Going after pirates is also incredibly expensive, and people tend to rise up and hate the software with terrible DRM…
I, for example, boycott certain games because they install software on your PC which scans all of your files, and runs 24/7 just to see if a $30 game is not legal… But people who have the pirated version don’t have to deal with that nonsense… In those cases, it makes the most sense to purchase a license and download the pirated version ( Your license, legally grants you the right to use the software and under federal law also grants you the right to one backup copy in any medium you wish so as to prevent to loss / damage / destruction of the original - I believe I mentioned this in my previous post - but talk to your lawyer about it )…
Not that I’ve done that…
Also, most people who pirate are those who don’t have the money to spend - not saying this is a valid excuse because if you like something or are entertained by something, etc… you should pay for it…
Some reasons for piracy are for privacy - for instance adult games - they may sign you up to a mailing list, or annoy you with advertisements… they also have a footprint on your pc… Pirating would remove those and grant you privacy as long as the pirate group is honorable… Some put viruses in their releases, etc… so…
Data is everything in our current world… It is more valuable in terms of currency than gold. So it doesn’t matter the type of software - one piece of software can scan your pc and get enough data on you to make a fortune… What stops them is honor - if it exists within that company… Having a large user base means money if they sell their company, etc… Not saying Sublime Text is not honorable - but indexing project files for searching means meta-data / intel on what people are working on… It can be used to determine which developers are untrustworthy ( CopyWriters aka thieves / plagiarists, etc… ) and who actually knows what they’re doing… If Sublime Text doesn’t gather some of this information, I’d be surprised.
Also, regarding the NSA claiming Meta Data is harmless… There was a good video by some guy a while back which hit the ball home regarding what can be obtained through it… something along the lines of - what’s more intimate? Knowing my wife called me so say she’ll be late from work verbatim, or knowing the type of doctors she and I visit… How about knowing when cellular activity stops meaning when she goes to bed, and when she wakes up in the morning? and much much more…
Great description of what is possible with meta-data… You can build an impressive picture of someone using only meta-data, much more so than a conversation saying: I’d like to make an appointment for 8:30 AM 2 days from today… my name is Blah… thanks, see you then… or knowing the doctor they just called was for elective surgeries - or gender reassignment, or whatever else…
Also, with meta-data you can determine the contents of a call - for instance the doctor was called, or called you… you then arrive at their place shortly after… so the call likely contained an appointment being set up - or follow up to receive results of a test…
I digress…
I am happy that Sublime Text allows unlimited use for the evaluation copy - and I’ll pay when I am able to, but as I am unable I’ll continue using it, and contributing in my own way ( plugin development, forums, etc… ) which adds to STs data collection which increases the value of Sublime overall…
I am disappointed Sublime Text costs so much - Windows 10 Pro x64 OEM ( Buy a mouse + it ) is $20 to $30… plus a $2 to $5 mouse… Triple A games are $30 to $60…
Full on Transcription suites, and translation suites are about 2 to 3 times as much, or less than Sublime Text… but they do a LOT more - although it is a niche so they do lack a lot…
If Sublime Text decided to add support for advanced panels, I’d try to buy it tomorrow… but at least with Python we can do it by including libraries, etc…