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Threshold for Piracy?
bigwayne writes "A continuing source of internal discussion, among the organizers of Zion LAN, is the topic of how strict we are to be concerning software piracy. It just seems common sense that a LAN party would be a perfect place to share music, software, movies, and do other reprehensible acts. However there isn't much, outside discouraging the act itself, that we can do to actually stop these things. One strong argument is that the legitimately obtained software we provide shares the same distribution method that the illegally obtained software does, and I wonder if this creates a double-standard far outside of any legal situation it creates. Another part of this also concerns our particular situation (our LAN is being hosted by a non-profit charitable organization), in that we'd be ethically remiss if we sat idly by and let such things happen, unmitigated. So, where do we stop passively caring about piracy, and when do we start cracking down? Are the circumstances of a LAN party such that trying to stop it is overambitious?"
How would it be more "ethically remiss" because it's a non-profit charitable group? That's boneheaded hypocrisy and stinks of "Look at me, I care". And the Dumbest Ask Slashdot award of 2005 goes to...
Worry about throwing a decent LAN event. If you say the LAN is off limits, people will just use their CD/DVD burners anyway.
How about being a gracious host rather than a little warez nazi?