Here's a table I adapted from Louis Rossman's video on the levels of piracy, grey areas and his morals and ethics on it. (spreadsheet file)
I tried to condense each rank and make it less about a specific type of media like CD audio or DVD video, along with a table of simplified characteristics of each situation. Of course more levels can be added and there are many situations not covered. This hierarchy is simply the way Louis ordered it from more to less justifiable; he respects people can think about it differently and I do too. He suggests that he doesn't really care about people that pirate without giving a shit about creators, and that he only has a problem with people who aren't honest with themselves about their motivations.
Setting legality aside, what 'level of piracy' is morally or ethically acceptable to you?
All levels. I think that human beings are morally and ethically obligated to do anything that causes a corporation to lose or miss out on profits. They exploit and disrespect our power as consumers by changing EULA after we purchase products, I see no reason not to rob these mfs blind.
If it's an indie game I'll pay for it after pirating, if I enjoy the game.
this. no need for a complex system to justify it to myself either.
only caveat is that its not really 'robbing'
I was raised on pirated copies of PS1 games and taught about torrents/P2P by my mother. I've been immersed in piracy since I was a child, It's just normal to me. Never needed to make myself feel bad about it. if anything, once I got older and learned more about how the modern world works, I started to feel righteous about my actions.