A Guy 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (566)

• On the post: Every Successful New Technology Has Created Panic From Those It Disrupts

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2012 @ 12:45pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One disagreement

  Also, I don't understand why economists say "non market means". This is not specific to you. I just object to the term in general. Since the reality is we do commoditize human beings through the labor market, we must acknowledge that war, disease, taxes, government, and the various other risks of the human condition are a natural part of that market and factor it into the price. Pretending that they aren't market forces seems disingenuous.

• On the post: Every Successful New Technology Has Created Panic From Those It Disrupts

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2012 @ 11:45am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One disagreement

  In this case, the common resource is the labor pool. Everyone dips into it to create things at the lowest marginal cost, and (conceivably) becomes so degraded that it no longer functions properly.

• On the post: Every Successful New Technology Has Created Panic From Those It Disrupts

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2012 @ 10:24am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One disagreement

  That is all true.
  
  However, your analysis fails to take into account the tragedy of the commons. If you can dupe people into working for a system that leads to inefficient consequences for them personally, they will vote to tax you to fix it later nullifying your temporary gains.
  
  Let's say your uninformed, low paid worker cannot afford health insurance and cannot afford to (or doesn't) educate themselves about the consequences of not taking care of themselves. Can you think of any potential consequences that may come as a result in the future? (i.e. individual mandates, expanded medicare/medicaid, exploding disability costs, lots of tax/borrow/print and spend politics, massive economic crisis)
  
  The other commodities cannot vote.

• On the post: Every Successful New Technology Has Created Panic From Those It Disrupts

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2012 @ 08:47pm

  Re:

  We're not alone. China and Germany are right here with us. For some reason, people have decided mercantilism is a good system worth emulating everywhere around the globe.
  
  China is kind of a surprise. They went from very socialist to very fascist really quickly.

• On the post: Every Successful New Technology Has Created Panic From Those It Disrupts

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2012 @ 08:40pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One disagreement

  I'm going to agree with Richard. Humanity doesn't exist to serve markets. If you allow humans to be commoditized it leads inevitably to facism. Mercantilism and militarism destroy free markets.

• On the post: Why Do Copyright Maximalists Think That Lame 'Education' Campaigns Will Brainwash Children?

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 03:40pm

  Re: For the same reason that Copyright Deniers continue to astroturf

  Hmmm
  
  I always thought that most of the law school astroturfers were on the other side of the fence. Maybe we're both suffering from a confirmation bias.
  
  Personally, I think of this site as interactive news and comedy. It's almost like a Colbert Report or Daily Show, but you get to join in the mocking/stupidity. It's too bad we cannot really know who really is here for news/comedy and who is being paid.

• On the post: Epic Win/Fail: Bullied Bus Monitor Sparks Overwhelming Support, But Also Death Threats To Kids

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 03:04pm

  Re:

  I think I would ban the kids from the bus for the rest of the year, give them a 3 day or week long suspension from school and/or a bunch of Saturday detentions.

• On the post: Why Do Copyright Maximalists Think That Lame 'Education' Campaigns Will Brainwash Children?

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 02:27pm

  Re: Re:

  He already has a page for that.

• On the post: Get Ready For The Political Fight Against Encryption

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 02:19pm

  DiHydrogenMonoxide

  This could be epic. After we get rid of encryption and VPNs, maybe congress should finally get around to banning DiHydrogenMonoxide.
  
  We should ban phosphorus while we're at it too. That stuff can be just as dangerous.

• On the post: RIAA's New War: Shutting Down The Equivalent Of Internet VCRs

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 02:15pm

  Those aren't even very good tools. Well, by the time they find the good ones, someone else will have a better method.

• On the post: Epic Win/Fail: Bullied Bus Monitor Sparks Overwhelming Support, But Also Death Threats To Kids

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 01:55pm

  I saw this on CNN. It's hard to watch. I may have been a bit of a bastard when I was a kid, but I was NOTHING like that.
  
  *grumbles* kids these days *grumbles*
  
  Awww, I must be getting old.

• On the post: Speech-Via-Algorithm Is Still Speech, And Censoring It Is Still Censorship

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 09:43am

  Citizens United

  Part of the rational that said corporations can donate unlimited amounts of money and run ads with very few restrictions was that it didn't really matter whether corporations were people or not.
  
  The right to free speech included the right of the people to hear the speech unfettered. Whether or not Citizens United was a good idea, it seems that the SCOTUS has already ruled on this issue.

• On the post: Congressional Staffer Says SOPA Protests 'Poisoned The Well', Failure To Pass Puts Internet At Risk

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 09:22am

  Re: Re: Can I borrow a cup of "civil"? I'm all out.

  I'm going to call this a bit over the top. If there is anything that probably won't be at the top of the priority list in the event of civil insurrection or war on American soil, it's copyright law.

• On the post: Congressional Staffer Says SOPA Protests 'Poisoned The Well', Failure To Pass Puts Internet At Risk

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 08:43am

  WE poisoned the well. Right. These people poisoned themselves by attacking what they were sworn to protect.
  
  Look out guys, the lawyers are warning the engineers about the limitations of our technology.
  
  You cannot legislate physics. If the lawyers really want a technology that works the way they WISH it worked, they can become engineers. When you're done programming the artificial intelligence that can somehow evaluate the copyright status of a 1 or 0 reliably and has an enforcement mechanism that won't target legitimate expression let the rest of us know. You may be in the running for a Nobel prize.

• On the post: Carreon Admits His Original Threat Letter Was A Mistake, But Keeps On Digging Anyway

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 08:23am

  Re: Re: Exit Strategy

  I guess I missed that one. Maybe the next comic should be Carreon taking drugs directly from child cancer patients.

• On the post: Carreon Admits His Original Threat Letter Was A Mistake, But Keeps On Digging Anyway

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 08:06am

  Exit Strategy

  He should just donate a little to the fundraiser himself, apologize (jokingly) to his mother for getting her dragged into this, and, most importantly, show he can laugh at himself online by making a self deprecating statement about the whole mess.
  
  That or he could just keep digging I guess. Either way, he will provide at least another week of entertainment, maybe more.

• On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 27 May, 2012 @ 04:44pm

  Re:

  We're not celebrating corrupt policy makers in Washington. We're celebrating those who have sacrificed trying to give us a better world. Whether a particular result was worth it or not, the soldiers on the ground deserve our respect.
  
  So, you know, go fuck yourself.

• On the post: Broadband In Crisis: Does The US Need Regulation To Force Meaningful Competition?

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 May, 2012 @ 02:49pm

  Re:

  Because lobbyists keep trying to kill any attempt to inject real competition in the market.

• On the post: Apparently The USTR Thinks 'Unprecedented Transparency' Means Hiding TPP Details From 98% Of Congress

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 May, 2012 @ 02:43pm

  The unprecedented part is the fact that what they are negotiating keeps getting discussed in real time on the internet instead of it being spoon fed through favored media outlets.
  
  It's probably an unprecedented pain in the ass for them.

• On the post: Broadband In Crisis: Does The US Need Regulation To Force Meaningful Competition?

  

  A Guy ( profile ), 24 May, 2012 @ 02:39pm

  Regulation would just be a stop gap measure. What we need is a fiber build out that would provide some meaningful competition instead.

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