I'm not disputing the poor business logic involved in leading the way with this sort of thing, and I don't think anyone believes that they are doing it due to their deep love of free speech.

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So you're kind of invoking Zeno's dichotomy paradox (if you're always halfway to an endpoint, you'll never actually reach the endpoint).



The old Gale's Cake problem! If a utility-maximizing consumer has a single piece of cake to consume, what is the optimum consumption pattern? You never actually finish the cake, you always just eat 1/2 of what is left.

Of course, this breaks down when you modify the utility function to account for addictive behavior. The true addict never puts away half of their stash every time. And unless you literally enjoy mathematical masturbation, don't even try it with a utility function that puts all the fun at the very end.

So, maybe taunting the legals is addictive behavior, and they are maximizing utility rather than profit - getting off on seeing how far they can take things, in the same way that many actual criminals do.
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[The movie business] is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There is also a negative side. - Hunter S. Thompson