http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones So, the Oatmeal posted the above webcomic and some hailed him as a hero, while others said he was no-good pirating scum. What I don't understand is, even if you put pirating aside as a consideration, because pirates are all EVIL and will never give HBO any money ever, their approach still makes no economic sense. Last summer, I had no shows to watch, so I thought I'd download Game of Thrones from iTunes, like I do with Mad Men and Doctor Who . I pay $10/month to get network channels from Comcast (no reception where I live), so I figure I can afford to pay for a show or two. But no, it wasn't available on iTunes until last week, at the same time my library has it ( right of first sale , bitches!). I was able to get pretty high on the waiting list, so why the hell would I buy it now? Even if I lived near only poor libraries that couldn't afford DVDs, it's on Netflix as well. ...