Sharing products

[Krista G]

An interesting post from Confessions of a Homeschooler's blog in regards to sharing materials that are copyrighted.  http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2013/06/thank-you-to-my-honest-and-loyal-readers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConfessionsOfAHomeschooler+%28Confessions+of+a+Homeschooler%29

To those of you who have gotten caught up in the popular groups that condone illegal file sharing, today my prayers go out to you.

Unfortunately there are groups of homeschoolers who are choosing to come together and “share” files they are not permitted to share. It greatly saddens my heart to think that homeschoolers would do something like this. Maybe you simply aren’t aware, but hosting and sharing files (paid or free) that were not made by you is illegal without the express written consent of the author. Downloading these files is also illegal. What you are doing is called “stealing” in the online world.

You may have even justified your actions due to your budgetary constraints, or simply out of the desire to “get a good deal.” I wonder how many of you would be able to walk up to your child and say “Honey, I really wanted this curriculum, but wanted to save money, so mommy stole it.” Conversely what would you say if your child did something similar? I hope you can understand there are no excuses for this type of behavior.

Homeschooling isn’t just about academics, but instead it is our way of imparting our character, values, morals, ethics, spiritual beliefs, and life skills onto our children. Today my prayer is that you would be encouraged to check your ways and think twice before participating in these “sharing” groups. What you are doing is not only illegal and unethical, but you are also taking advantage of all of the bloggers and homeschooling companies that have put their valuable time and energy into creating products to help your homeschooling be more successful.

My pastor has always said that “compromise always leads to more compromise.” I pray diligently that you do not allow this small compromise to creep into other areas of your life. And most importantly I pray you are not passing down these values to your children.

Instead I encourage you to trust God to provide for you as He has lead you into this homeschooling journey. He will provide for your needs and make your paths straight. ~ Proverbs 3:6

Now may the God of peace…make you complete in every good work to do His will. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

[Lappy]

That was a beautiful blog post. Wonderfully written, and very honest.

This is a topic we at BrillKids also think about, and I personally agree with the post. Homeschooling isn't just about how much academic knowledge you can expose your children to, it's a lot more than that.

That's what makes Homeschooling special - you can teach your child everything that you would like to, but with this power, comes a responsibility. It would be nice if we can teach children about the good in life, not just through visual lessons, but also through example.

If I could, I would like this blog post, 10000x.

[Krista G]

I thought it was really well written.  It is interesting that people do not consider sharing to be stealing when it directly takes away from the produce of someone's own hands.  Well said, Lappy.

[Tamsyn]

I appreciate you sharing this- it's so important!  I've been thinking a lot about this and have witnessed it since you posted as well.  I shared a few of my thoughts about pirating here:  http://www.professional-mothering.com/2013/07/homeschooling-with-integrity.html

[Krista G]

I liked your blog post and left a comment there.  I think sharing materials is so easy that we often don't give it much thought.  I have a niece in the music business and she will no longer share music with others because she can now see how it will directly affect her in the future.

[waterdreamer]

I think sharing materials to a certain extent is stealing. But lets say I purchase a book, I read it, then I lend it to my friend to read it. Its no different than if I took it out from the library. Same thing with a video or flashcards. If I buy them, use them, and them my little one has out grown it, and I lend it to my friend who uses it till her little one out grows it and gives it back to me, that is NOT stealing. If I burn her a copy and we are both using it at the same time, that is stealing. I often sell books after I read them. The writer is not making money on that sale. Do I feel like I'm ripping off the writer? No more than I feel like I'm ripping off Matel for selling toys my little one out grows at a garage sale.

[Krista G]

I can't see how lending books, and products you purchase is stealing.  If you copy the book and then lend that out or give away music you have purchased that is in digital format, then the line has been crossed. Digital products are easy to share with other people and I believe that is where the problem lies.

[Korrale4kq]

I think the issue gets even tricker when you consider that Amazon allows you to lend Kindles.  But you can also only do them with certain books and via the kindle store.

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