E. Zachary Knight 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1445) comment rss

  • On the post: 60 Year Old Swedish Man Gets Sentenced To 'Conditional' Two Years In Jail For File Sharing

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2011 @ 02:32pm

    Re:

    Yes, because knowing that a rapist will get out of jail 8 months before a file sharer is supposed to make me feel safer.

    Those evil file sharers, sharing music and movies are far worse scum than people who sexual abuse children and rape people.

    I mean, come on, someone waving a P2P application loaded with 2800 songs is far scarier than a person waving a gun with 6+ bullets in it.

    There was a reason why the founders of the United States saw fit to include the 8th amendment and its protections from excessive fines and punishments. It is sad that it is being ignored like much of the rest of the Constitution, but it is cases like this that remind me why they thought it necessary in the first place. Granted we are not talking about the US, but the US founders were using abuses by European countries as a guideline for those amendments.

  • On the post: Does The Punishment Fit The Crime? Is Manslaughter An Equivalent Crime To Copyright Infringement?

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2011 @ 09:27am

    Re:

    Copying is not theft.

  • On the post: More People Waking Up To The Troubling Implications Of The Gov't Taking $500 Million From Google

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2011 @ 09:24am

    Re:

    In a libertarian society, drugs would be cheap and affordable, no matter where you buy them. So this would not even be an issue.

  • On the post: More People Waking Up To The Troubling Implications Of The Gov't Taking $500 Million From Google

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2011 @ 09:22am

    Re:

    Its not really a matter of health risk from Canadian pharmaceuticals, it is a matter of Canadian drug law being far more lax than US law. You see, if people are able to buy cheap lifesaving medications from Canadian drug companies, large monopolistic drug companies would go out of business. We can't have that happening.

  • On the post: If ACTA Is Approved In The US, It May Open The Door For The President To Regularly Ignore Congress On International Agreements

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2011 @ 11:32am

    Re:

    However, if government thugs (police) come into your home and take all your property, it is called civil forfeiture and is completely legal.

    So yes, the President can steal your stuff and get away with it.

  • On the post: Appeals Court: Arresting Guy For Filming Cops Was A Clear Violation Of Both 1st & 4th Amendments

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2011 @ 09:38am

    Indeed, "[t]he freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state."

    This is my new favorite quote. Thank you for sharing.

  • On the post: Don't Mess With Texas… Or, Well, Don't Use That Slogan As A Book Title Or Texas Will Sue

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2011 @ 09:32am

    Re:

    Seriously?

    How?

    I just can't fathom the connection.

  • On the post: Feds Raid Gibson; Musicians Now Worried The Gov't Will Take Their Guitars Away

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2011 @ 05:07am

    In the immortal words of George W. Bush:

    "Need some wood?"

  • On the post: Dutch Communications Agency Cracks Down On Pirate Stations; Can Go From 'Warning' To 'Fine' In 30 Minutes

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2011 @ 12:42pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Not really. This is like setting up a mobile shop in an empty lot. Who are you harming? The lot owner who is not making use of it?

    Pirate radio stations set up their broadcasts in those bands that have no broadcasts. I am sure you don't have a radio station for every decimal point in your neck of the woods.

  • On the post: California Wants To Put Jurors In Jail For Tweeting About Trial

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2011 @ 11:47am

    This is like all those texting and driving laws. We already have laws about distracted driving, no need to get into specifics.

  • On the post: California Wants To Put Jurors In Jail For Tweeting About Trial

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2011 @ 11:46am

    Re:

    I think it is pretty clear that Mike "gets it"

    He states pretty clearly that current law is enough to cover and punish this behavior without jailing the juror.

  • On the post: More Misplaced Hatred For The Used Games Market

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2011 @ 10:25am

    Re: Re:

    Exactly.

  • On the post: More Misplaced Hatred For The Used Games Market

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2011 @ 09:29am

    I think their biggest problem is that they have no idea how to make a profit off of games with a long tail. They want to sell all their games and get all their profit in a small 3 month window. They get upset that used games appear in that window along side the new copies.

    So rather than look at the real problem (why people are selling off their newly purchased game within a month of owning it) they focus on the symptom of the problem, the used sales.

    I have made the suggestion before that they should partner with GameStop to get them to disclose the movements of used games. In this, GameStop would release regular data on how many used games people trade in and how many are sold. This would provide game publishers with enough information to determine when a reduced price would spur new sales or when a re-release would be warranted.

    That is not to say the solution is perfect, but it is a change of pace.

  • On the post: Fox Responds To 'Piracy Surge' By Answering A Different Question

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 01:06pm

    Re: Re:

    Chances are that if your life revolves around watching and discussing SyFy shows you're already a social pariah.
    Not among my circle of friends.

    And if you simply refuse to pay for cable or satellite why do you think you're entitled anyway?

    Like I said, I am more than willing to watch shows legally if they are provided in a format that is convenient to me. I don't find paying for satellite or cable to be convenient. Yet, I do find watching shows online to be so. It is not my fault Syfy took away that option thinking I would be willing to pay $80 a month just to watch a handful of shows.

  • On the post: Fox Responds To 'Piracy Surge' By Answering A Different Question

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 01:03pm

    Re: Re:

    Don't you think "social pariah" is a little bit strong?

    Not really. It is a shared interest. I can engage with my friends in the discussion or sit out with nothing to add to the conversation. Personally, I like to be engaged in the discussion.

    And really, if it's that important, there are torrents of your favorite TV show available a few hours after they're broadcast.

    That was also something I raised with SyFy and which the subsequently brushed aside. I have turned to such means. Sadly they won't get any ad revenue from me in 2 months time when they are finally available online legally.

  • On the post: Fox Responds To 'Piracy Surge' By Answering A Different Question

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 10:49am

    Re: @ "turning a class of people ... into social pariahs"

    Its no entitlement. Syfy is producing shows I enjoy watching. I would love to watch them on Hulu or Syfy.com and would gladly sit through the ads on those services. However, Syfy is not willing to provide the supply to meet my demand.

  • On the post: Fox Responds To 'Piracy Surge' By Answering A Different Question

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 10:08am

    That's because one reason why people watch hit shows right away is so they can discuss them with friends. Fox has now made it more difficult to discuss with friends because it's that much harder to watch its shows.

    That was one of the key points I made with Syfy recently, that they completely ignored.

    By taking away my ability to watch shows now, while my friends are watching them, they are turning a class of people, those who cannot afford or refuse to pay for cable/satellite, into social pariahs. A lot of people don't like that.

    It is completely insane to alienate fans in the hopes that you get more money.

    Granted, what Fox has done is far more reasonable than what Syfy has done (8 day delay with Fox, 2 month delay with Syfy) it is still idiotic.

  • On the post: Author Says eBooks Will Hurt Authors Because Of Royalty Rates

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 06:41am

    Re: math

    You forgot some of the formula of your math in your example:

    paperback books= 8%......$5.00 book price = $0.40
    sells 200,000 = $80,000 - $50,000 (advance) = $30,000...

    or more likely:

    paperback books= 8%......$5.00 book price = $0.40
    sells 50,000 = $20,000 - $50,000(advance) = $-30,000...

  • On the post: Australian Government Considering Three Strikes; Consumers Not Considered Stakeholders

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2011 @ 08:12pm

    Based on Australia's experience with the recent R18 video game rating issue, it is no wonder they don't want the public involved.

    Australia recently asked the public if they thought that Australia should add an R18 rating in order to be more inline with movies which have an R18 rating and other countries that have an R18 equivalent. In that request to the public for comment, the majority of submissions from the public were in favor of an R18 for video games. This did not sit well with politicians who do not want it and they have been stalling for nearly a year since they asked for public opinion.

    They don't want to have to go through that again with 3 strikes laws. It is uncomfortable to go against public opinion, especially after you asked for public input.

  • On the post: Verizon Moneymaking Plans: Low Bandwidth Caps + New High Bandwidth Services = Profits?

    E. Zachary Knight ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2011 @ 01:50pm

    Re:

    That is what I was thinking.

Next >>