From Altair BASIC to VCR Tapes: The Battle to Name the First Pirated Byte

Post date: April 11, 2026 · Discovered: April 17, 2026 · 3 posts, 38 comments

Early recorded evidence points to the 1975-1976 sharing of *Altair BASIC* by a PC hobby group. Later, the mechanics involved sharing games and apps via Usenet binaries and FTP sites.

The timeline is a wreck. Some insist the genesis was in 70s software sharing, citing Coskii. Others argue physical media is the marker, with mentions of floppy disks by ace_garp or VCR recordings of TV shows by Aggravationstation and bionicjoey. A major, repetitive point is FilthyHands' assertion that 'Porn' was the absolute first contraband material. Meanwhile, dragomus introduces a complication: protocol sharing for testing predates 'piracy'.

The weight of evidence splits between digital artifacts and sensory experiences. While software remains a key pillar (Coskii, swordgeek), the sheer breadth of cited media—from VCRs to protocol code—shows there is no single accepted start date. The core fight remains defining 'unauthorized distribution' across decades of media evolution.

Key Points

SUPPORT

Software sharing in the 1970s marks the start.

Coskii notes the 70s software sharing, while the consensus points to Altair BASIC early distribution.

MIXED

VCR recording constitutes early piracy.

Aggravationstation and bionicjoey cite recording TV shows (like Postman Pat) as a profound early experience.

MIXED

Pornography was the inaugural pirated item.

FilthyHands repeatedly pushes this highly contentious claim, but it lacks broad support.

SUPPORT

Sharing protocols predates the concept of piracy.

Dragomus suggests early global sharing of TCP protocol code for testing sidesteps the traditional definition.

SUPPORT

BBSs and FTP sites define the early digital era.

swordgeek places early digital theft in the early '80s via BBSs and Usenet downloading.

Source Discussions (3)

This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.

79
points
Probably my first piracy experience (it was great)
[email protected]·12 comments·7/27/2024·by smokebuddy·lemmy.today
38
points
What was the first thing or video or music or whatever that was so called "pirated" from the internet? How did it happen and was the end user happy? And can you still access it?
[email protected]·26 comments·4/11/2026·by Patnou
34
points
The Streaming War Is Over. Piracy Won.
[email protected]·0 comments·9/15/2025·by variety4me·yewtu.be