BobbyDigital said:

If the rule is you should have the blu-rays before downloading the despecialized editions so that you aren't technically getting something for nothing, then why aren't you supposed to own all the different versions of the movies that were used as sources for the despecialized versions? If you only own the blu-rays, then it could be argued that you're profiting from the piracy of all the releases that aren't blu-rays.

I think there's a major distinction between what Disney/Fox currently have on the shelves for sale, and a rare laserdisc that is 30 years old.

As for the GOUT, I think there was indeed support (and interest, otherwise) to buy the 2006 DVDs. It's a different story now that it's outdated and marked up. Those extra profits are going to resellers or 'preowners'.

In the end, however, Frink is right. There is probably another subforum to discuss intricacies on the morality of this stuff (it's a grey area topic, to be sure, and people's perspectives are interesting). Certainly not in the thread of the person creating the edit, and certainly not in response to his request to please buy the damn discs.