The biggest reason why I "cave" to the official DVDs, is that it gives me greater license to complain about what is wrong with them. When you are a paying customer, you have much more ground to stand on to get the defects changed (hence my post about my dealings with LFL, Fox, and the BBB). That is the very foundation of tort law. If you haven't paid for anything, then the company hasn't wronged you. You may be voting with your wallet, true, but in this real world, that vote doesn't add up to much, given the 100 million+ copies that have already flown off the shelves.

The second biggest reason, why I "cave" is to indulge in some of the great fan-provided material. Namely the OT rips and prequel reedits that are being created here. If you trade bootlegs of your favorite band, you're less likely to be hunted down by their legal eagles because you're more likely to have bought all of their official releases anyway. i.e. You're not affecting the bottom line. (Note: Pirating is something different than bootlegging and this is rightly a concern in Hollywood). However, if you engage in bootlegging without supporting the official releases, you're opening yourself to more legal action, frankly because bootlegging is illegal. If you have the legal argument "but I bought the legitimate, official copy anyway" they are likely to leave you alone and drop any charges. Nobody wants to sue or prosecute a customer in good standing (for fear of what the bad press could do). It's the customer who is stealing who will get the legal smackdown.