Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Techdirt

from the for-the-children dept

Getting the highest score for “most insightful” this week was Rich Kulawiec, with his comment in response to the TV networks suing DISH for providing a tool to let viewers automatically skip commercials. Rich pointed out the obvious question:

And yet it never occurs to them to ask why viewers are so very eager to skip commercials.

They don’t see consumers. They see revenue. Of course, that revenue may be short term because of that.

Coming in second was jupiterkansas with a nice comment on why focusing on “theft” may not be good business:

I used to go to a hobby shop where the guy working there would follow you around, pretending to straighten the shelves while watching you to make sure you didn’t steal anything. I just quit shopping there.

Even if you manage to every last instance of shoplifting, it has nothing to do with making your business more successful. That doesn’t mean you should do nothing, but treating customers like potential criminals is not good business.

For editor’s choice, I’ll start with John Doe’s simple question of what penalty is there for politicians who blatantly seek unconstitutional laws or actions:

What is the penalty for violating the constitution? You can be fined $87,500 for sharing one song. You can get many years in jail for smoking weed. Yet you pass an unconstitutional law violating the very foundation of our country and you get nothing? Not a fine? No jail time? You even get to keep your office where you are free to violate peoples rights over and over. Sounds fair doesn’t it?

And then we have Milton Freewater’s comment suggesting that I was “too conservative” in my post comparing comments from Amanda Palmer and Steve Albini talking about why internet file sharing is a good thing. Milton felt there was a bigger point, that file sharing is not piracy:

Palmer and Albini are stating in no uncertain terms that file-sharing is not piracy.

Yes, they’re saying it’s what you do with it, but they’re also saying it’s socially and morally acceptable behavior in general, regardless of how you use it.

And they’re arguing that from the artist’s point of view, not the consumer’s. Consumers have an even stronger argument. You shouldn’t have to get somebody’s permission before simply sharing their work with other people, such sharing isn’t piracy, and the First Amendment should keep the US government from interfering with such activity.

Finally, they’re saying very clearly that file-sharing builds fanbases, period. Not for some, but inherently, every time it happens. “Building fanbases” is to “file-sharing as “blue” is to “summer sky.”

Done.

Over to the funnies. Taking the top spot is our own E. Zachary Knight exploring the stages of grief of SOPA supporters:

I really wish these people would move along through the stages of grief. They have been stuck at Denial for so long and have only hinted at anger. We need to move on.

Come one people. It is only five steps: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Hollywood actors and politicians are able to go through 12 step programs on a consistent basis, why are these five steps so difficult?

Coming in a (very) close second is an Anonymous Coward explaining how Hollywood math can save the economy:

They’re right. Movie-making is the heart of the US economy. We should dump all those smoke-belching, chemical-polluting industries and invest heavily in movie-making.

If 3 movie studios can contribute $5 TRILLION dollars to the US economy, imagine what 25 more movie studios could do for us! Imagine a 1,000 movie studios! We would own the Chinese, lock, stock and chopsticks!

What are we waiting for? Let’s get on th…

What’s that? You say that you don’t want MORE movie studios? You just want all the money for yourselves? Oh!

Well, never mind!!!

For editor’s choice, we’ll start with an Anonymous Coward’s response to someone claiming that Windows is not a compelling operating system. This AC took issue with that claim:

Not true at all…

Windows IS a compelling OS. It’s compelled me to try Slackware, Debian, RedHat, Ubuntu, Solaris, and even OSX…

And, finally, I’ll leave you with the comment from A Guy who has discovered the power of “for the children.”

We should censor everything I don’t like on the internet… for the children.

We should also print up a big batch of money and transfer it into my bank account… for the children.

Finally, we NEED everyone who disagrees with me to stop speaking up so I have all the power… for the children.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so we’ll be out barbecuing and stuff. However, I expect we’ll be back on Tuesday, on the (reasonable, I’d say) assumption that there will be things to talk about by then…