I torrent all of the damned time. Whenever XBMC puts a new version out, I'll be there. Whenever Debian rolls out a new distro, I'll be there. Whenever the geniuses at OCREMIX put out a new album, I'll be there (and donating!). Torrents aren't illegal. Music isn't illegal. There is so much good stuff out there that isn't part of the MPAA/RIAA cartel that I still can't figure out why people still download the Top 40 crap.
To borrow from the game of poker...all in. When my friends and I are dealing with our significant others and we do something wrong, the rest of the group will inevitably goad the other into going all in. In this instance, if you're going to go to crazy town, go all the way.
Re: Of course it's effective-- you just don't like any enforcement
It's actually about middlemen's rights and hating on them. And I'm remarkably okay with that. It's perfectly possible to be anti-IP and still pay for your entertainment. I simply refuse to give any money to an artist that's signed with the RIAA.
Now, I will grant you that I do have an HD antenna and as a basketball fan I did watch the abomination that was this years Finals...so I suppose that since I was watching that for free (whilst ignoring the commercials) I was in fact stealing it. Now I suppose that Kevin Durant is going to come to my house to rough me up.
A few days ago my lovely girlfriend bought a piano which is now taking up a chunk of space in my living room. Now I've never been a musical genius so when I started messing around with it I didn't really see a problem. I had been getting a little better and managed to perform a piano version of a Metallica song.
No sooner had I finished the last note then a team of leather clad RIAA ninjas broke down my front door and handcuffed me on the spot. My neighbors and their newborn were brought out at gunpoint for the audacity of broadcasting my performance over a Skype conversation with their relatives.
Needless to say, I've quite my freetard ways. We're all in a re-education camp and have learned to leave music to the professionals, and that listening without permission is tantamount to stealing.
I'm already convinced that the majority of the shills on this site are simply poorly written scripts. Now they can be censored simply because they can't pass a Turing test?
Culture is an inevitable byproduct of being human. We could have nothing but fire and pointy sticks and we will still be making culture. The rise of the pre-fab pop star is more due to the current love affair with reality TV than anything else. The bands I really enjoy certainly don't fall into the category. Fleet Foxes, Trampled by Turtles, etc.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Finally, we'll answer the old question
Lawyers are maggots. They thrive on human misery and are motivated only by greed. We may need them as a society, but when you start seeing too many it's a good indication that something is amiss. To counter one of your points, lawyers can only argue and judges decide - what do most judges do before they become judges? Speaking as a software developer who has been threatened by more than one sleazy lawyer over software patents from people I've never heard of, every one could vanish tomorrow and the world would be a better place for it.
When you think about the ease of piracy, the eBook industry should be lauded even more. You can theoretically download every book in a library's collection in the same amount of space as a single HD movie. If you add compression into the mix (text files compress marvelously), piracy has the potential to do far more damage to authors than to filmmakers.
The fact that it hasn't tells me two things: That the threat posed by copyright infringers is far overblown and/or that the book publishing industry is doing something less wrong (I won't go as far to say 'right') than the film and music industries.
I could probably whip up a script to replace this person. The difficult part is making it seem like the script is a human trying hard to sound like a script. Meta-humor isn't really my strong suit.
SOPA and its ilk are dead, but we all know that the critters will push it through as a rider on some other bill. I'm trying to campaign on diversifying the state economy and on paring back issues like the PATRIOT act and getting the TSA out of our pants. Unfortunately I'm young (30), single (soon to be engaged), and no democrat has ever won the 2nd district.
I appreciate the good wishes, I really do believe that the key to fixing politics is to remove the career politicians. The problem is that they're so entrenched it will take a major event to dislodge them.
District 2, Nevada - Democrat. I hate the two party system as much as anybody but in order to even stand a change you have to ally with one or the other.
On the post: Big ISPs Expected To Start Six Strikes Program This Weekend [Updated]
Re:
On the post: Big ISPs Expected To Start Six Strikes Program This Weekend [Updated]
Re: I don't normally do this....
On the post: EU Parlamentarian Gallo: ACTA Dissent 'A Soft Form Of Terrorism'
Re:
var i = 1;
while ( i > 0 )
{
echo ("OMG Teh Terroristz");
passLegislation();
}
On the post: Miami Heat Owner Now Threatening To Separately Sue The Lawyer Defending Blogger Who Linked To Unflattering Image
Re: Official proclamation
On the post: The White House Wants To Hear From You Concerning Its Strategy For Intellectual Property Enforcement
Re: Of course it's effective-- you just don't like any enforcement
Now, I will grant you that I do have an HD antenna and as a basketball fan I did watch the abomination that was this years Finals...so I suppose that since I was watching that for free (whilst ignoring the commercials) I was in fact stealing it. Now I suppose that Kevin Durant is going to come to my house to rough me up.
On the post: Jimmy Wales Campaigns To Stop The Despicable Attempt To Extradite & Try Richard O 'Dwyer
Re:
On the post: RIAA's New War: Shutting Down The Equivalent Of Internet VCRs
See you guys...
No sooner had I finished the last note then a team of leather clad RIAA ninjas broke down my front door and handcuffed me on the spot. My neighbors and their newborn were brought out at gunpoint for the audacity of broadcasting my performance over a Skype conversation with their relatives.
Needless to say, I've quite my freetard ways. We're all in a re-education camp and have learned to leave music to the professionals, and that listening without permission is tantamount to stealing.
On the post: Speech-Via-Algorithm Is Still Speech, And Censoring It Is Still Censorship
Re: Re: Not fair for the Techdirt trolls
On the post: Speech-Via-Algorithm Is Still Speech, And Censoring It Is Still Censorship
Re:
On the post: Speech-Via-Algorithm Is Still Speech, And Censoring It Is Still Censorship
Not fair for the Techdirt trolls
On the post: The New Elitism: File Sharing 'Created' Pop Music And Removing Gatekeepers Is 'Killing Culture'
Re: Culture death as harmful???
On the post: FBI & DEA Warn That IPv6 May Be Too Damn Anonymous
Re:
On the post: Funnyjunk's Lawyer, Charles Carreon, Continues To Lash Out: Accuses Matt Inman Of 'Instigating Security Attacks'
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Finally, we'll answer the old question
On the post: Not Only Can You 'Compete With Free' You Have To If You Don't Want Your Business Overrun By Piracy
Even more impressive.
The fact that it hasn't tells me two things: That the threat posed by copyright infringers is far overblown and/or that the book publishing industry is doing something less wrong (I won't go as far to say 'right') than the film and music industries.
On the post: RIAA Can't Figure Out Google's Takedown Tools; Blames Google
Re: Re:
On the post: News Corp. Wonders If There Could Possibly Be Any Arguments Against Anti-Piracy Efforts
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On the post: Is Photographing A Meal 'Taking Intellectual Property Away' From A Chef?
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On the post: TV Networks File Legal Claims Saying Skipping Commercials Is Copyright Infringement
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On the post: Senator Leahy Still Insisting That SOPA/PIPA Are 'Needed'
Re: Re: Re: Re:
I appreciate the good wishes, I really do believe that the key to fixing politics is to remove the career politicians. The problem is that they're so entrenched it will take a major event to dislodge them.
On the post: Senator Leahy Still Insisting That SOPA/PIPA Are 'Needed'
Re: Re: