this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
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Memes
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Post memes here.
A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.
An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.
- Wait at least 2 months before reposting
- No explicitly political content (about political figures, political events, elections and so on), !politicalmemes@lemmy.ca can be better place for that
- Use NSFW marking accordingly
Laittakaa meemejä tänne.
- Odota ainakin 2 kuukautta ennen meemin postaamista uudelleen
- Ei selkeän poliittista sisältöä (poliitikoista, poliittisista tapahtumista, vaaleista jne) parempi paikka esim. !politicalmemes@lemmy.ca
- Merkitse K18-sisältö tarpeen mukaan
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It's not just "distinct from stealing", it's not even vaguely related to stealing.
Depriving someone of their property is the main thing that makes stealing wrong. If I steal your fishing pole, presumably you're not mad that I'm now able to fish. You're mad that you are not able to fish because you don't have a fishing pole anymore.
With intellectual property, the offence is now that I'm able to do something I wasn't previously able to do, even if you're still able to do what you did before. Now you can still fish, but I'm also able to fish, and the government told you that you had the right to determine who was able to fish, and I'm fishing without your permission, so I'm violating your rights.
There's a debate to be had about whether or not copyright, patents, trademarks, etc. are good for society. Maybe they are. Maybe they're only good if the copyright term is under 4 years, and if it's over 4 years it's bad for society. Maybe that threshold isn't 4 years but 4 centuries. The main thing is that you can't think about it the way you think about stealing.