2019/04/03 by Patryk Wasiak · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Business, Management and Accounting · #Digital Economy and Work Transformation #Digital Games and Media #Copyright and Intellectual Property
paper · doi:10.1080/07341512.2019.1652432
openalex publication_date 2019/04/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
This article analyzes how software pirates who formed the ‘warez scene’ appropriated telephone network infrastructures and Bulletin Board System (or BBS) technology to circulate computer software across national borders. This paper is shedding more light on the roots of contemporary internet-based software piracy by investigating how appropriation of international telephone networks contributed to the globalization of digital software distribution. It also highlights the mundane aspects of the organization of media convergence on the junction between analog and digital technologies. Here I argue that the use of telephone networks as a means of transnational software distribution is an instance of actors setting up a convergent media environment driven by the cultural logic of a specific subculture. My paper provides an overview of BBS technology to demonstrate how it linked analog and digital domains and then outlines its cultural significance, ultimately discussing the appropriation of BBSes and their role in transnational expansion of ‘the scene’.