http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c694 Wed, 22 May 2013 22:22:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c694 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c897 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:53:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c897 He makes John Steele look smart ten times over.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c703 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:33:59 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c703
Neither Google nor wget magically know what files are available on a site. For the files to show up in a recursive wget (or to the Google spider, for that matter), it means that the files had to be actively linked to from other accessible pages on the site. Somewhere on their public-facing website, there was a link pointing to all those thousands of insecure, confidential documents that the company wasn't even supposed to be keeping in the first place.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1904 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:25:41 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1904 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c233 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:21:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c233
Ah...but what we do post on the Internet can be public if we choose it to be. We can delete stupid Facebook posts and pictures at will. When someone with a juvenile record turns 18 in the US, that record is sealed from the court system's use and cannot legally be used against that person in any way. What you did is sealed off.

Do you see the problem in what Schmidt is proposing as it entrusts web users not to lie about their ages, and websites to fully erase your personal data when you become an "adult"?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c127 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:13:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c127
That's probably the only thing that the proponents of compulsory licensing and the major record labels agree on.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1885 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:12:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1885
Schools are full of some not-so-bright people sometimes, but they see the writing on the wall. If they try to fix it themselves, they get sued, pay money, are easy targets. Instead it's "Zero Tolerance" and call the cops -- see we did all we could, didn't touch any one, didn't restrain anyone, didn't tolerate something we should have stopped. It's Zero Tolerance bullying, Zero tolerance touching, zero tolerance of anything that might make someone sad... it's 5 year olds with Behaviour Contracts because they won't play well with other, it's suspending a kid for biting his poptart into a gun shape, a 12 year old boy is a sex offender for trying get a girl he likes to talk to him, on and on and on. Parents do the same, saying my kid needs to be protected from everything, no traumatizing events like being called a name or having to deal with someone she doesn't like talking to her.... that is what it is coming too.

We get what we incentivize. We sue people, organizations, entities at the drop of a hat, even if they win it's costs thousands - millions of dollars. All because someone couldn't tolerate being called a name. We make children who can't deal with a confrontational situation, parents who overreact to everything. We incentivize stupidity and intolerance in the very name of the tolerance of diversity we preach. Now we are getting the society of call the cops for everything, I mean in school for that last 30 years, whenever there was a problem we had to get a teacher involved, not resolve it ourselves, we might get punished. Now those kids they run the schools and they still do that but a teacher is now a cop.

The end result -- all the protected, nurtured individuals cease development, by pure numbers, they squeeze out the stronger natural order breeds and the civilization as a whole get's weaker.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c124 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:12:05 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c124 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120824/12382120149/authors-guild-continues-to-battle-present-attacks-another-legal-service-as-infringing.shtml#c1251 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:59:20 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120824/12382120149/authors-guild-continues-to-battle-present-attacks-another-legal-service-as-infringing.shtml#c1251 pay-us-eternaly-for-we-will-be-extending-copyright-on-everything-just-before-it-is-about-to-expire-see-mickey-mouse-protection-act.com/legal/terms/
That should work.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c78 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:56:04 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c78
How's this for a remix? Just shorten "And, because people who angrily write comments on this site rarely read to the end of the post, I'll just point out that this is a joke, not anything even remotely serious." down to This site is a joke, not anything even remotely serious.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120824/12382120149/authors-guild-continues-to-battle-present-attacks-another-legal-service-as-infringing.shtml#c1242 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:55:23 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120824/12382120149/authors-guild-continues-to-battle-present-attacks-another-legal-service-as-infringing.shtml#c1242 http://www.pay-us-eternaly-for-we-will-be-extending-copyright-on-everything-just-before-it-is-about-to-expire-see-mickey-mouse-protection-act.com/legal/terms/ You're welcome.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c808 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:50:07 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c808
It makes you wonder how many other stories around here are equally based on poor assumptions.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c53 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:48:43 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c53 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c220 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:46:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c220
Let's say as an example you did something silly like dress in a costume for halloween that might be considered somewhat racists or sexist according to some future standard (blackface, anyone?). Is it really fair that this image might get drudged up during a job search 20 years later, costing you future employment?

We expect our kids to somehow have adult values and adult levels of intelligence, when honestly many of the adults online don't seem to have it. Is it really realistic to keep all their stuff out there?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c52 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:44:02 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c52 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c43 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:43:33 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c43 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1863 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:42:04 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1863
Even if it was just water and it ruined the clothes you just spent your money on and you were heading to an interview?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/02350923170/new-bill-would-stop-patent-trolls-hiding-behind-shell-companies.shtml#c142 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:41:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/02350923170/new-bill-would-stop-patent-trolls-hiding-behind-shell-companies.shtml#c142 So far, none of the bills has received much momentum

Basically, random Senators and House members suggest all sorts of odd legislation, often only so that in the next election they can claim to have championed a cause. Few of these personal bills make it past getting posted as a proposal, they die on the order table at the end of every session like most of the other crap. With 600+ elected grandstanders, the order papers are crowded with this sort of stuff.

So Coles Note: nothing like this has a hope of passing any time soon.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c872 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:41:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c872
Risking to sound rude, I note that Duffy's wife probably can't spell half of the words Nora/Heather used.

Also: the only person I know who use the word "tossed" describing lawsuits.... you know who.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c876 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:41:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c876
Risking to sound rude, I note that Duffy's wife probably can't spell half of the words Nora/Heather used.

Also: the only person I know who use the word "tossed" describing lawsuits.... you know who.]]>