Gracey 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (109) comment rss

  • On the post: Wrong Legislative Thought Of The Day: An Email Tax To Save The Post Office

    Gracey ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2013 @ 11:11am

    [And there should be, also, a very tiny tax on email," perhaps one-hundredth of a cent. He said this would discourage spam and not have much impact on the typical Internet user. Wozniak went on to suggest a sales tax on internet transactions that could help, in part, fund "vital functions that the post office serves."]

    Remind me not to send emails to anyone in the US. Geeze.

    The snail mail postal services actually do serve a purpose. Not everyone even has email or internet access, and thousands still send greetings cards by mail, and wedding invitations and even (gasp) bills. And how would one send a package containing a gift by email (okay, one could use courier, but the post is usually cheaper)?

    ...besides, old people like their "mail".

  • On the post: Our Turn To Get Bizarre Legal Threats From Global Wildlife Foundation

    Gracey ( profile ), 06 Mar, 2013 @ 02:24pm

    [You may think this is fun and games]

    Well, it certainly appears to be. I'm enjoying the show a great deal.

    [Gentlemen, I only requested you do the right thing.]

    Which of course is what he says is the right thing and not necessarily what the laws say?

    [And never use the word that I threaten you. I have been kind and upset, but I would never threaten anyone. ]

    So, this email was just a friendly thank you?

    [I want an answer by 10 CST that you will stop the damage you and your associates have done.]

    And as I can see by this post, TechDirt has indeed answered.

    [And I love court and depositions!]

    But they do not love you back.


    Waiting for the next batch of wonderfully ludicrous and non-English emails to hit the web.

  • On the post: Bizarre Legal Threat Of The Day: Confused Zoo Owner Threatens Popehat Over… Well… Just Read It

    Gracey ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2013 @ 01:33pm

    [You are about to meet the best attorneys on the planet.]

    Gosh, how did he manage to hire Google's lawyers away from them?

  • On the post: NASCAR Abuses DMCA To Try To Delete Fan Videos Of Daytona Crash

    Gracey ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2013 @ 06:59am

    Re: Re: Fine Print

    My husband has an old ticket from the Daytona 500 (probably about 8 years ago) and it does indeed have a disclaimer on the back of the ticket, but that disclaimer (the way I read it) doesn't mean you turn over your copyright to photos/videos you take, it simply means they can use your likeness (ie: a photo of your, or a video of your) in any way they choose. A quote from the back of a Daytona ticket:

    [Holder irrevocably grants to Daytona International Speedway and its assigns, licensees, affiliates and successors the right to use Holder's image, likeness, voice, actions and/or statements in all forms and media including advertising, trade, or any commercial purpose throughout the world and in perpetuity. Holder hereby waives any and all claims that holder may have for libel, defamation, invasion of privacy or right of publicity, infringement of copyright or violation of any other right arising out of or relating to any utilization of Holder's image as described herein.]

  • On the post: New Hampshire Politicians Want To Make 'Satellite View' On Maps A Criminal Offense

    Gracey ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2013 @ 09:45am

    [where such image is created by or with the assistance of a satellite, drone, or any device that is not supported by the ground.]

    So I wonder if a balloon and gondola tethered to the ground fits that description?

    Otherwise, Google Maps will be utilizing some really big cranes if they want visuals for the maps.

    How taking aerial photos of something is considered a criminal offense is beyond me. It's okay to stand in the street and take a snapshot of the house, but not okay to do it from the air...hmmmm. A shot of your house front from the street is likely to reveal as much or more than aerial view would.

  • On the post: Google Looks To Cut 'Funding' To 'Illegal' Sites It Doesn't Fund In The First Place

    Gracey ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2013 @ 10:59am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Google actions = FUD

    [People are driven by what they know. They are always slow to change. If you don't know that I am sorry. ]

    And this makes it Google's fault because people are slow? If you don't know that people are responsible for their own actions, then I am sorry about that, but people need to learn something called "responsibility" ... have it. Use it. It's good.

    [I can tell you from years of experience that people are not even sure what the address bar is.]

    That's true. I know lots of them too. However, it is their own fault for not exercising their own choice to learn or to drown on the web. It isn't Google's responsibility (nor anyone else's) to force netintelligence on them either.

    My dad always told me "if you don't know how it works, learn. If you don't want to learn, don't use it."

    My dad didn't even finish grade 8, but he was a smarter man than most guys I know who finished university.

  • On the post: Google Looks To Cut 'Funding' To 'Illegal' Sites It Doesn't Fund In The First Place

    Gracey ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2013 @ 10:53am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Google actions = FUD

    A habit, by nature, is a personal choice. It is YOUR habit, and up to you to change it if you don't like it.

    Why do people insist on blaming someone or something else for THEIR OWN choices?

    Nobody is forced to use Google search. If they're too dense to pick their own search engine whose fault is that?

    Oh wait ... of course, it's Google's fault. Why not. Just about everything web related appears to be Google's fault.

  • On the post: Supreme Court Set To Hear Case On Whether Or Not Planting Legally Purchased Seeds Infringes On Monsanto Patent

    Gracey ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2013 @ 04:55pm

    If Monsanto didn't actually want people to plant seeds from these plants, why wouldn't they make them sterile or at least engineer them to prevent them producing viable seed? A lot of hybrid garden plants (not edible) won't produce seed that's viable.

    Oh ... that's probably because they want to sell all the seed themselves to farmers so they still need plants that actually produce usable seed.

    I see no correlation at all between a seed patent and software - they're about as far apart as the ocean and the stars.

  • On the post: Harper's Magazine Publisher Shakes Verbal Fist At Google; Romanticizes Own Profession; Quotes Teletubbies

    Gracey ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2013 @ 11:10am

    Re: Re:

    I actually did subscribe via CrystalBall today ... not showing up except as a purchase though.