I’ve moved from Russia, where torrents are pretty popular and only recently were mitigated by Steam, to a Nordic country. I don’t intend on breaking the law, because my residence is temporary and I have funds to buy games, but I wonder if any of these things found in Russia or other Eastern European countries are accepted by people in the Nordics:
- Local torrent trackers and torrenting in general
- “Unofficial” streaming services
- Fan translations
- Renting and exchanging games
- Account sharing
- Selling and installing hardware hacks (e.g. Nintendo Switch homebrew chips)
…so I don’t meet confused glances when I mention these Russian “customs” when chatting with locals. Mentioning specific services is not required, of course, I’m just trying to read the atmosphere.
This post is fascinating, I never really considered the cultural acceptability of piracy in different countries. Where I am, it is ubiquitous just like the Russian situation. The idea that people are so uptight about it in some places strikes me as so silly.
But I don’t think anywhere else can match the piracy culture of Russia and the lengths to which you go. In fact, on my own seafaring expeditions I trust Russian sources more than anything else. You guys should get some kind of award for rutracker alone. So on behalf of pirates everywhere, thank you!
If you find sufficiently nerdy people in the Nordics, these are all commonplace. Torrenting may be illegal in so far as you also end up sharing (letting people download from you), so the illegal part is actually distributing stuff. Maybe look into usenet instead?
In Finland we have no game renting services, as far as I know. Exchanging games is also a bit old-school, since most installs are digital downloads these days.
Account sharing, especially Netflix, has been very commonplace within families in different appartments / houses as well as between former and previous partners. Probably between friends as well, but it’s not something I would ask a friend unless they offer first.
Jailbreaking everything from iPhones to playstations has been commonplace for a long time as well as downloading pirated games. However there is always the risk of getting banned, downloading a virus instead of a game as well as bricking your device and voiding the warranty, but you know all that. Your fellow Nordic people won’t look at you funny if you do it.
It is customary to not discuss this openly in the company chat where you work so that you don’t cause trouble for your employer. Private messages about all these topics are ok, if both parties are onboard.
Well, this answer is basically what I was looking for. So piracy is frowned upon in general public and shouldn’t be discussed outside people “in the loop”, but some mild elements like account sharing are acceptable. Thanks.
Eh, torrenting is fairly common here in Norway. No one in tech circles will raise an eyebrow if you pirate anything for private use, and most outside of tech circles won’t care. It is a bit more frowned upon for using in a business, so that’s a gotcha.
As a Swede, I can confirm what Joakim wrote. Pretty much the same deal here. General pirating isn’t a big deal really and is usually pretty safe to discuss in an informal setting. It’s like speeding. It’s really common, but maybe don’t brag about it? Oh, don’t do much speeding in Finland. Joakim will tell you why. 😀
