
File sharing article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Archives: 1 |
![]() | This ![]() It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() | Text and/or other creative content from Ethics of file sharing was copied or moved into File sharing with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. |
Currently, whether or not Usenet requires its own paragraph, though this is an ongoing series of issues that began with the removal of an uncited program called linker34, where a third opinion was sought, with discussion here. The removal of this program progressed to arguments about Napster, an unsuccessful WP:WQA, an indef block of one of the editors under WP:LEGAL (now retracted), and a lack of fun in general. More input greatly appreciated, since discussion of content on the talk page is becoming increasingly nonexistent. 03:43, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
I suggest that the links and redirecting from "ethics of filesharing" to this article, which is about the legality of the issue, should be removed. Ethics is mentioned nowhere in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.224.41.96 ( talk) 14:13, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
File sharing in canada shoyuld be removed cos it is against of wikipedia policy and does not fits with article... Kindly discuss this...—Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.77.203.197 ( talk • contribs)
Worldwide File Sharing Website Worldwide File Sharing Website — Preceding unsigned comment added by Majorson ( talk • contribs) 14:05, 10 October 2011 (UTC) I propose to add File Sharing Internet clients at the Open Directory Project to the list of external links. As far as I can tell, it is at least as appropriate as the link already there (file storage web applications), and probably more so. I was going to be bold and add it myself, but there is a warning about inappropriate links, and apparently I should bring it up here first. ;-) leevclarke ( talk) 21:50, 14 August 2009 (UTC)
This is a survey conducted by the EU that stats that P2P software is not responsible for the woes of the content industry among other things.
Something regarding music downloads that might be interesting.
AngelFire3423 (
talk)
12:52, 14 September 2009 (UTC)
I have removed all unsourced 'they said' type comments in this section - there are plenty of poorly sourced cited claims of lost revenue and criticism here on this article as it is! —Preceding unsigned comment added by ArtemisChook ( talk • contribs) 05:14, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
The unsourced weasel comments were tagged back at the beginning of Feburary 2010 by another editor and there has been no response. Most of this section is poorly written.
-- ArtemisChook ( talk) 23:22, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
respectfully, I also have read all these arguments before and they ARE questionable and yes wiki articles do have tags to ask for citations to support claims but not one after the other like this section has with multiple weasel comments all in a row with nothing to substantiate the content!
-- ArtemisChook ( talk) 05:35, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
It has been commented that shareware still exists, well BBS's still exist in one form or another but there is a distinction between formats of file sharing. Although shareware still exists in some form we need to focus on discussing history and the majority of file sharing at the time we are trying to reference. I vast majority of file sharing uses p2p methods. But in the early 90's a vast majority of the file sharing that did occur was between BBS's. FIDO, and WWIVnet being the two major networks of file sharers. Please discuss this point in history don't just attempt to remove it from the page as this form of computer networking is just as valid as the Internet and not deserves to be recorded for historical posterity. Deathmolor ( talk) 13:34, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
Objective3000 ( talk) 15:01, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
Additional refinements made in an attempt to appease arguments against this contribution. I hope that makes people happy. Seems only semantics in the wording used is in question and worth further edit and review since the facts are not in question. Deathmolor ( talk) 20:04, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
![]() |
Disclaimers: I am responding to a third opinion request made at WP:3O. I have made no previous edits on File sharing and have no known association with the editors involved in this discussion. The third opinion process (FAQ) is informal and I have no special powers or authority apart from being a fresh pair of eyes. Third opinions are not tiebreakers and should not be "counted" in determining whether or not consensus has been reached. My personal standards for issuing third opinions can be viewed here. |
Opinion: The request made at the Third Opinion Project was procedural: "Request advice on proper method of editing article prior to consensus." This opinion is limited to that issue. Except for unsourced negative information about living persons and copyright violations and one or two other narrow exceptions, the best practices for unsourced or questionably sourced information (including original research) added to Wikipedia are, first, try to find sources to help the author who introduced the material, then, second, to tag it with one of the variants of {{ citation needed}} or {{ dubious}} and leave it in place to allow the introducing editor to try to properly cite it. If that has not been done within a reasonable period of time — I once had a reference to template documentation that said thirty days was a good rule of thumb, but I've either lost it or it has been changed — then it can be removed, since it is the introducing editor's obligation to provide reliable sources within a reasonable period of time. All of that is in the burden of proof policy. However, it must be noted that these are best practices, not policies or guidelines, and it is not a violation of Wikipedia policy or guidelines to remove such information immediately. If such a removal is reverted, then the only limitation on what happens next is that an edit war cannot result. While a violation of the three revert rule is the most clear–cut definition of an edit war, it is to be kept in mind that the three revert rule also says, "Remember that an administrator may still act whenever they believe a user's behavior constitutes edit warring, and any user may report edit-warring, even if the three-revert rule has not been breached. The rule is not an entitlement to revert a page a specific number of times." WP:EW defines edit warring as "combative editing (making edits they know will be opposed) and repeated reverting." What's going on here is clearly an edit war and I must warn you both that you stand a risk of having this page protected and/or being blocked from editing if it continues. Decide this dispute by discussion, do a RFC (which would be my recommendation, try {{ rfctag|sci}}), take it to MedCab, or use some other form of dispute resolution, but stop reverting and reasserting. |
What's next: Once you've considered this opinion click here to see what happens next.— TRANSPORTERMAN ( TALK) 21:15, 9 August 2010 (UTC) |
I wouldn't say covered; they're more mentioned. The previous paragraph talks about Usenet, but the paragraph in question here is more about the BBSes and shareware. I think it's pretty okay. — HelloAnnyong (say whaaat?!) 13:49, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
The article uses the term "illegal file sharing" in many places, mostly to refer the sharing of copyright protected contents. This is done without stating "where it is illegal" and therefore transmit the idea that sharing copyright protected contents is illegal everywhere, what is not the case.
The legality of file sharing depends on the laws of each country, so the use of "illegal file sharing" without any further detail is confusing and misleading.
I propose to change the term "illegal file sharing" for any other non-ambiguous term, like "copyright protected file sharing" or something more specific in any place the term is used.
I will establish a peer-to-peer file sharing article (prior redirect to this article), a lot of material in this article is about peer-to-peer filesharing, so I will move the detailed stuff into the new article. See also peer-to-peer article/talk page.-- SasiSasi ( talk) 12:44, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
Paul Ruch, please stop adding the Kazaa Lite text to the article. http://filesharingz.com/faqs/kazaa_lite/about_kazaa.php is not a reliable source and cannot be used to reference the text being added. Further, the text being added is awkwardly formed and generally inappropriate; it would be better suited on the Kazaa Lite article. — HelloAnnyong (say whaaat?!) 05:23, 24 January 2011 (UTC)
Ars Technica reported on a NPD report on some statistics on the use of filesharing and how it relates to illegal downloading here. AngelFire3423 ( talk) 06:56, 24 March 2011 (UTC)
Ken Masters uploaded this section and only referenced his own work. While the work itself seems legitimate, the act of self promotion on wikipedia violates WP:SOAP. If he wants to add this section again, he should do it in such a way that it does not constitute self-promotion. Random2001 ( talk) 14:24, 14 August 2011 (UTC)
![]() |
An image used in this article,
File:Pro piracy demonstration.jpg, has been nominated for deletion at
Wikimedia Commons in the following category: Deletion requests January 2012
Don't panic; a discussion will now take place over on Commons about whether to remove the file. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion, although please review Commons guidelines before doing so.
This notification is provided by a Bot -- CommonsNotificationBot ( talk) 19:11, 9 February 2012 (UTC) |
This edit was undone because it was largely duplicated from the section I rewrote on Trade group efforts against file sharing. That is fair. However, on account of this being a notable topic that is not very well reflected in this (the primary) article, I intend to trim the former section and replace the text here. If people wish to learn more about the effects of file sharing they can start here. — ThePowerofX 19:29, 4 February 2012 (UTC)
I'm placing here a poorly sourced section that adds nothing to help readers understand the effects of file sharing.
"Industry reports and industry-sponsored studies routinely report huge losses from file sharing [1] [2] [3] [4], with estimates of losses due to piracy usually in the range of billions per year, and of hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. However, many of these reports were heavily criticised [5] [6] [7] for flaws in methodology."
The sourcing is problematic and does not support the text. For example, the first two reports are measuring different things. The IPI Policy study (2007) attempts to quantify losses to US industries over a period of twelve months, whereas the ICC report (2010) forecasts European economic losses for the next five years. Not a major issue. But we are then informed that "many of these reports" have been criticised, followed by a vague New York Times opinion piece (published in 2004). The article argues convincingly that not every free download equals a lost sale. However, this is irrelevant because the studies above apply lower substitution rates, ranging from ten to forty-five percent (one in every ten downloads is a lost sale). The Oberholzer-Strumpf paper is good but it's already covered in the section immediately below. Nor do we need seven citations to buttress a statement that is uncontested when one reliable secondary source will suffice. Most importantly, this section does nothing to improve our understanding of the effects of file sharing. Much better to only describe what academics and independent economists have to say. — ThePowerofX 20:38, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
"In a 2011 study into the impact downloading has on society by the Swiss government it concluded that file sharing is not detrimental to copyright owners." [8]
The Swiss report is more nuanced than this. It acknowledges that digital piracy is rampant and notes that most economic studies conclude downloading decreases sales, but adds there are major "cultural" benefits -- such as downloaders listening to more music, regularly attending concerts, etc. -- and the price of doing something about it is not cost effective. Besides, if most studies say illicit downloading is bad for copyright owners, our article should reflect that. — ThePowerofX 22:39, 16 March 2012 (UTC)
It seems that the section on file sharing is currently weighted towards the negative, based largely on a study by Dr. George Barker and an article summarising some recent papers written by Glenn Peoples. The question is whether the weight is proportionate or not. Regarding the following paragraph: "In total, 75% of P2P downloaders responded that if P2P were not available they would have purchased either through paid sites only (9%), CDs only (17%) or through CDs and pay sites (49%). Only 25% of people say they would not have bought the music if it were not available on P2P for free. This clearly suggests P2P network availability is reducing music demand of 75% of music downloaders which is quite contrary to Andersen and Frenz's much published claim." I don't think the "reducing music demand" conclusion definitely follows. It certainly follows that some music which is downloaded/shared illegally would otherwise have been purchased, but file-sharing also increases consumer exposure to products and brands, which can lead to people buying related products that they wouldn't otherwise have considered. Having read through the paper, this "increased exposure" factor has been entirely ignored, and while it may not be enough to offset the lost sales from the genuine "getting X for free instead of buying", it isn't quite as clear-cut as Barker's study makes out. Some alternative points were written here: http://www.zeropaid.com/news/92723/cria-trying-to-debunk-industry-canadas-pro-p2p-study/
It remains to be seen what sort of scientific studies the Industry-Canada group and others will come out with to attempt to debunk what these above studies have been saying. The way the current Wikipedia article is worded comes across to me as saying that those claiming that file-sharing has a significant negative impact on sales have essentially won the argument, but since this spate of studies is very recent, I'm not convinced that it will be shown to represent the last word with time. Tws45 ( talk) 22:16, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
Not nearly important enough to be its own article. GSK ● ✉ ✓ 23:14, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
Not nearly important enough to be its own article. GSK ● ✉ ✓ 23:15, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
No extradition has been granted. My edit comment was missing claims. Lostinlodos ( talk) 21:27, 4 July 2015 (UTC)
I removed an addition to the lead that should be discussed. First, a few minor items. Napster was illegal. Napster (pay service) is legal. YouTube is not downloading. But, more importantly, this doesn’t belong in the lead. File sharing is not about copyrighted material. Adding this to the lead sways the article towards distribution of copyrighted materials. There is a section on copyright concerns. Placing such discussion in the lead gives undue weight to piracy. Indeed, “sharing” is a poor word to use when discussing anything related to legal issues as illegal distribution is not “sharing” any more than robbing a bank is sharing. Objective3000 ( talk) 02:08, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
This article uses a modern definition of file sharing as understood by the general public but not how the term has been historically used in all it's senses. "File sharing" prior too and in the early days of the computers was largely about in a literal sense about sharing files between computers by some means. As modems and client-server networks (including both LANs/private WANs and the public internet) became a thing "File sharing" in the more modern sense took to mean electronic/software methods using file transfer protocols and programs and networking & modem tech to allow files to be transfered between computers including servers/client setups. This is where protocols like Microsoft's SMB, Apple's Appletalk and Unix file sharing protocols came to be. Also dial-up modem communication software and BBS software provided a means for non-networked computers to transfer files including the public prior to the internet being opened to the public in the early to mid-90's. P2P file sharing, cloud file sharing (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, etc only came to be in the 2000's (thought the first P2P file sharing service Napster technically debuted in 1999). The imtermet brough file sharing via Email attachments, Usenet, Web sites, FTP, etc. Since the 2000's what most people think of when you mention "File sharing" is illegal/semi-legal P2P file sharing services like Napster, Limewire, Grokster, and BitTorrent, which can be used for illegal fire sharing but also legal file sharing too. More recently with the rise of the Cloud you also have Cloud file sync services and cloud storage services in the public consciousnesses like Apple's iCloud, MS OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. So while these latter services might be what people mostly think of with file sharing these days, they are not the entirety of what constitutes "File sharing" between computers. Thus what we really need to do here expand the article to cover all the types of file sharing methods that one could bee (or have been) referring to when using the term "File sharing" such LAN file sharing, Linux CL tools like wget, FTP/SFTP, etc, BBS file sharing, Usenet file sharing, Web page file sharing, dial-up modem to modem file sharing methods, transferring files over crossover serial cables connected between to PC's, IR file sharing, WiFi/Bluetooth device to device direct file sharing, transferring files by disk via sneakernet, etc. For the methods designed to be used on LANS & private WAN, dial-up modem to modem, directly linked computers, direct WiFi, and sneakernet, we can summarize the info and link to larger articles on those sub-topics. We can then leave the majority of text in this article to the subject of P2P and cloud file sharing as it is currently.
Below is the basic timeline of various file sharing protocols/methods in order of the first appearance: 1950's - Sneakernet, 1960's - Early Modems, 1970's - ARPANET, 1980's - LAN networks (Tokenring, Ethernet, Appletalk, etc), Internet (FTP, etc), BBS's, & online services (like CompuServe), 1990's - Web sites, Email attachments, IrDA, Napster/P2P file sharing, 2000's - Bluetooth file sharing, WiFi Ad-hoc/WiFi direct file sharing, cloud file storage/sharing.
As you can seen, file sharing is much more then just P2P and Cloud services and goes much farther back then them and thus this article should reflect that. -- Notcharliechaplin ( talk) 03:19, 11 February 2022 (UTC)
In addition to the mentioned "file sharing" methods, I would like to add a little information to this article. We may hear a lot about free file upload sites, but we may wonder if they are secure enough to save or share our files safely. So we may talk about the providers of these services such as Mediafire.com, Bestfile.io and many of them. In my experience with the providers of these services, I found that they offer something really great to facilitate file sharing, so I always recommend knowing where to put your files Alphatech500 ( talk) 18:00, 1 January 2023 (UTC)
Many operating systems support file sharing over local area networks. Why is this not mentioned in the article? Jarble ( talk) 19:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC)