John85851’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Clueless Press Being Played To Suggest Encryption Played A Role In San Bernardino Attacks

John85851 ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2015 @ 09:36am

This simple solution will restore your faith in humanity and change everything

Put simply, most of these headlines are simply clickbait:
they get people excited about the story so they can form an an opinion without having to read the story. Come on, who writes an entire story about a tweet from CBS??

We should treat clickbait headlines like spam: the less we click on it, and the quicker the companies see it's not working, the sooner it'll go away.

On the post: CBS Claims It Will Pull All Content Offline Unless It Can Be An Anti-Competitive Ass

John85851 ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2015 @ 05:45pm

But why are our shows on pirate sites?

Today CBS threatens to take all its content offline and tomorrow it'll be complaining why so many of their shows are now on the pirate and file-sharing sites.
Oh, wait, people actually wanted to watch the shows that they took offline and this is the only way to do it? And now CBS and its advertisers aren't getting anything out of it?

On the post: Pepperidge Farm Sues Trader Joe's Because It Too Made A Cookie

John85851 ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2015 @ 05:40pm

Who files these suits?

But, like all these cases, someone had to start the case. It wouldn't need to come to a quick end if it wasn't filed in the first place.

Who are the lawyers who file such a suit? Either:
1) The lawyer is paid too much money to think for himself and simply does what the client says, even if knows they have no case. If this is true, the lawyer should be fined for an ethics violation.
2) The lawyer doesn't know any better and he actually thinks the client has a case. If this is true, the lawyer should be disbarred until he learn the law a little better.

In either case, why aren't we going after the lawyers for filing these cases? As usual, as long as the accusing company doesn't face any punishment, they'll keep pushing their lawyers to file these kinds of cases.

On the post: FBI Director Says 'Smart People' At Office Supply Companies Can Help Limit Terrorists' Access To Pen And Paper

John85851 ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2015 @ 05:33pm

To keep going...

Why can't Office Depot keep a copy of everything written in their store? How hard is it to install something in the countertops that records a copy of people's writing? You know, to keep for up to a year "just in case".

And then cross-reference the written record with the camera surveillance so we'll know who used that countertop and when.

And don't give us any of that "my my girlfriend was writing" excuse- you were at the countertop and it should have been in your control. I don't think you tried to password-protect it.

On the post: The Two Leading Presidential Candidates — Clinton And Trump — Are Both Mocking Free Speech On The Internet

John85851 ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2015 @ 04:47pm

The Amendments

I know this may be a little off-topic, but it's very interesting (or scary, depending on how you look at it) that people seem quick to break the constitution amendments in the Bill of Rights to get back at terrorists... except one. Can you guess which?

1: We can't let terrorists have the right to free speech.
3: (Quartering soldiers doesn't apply.)
4: We have to search everyone in case they might be a terrorist.
5: Terrorists don't deserve due process and they should give up information on themselves (preferably under torture) for everyone's good.
6: Terrorists don't deserve lawyers or a fair trial. We know they're terrorists and that's good enough.
7: (Right to a trial by jury in civil cases doesn't apply.)
8: Languishing in a prison cell without a trial isn't considered cruel and unusual punishment at all.
9 and 10: (Don't apply.)

That leaves us with the 2nd Amendment:
Why, yes, anyone can have a gun. We'd never dream of stepping on anyone's rights.

On the post: Eric Schmidt Suggests Building A 'Spell Checker' For Online Harassment And Other Bad Things Online

John85851 ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2015 @ 04:38pm

Don't censor at all

Yes, terrorist videos could be used to spread the terrorist's ideas, but if they can see it, we can see it. And if we can see it, maybe we can use it to understand their mindset or even catch or stop them before something happens.

It's like banning videos of crimes on YouTube. Police can watch those videos, look for clues, and actually solve the crime... especially if the video shows something stupid like the criminal showing his face.

Banning these things only drives them further underground where they're harder to find.

On the post: Facebook Declares BBC Article About French Political Polls 'Unsafe'

John85851 ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2015 @ 04:34pm

And yet there's still spam

So Facebook will block links to legitimate news sources, but it continues to allow spam postings? It seems like almost every day that my friends are "tagged" by spammers trying to sell Ray Ban sunglasses or football jerseys or even porn sites.
And don't get me started on all the "news" sites that people link-to which contain crap, lies, hoaxes, and other misinformation.

Yet Facebook doesn't allow a link to the BBC website?! Wow.

On the post: New Mexico Legislators Sue City For Refusing To Follow New Asset Forfeiture Law

John85851 ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2015 @ 04:27pm

Share the proceeds

I know the state legislators tried to outlaw the practice, but why didn't they add an amendment that tells cities that they have to share the proceeds with the state.
Okay, it's still wrong and illegal for the cities to do this, but how else are they going to enforce the new law?

On the post: NY Governor Announces App Version Of State's 'See Something, Say Something' Program

John85851 ( profile ), 04 Dec, 2015 @ 02:24pm

Go to Wall Street

Go to Wall Street and take pictures of all the traders who keep tanking the economy by trading on bad derivative stocks. Or is that not what the app's supporters meant by "report a crime"?

On the post: Mother Blames Daughter's Suicide On WiFi Allergy

John85851 ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2015 @ 09:43am

Re: Depression - and Inverse Square

Is it even possible to get away from wifi since it's now installed in fast food restaurants, malls, and even theme parks.

But blaming wifi gets more attention than saying she had clinical depression or a mold allergy. It's fine for the school to rip out their wifi, but heaven forbid anyone check the house for mold.

On the post: Clinging To Relevance, Yahoo Prevents Ad Block Users From Checking Yahoo Mail

John85851 ( profile ), 29 Nov, 2015 @ 04:26pm

I'll make Yahoo a deal

... I'll turn off AdBlock if they agree to stop with the annoying, scammy, and virus-laden ads.
First, I don't want to see flashing Flash ads with auto-playing music while trying to look through my inbox.
Second, I don't want a mortgage for 1% interest when no legit bank is offering interest rates this low. I also don't want smilies or toolbars.
And I also don't want Flash ads that create a buffer overflow and install a virus... which actually happened. I originally used Yahoo Mail on IE and one day while I was checking e-mail, ZoneAlarm starting altering me that something was trying to change the registry. It was either a coincidence that Yahoo Mail was open at the time or the ad infected my computer.

So, the bottom line is that I now use Firefox and AdBlock because I no longer trust Yahoo Mail.
Then combine that with Yahoo putting newsletters that I want into the Spam folder and putting spam into my Inbox.
I use my e-mail at too many sites and it would be a pain to switch to GMail.

On the post: Why Does The Press Have To Keep Fixing All Of Comcast's Screw Ups?

John85851 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 11:00am

Re: Techdirt Inaccuracy, Again

And TechDirt called David Cohen a magician, when none of his job duties actually involve performing magic tricks. Whether some of his actions can be perceived as magic is another story.

Instead, he should be correctly referred to as "don't call him a lobbyist" David Cohen.

On the post: TV Industry Starts Running Fewer Ads To Combat Netflix, Cord Cutting

John85851 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 11:08am

What about the shows?

Okay, so now the TV channels will show less commercials and increase the amount of content? How, exactly, are they going to do this when they're the ones who have been pushing the content creators to make shorter shows, simply so they can run more ads?

So a production company which is used to making 43 minute programs now has to make a 44 or 45 minute show? How does this change the script or the editting or the story flow?

And before you say "1 more minute doesn't matter", tell that to channels like TBS who take that extra minute to run commercials.

Or instead of adding an extra minute of programming, how about shows bring back the 1-2 minute title/ opening credits? It seems like shows stopped running titles/ opening credits around the time the networks wanted more time for ads.

On the post: Senator McCain Promises To Introduce Legislation To Backdoor Encryption, Make Everyone Less Safe

John85851 ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2015 @ 10:24am

Re: Re: if only we had accountability

And who's going to vote them out of office over this issue?

Too many people still believe the idea of "if you've done nothing wrong, then you've got nothing to hide". So why should they care if there's a backdoor?

And too many people also use insecure, public wifi because it's easy, without even thinking that their data could be stolen.

So another hole in security isn't really that big of a deal.

On the post: Rep. Barton Demands The FCC Filter ISIS From The Internet

John85851 ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2015 @ 11:09am

Go ahead

Let's go ahead with his proposal and see where it leads:
1) All sites that talk about ISIS are blocked.
2) ISIS attacks.
3) Government officials (like him) then complain that the attack could have been prevented if only the intelligence agencies found "chatter" about it on some website.

In other words, this proposal is just as dumb as telling YouTube to take down videos of criminals filming themselves, even though police agencies use the videos to track down the criminals!

But, hey, something has to be done!

On the post: Senator Cotton Introduces Bill To Extend Unconstitutional NSA Surveillance

John85851 ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2015 @ 10:19am

We need to call him out for the lies

Almost everything in Cotton's statement is a lie.
We need more media outlets to cover this story and call out these lies. Instead, we get articles about we should stop refugees from coming into the country because they're Muslims ISIS might be hiding in them.

It's interesting how people talk about gun rights and such, but no one seems to talk about the right of privacy and how this collection of data needs to stop.

On the post: Advertising Is Content: The Threat To Streaming Sports Posed By A Tiny Advertisement Inventory

John85851 ( profile ), 16 Nov, 2015 @ 04:09pm

Re: How is this different from broadcast TV?

Don't forget the same commercials from the usual companies selling beer and trucks. How many times does Ford have to run a commercial for an F-150 for someone to buy it?

At what point does "brand awareness" turn into "brand annoyance", as in "I remember that commercial! I hated it! I'll buy something else!"

On the post: Did Marco Rubio's Campaign Violate The CFAA? Will He Commit To Reforming It?

John85851 ( profile ), 16 Nov, 2015 @ 03:37pm

No crime here

I doubt there will be any reporter asking the Rubio campaign these kinds of questions simply because no reporter wants to be thrown off the campaign for asking the "wrong" questions.

And I doubt the pizza restaurant will push for charges since they're getting free publicity for giving the campaign free wi-fi... not to mention the customers they'll get when Rubio supporters come to visit.

So, even though the law can be stretched to say there was a crime, it'll be hard to show anyone got hurt.

On the post: Comcast Keeps Scolding Me For Calling Its Top Lobbyist A Lobbyist

John85851 ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2015 @ 04:50pm

Make them a deal...

Make them a deal: you'll stop using the word "lobbyist" if they'll start calling data caps "data caps". There, now everyone's happy... and customers will actually know that their data plan is capped not by the head lobbyist, but by the "Chief Diversity Officer".

On the post: Monkey See, Monkey Sue… Defendants Ask Judge To Toss Out Ridiculous Monkey Copyright Lawsuit

John85851 ( profile ), 10 Nov, 2015 @ 11:45am

Re:

As another poster started to say, but then failed to support: But please think of where animal "personhood" might lead.

Would we extend personhood to cows, chicken, and other animals raised for food? Do they somehow get a say about whether or not they're eaten?

Or does personhood only extend to animals that are similar to us, such as monkeys and gorillas, or to animals that we keep as pets, such as cats and dogs?
When does a pig receive personhood- when it's bred to be eaten or when it's bred to be a pet?

And if dogs and cats can get this personhood, why not snakes and lizards? And will I be charged with mass murder when I kill a colony of ants that's received personhood?

Okay, those last examples are getting absurd, but the point remains: once one animal is treated like a person, where do we stop?

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