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1.  

   No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 5:36am

   
   

   You know what else isn't a DMCA violation? Walking peacefully down the street. I don't know if this kind of article is encouraging or discouraging. We shouldn't have to point out what obviously isn't illegal.

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2.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Jesse, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 5:39am

   
   

   I thought it was interesting... Have you used BugMeNot before? Have you ever wondered, whilst entering someone else's password, what kind of risk you could be taking accessing information you didn't sign up to be allowed to access?

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3.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 5:59am

   
   

   I use BugMeNot every day; I even have the great Firefox extension. It never even occurred to me to worry about it being illegal... the passwords and user names are freely given and shared. It's not illegal to do anything remotely similar in the "offline" world ... something about the Internet scares people and lawmakers into thinking you give up your basic civil liberties by going online.

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4.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Dam, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 6:15am

   
   

   You know what else isn't a DMCA violation? Walking peacefully down the street.

   
   Are you sure? Two feet - one off the ground, one on, could be intrepreted as digital motion and you don't own the rights to it!

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5.  

   BugMeNot can withstand any litigation

   

   Anon, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 6:19am

   
   

   In any lawsuit, BugMeNot will clearly prevail. This is simply because of two key principles. First, all information is given, not hacked. So, there is noone who is having their actual information stolen by submitting a login. Second, sites are given the option to inform BugMeNot that they are a pay-per-view site, and be delisted. This means that all other sign ups on BugMeNot are for sites that are open to the public.
   
   So, there is simply no plaintiff that can raise suit. No information on either side is priviledged. The New York Times, for instance, can never claim that a public sign up account being used by others is stealing some type of non-public, private data.
   
   That, and they do not want to stir up a story in the news and calls for stricter regulation of what type of information can be required of online users. It's bad PR to come out and say you have the legal right to collect millions of people's personal data for absolutely no good reason.
   
   Newspapers have long talked on other sites about the possibility of suing BugMeNot. Do you know why none have? They all realise the exact same things. First, that if a site has a lot of visitors using BugMeNot, then they are obviously asking too much of their visitors. And second, that if they try to force BugMeNot to not list on their site, then their user databases will simply fill up with the same people inputting fraudulant data because they will still refuse to give out their personal information.
   
   And so, BugMeNot is actually a service for these sites. With it there, they can point to why private data collection online doesn't need extra regulation, and they keep out excessive bogus account signups.

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6.  

   Re: BugMeNot can withstand any litigation

   

   Rikko, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 9:06am

   
   

   Isn't that basically the same arguments people had for Napster being immortal?

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7.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Scott, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 9:13am

   
   

   No offline equivalent? The username and password are equivalent to a key, therefore if I give you the key to my workplace(secure datacenter), there is nothing illegal happening? I am under contract to secure my key and you are not authorized to be in my building(most agreements with online sites have you agree this is for your and only your use.) While I agree bugmenot is a great tool, it can be abused, and abused in a manner that is illegal.
   This is not the fault of bugmenot however, it is the user who should not have put that info into it.

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8.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 9:34am

   
   

   A locked door is very different from a Web site open to the public. Your analogy is extremely weak.
   
   

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9.  

   Re: BugMeNot can withstand any litigation

   

   FireMonkey, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 9:36am

   
   

   "Second, sites are given the option to inform BugMeNot that they are a pay-per-view site, and be delisted" I agree that BugMeNot is safe from prosecution, but the above logic is utter crap. That reminds me of how Google gave publishers a way to opt-out of having their works scanned, rather than allowing them to opt-in for inclusion in the index. They were still copying copyrighted works. Let's have an extreme example: I collect and publicly display ill-gotten garden gnomes. Last week, I posted on my website that anyone who does not want their gnomes added to my exhibition should contact me and have their gnomes removed from my list of "candidates". I also state that by NOT informing me of your anti-display desires, you give me permission to take and display your gnome. Can I be prosecuted for taking your gnome? According to your logic, no. You passively gave me permission by not opting out. In the real world? I'd be wearing some very tiny gnome-sized handcuffs.

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10.  

    Re: BugMeNot can withstand any litigation

    

    Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 12:24pm

    
    

    You're comparing stealing physical property to... sharing free, knowingly-given logins to public web sites? Bugmenot is more akin to having a network of friends to tell you the shortcuts in your drive around town than to stealing garden gnomes.

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11.  

    Re: No Subject Given

    

    Scott, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 1:29pm

    
    

    Obviously it isn't open to the public or you would not need a username or password would you? Open means I don't have to do anything to get it doesn't it?

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12.  

    No Subject Given

    

    haggie, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 3:59pm

    
    

    If a website can successfully sue BugMeNot, wouldn't it also imply that an individual could be sued for doing the same thing? If I register at a registration required website and then give my user name and password to my girlfriend, can I be sued by the website?
    
    Anyone want to bet that anti-BugMeNot language starts showing up in website registration EULAs in the very near future?

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13.  

    Re: No Subject Given

    

    Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2005 @ 6:01pm

    
    

    EULAs mean nothing and are utterly unenforceable.

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14.  

    why?

    

    Greg, Dec 2nd, 2005 @ 9:28am

    
    

    I still fail to see how BugMeNot can come under any fire from any websites unless they are pay websites (which could easily block off visitors being refered to the site from bugmenot with a quick edit of their .htaccess file). Basically the people with user names and passwords to these sites are the same people that are putting them on BugMeNot.com for everyone else to use. It's not like BugMeNot is doing anything malicious to gain access to these password protected websites. It's basically just a middleman to gain access to these sites, pretty much just like word of mouth (people telling other people their username and password to access the site), but just on a bigger playing field.

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15.  

    help

    

    andrew throne, Apr 9th, 2007 @ 7:59pm

    
    

    i think bugmenot is not a strong website becos i fine it very defficute to bug into website,so if u any boby know about any strong site i can u to bug webmail and other boxs do mail me or drop a note.

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16.  

    opt out vs opt in

    

    Stephen, Jul 23rd, 2007 @ 3:39am

    
    

    I think what FireMonkey said was true. The presumption should be that all websites are not involved and if a site wants to become involved, bugmenot should be the one who's responsibility it is to seek permission.

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17.  

    BugMeNot is a PROBLEM !!!

    

    Bernard, Dec 30th, 2007 @ 7:10pm

    
    

    It seems like many people consider BugMeNot not to be a problem.
    
    Well, that's a problem for me. I'm managing and moderating an important online community where the members can interact with each other. And some people sharing these accounts and using these shared accounts from BugMeNot have very bad intentions and are disrupting the activities of the community and bothering the members.
    
    Moreover, BugMeNot terms of use are making it illegal for me to use their service.
    
    I just can't let this happen...

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18.  

    

    lol, Apr 3rd, 2008 @ 6:39pm

    
    

    dont ban this site,
    bcuz i need 4 pr0n

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19.  

    FUCKYA

    

    Diana, Aug 11th, 2008 @ 11:52pm

    
    

    we VOLUNTARILY gave away passwords, you fucking authorities!

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20.  

    Sensitive data

    

    George, Feb 10th, 2009 @ 8:28am

    
    

    I know this is a bit of stretch, but consider:
    What about an intern or a fulltime employee that works at a research center where they research diseases. There would be information on the internal site of such a corporation, that could be used to create biological weapons. Now that information is classified and 'for your eyes only'. Is a free pass to such information not a danger to the society and illegal?

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21.  

    LOAN OFFER (APPLY NOW)

    

    Benson Josh, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 8:21am

    
    

    Do you need a loan? for information contact us at [email protected]

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