Mason Wheeler 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (4010) comment rss

  • On the post: Appeals Court Tells Patent Trolls' Favorite Judge He Can't Just Ignore The Supreme Court To Keep Patent Cases In Texas

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2017 @ 03:06pm

    Wait, wait... what?

    CAFC got an important patent issue right?!?

    What's next? Mass hysteria? Human sacrifice? Cats and dogs living together in peace?

  • On the post: California Sides With Comcast, Votes To Kill Broadband Privacy Law Favored By EFF

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 19 Sep, 2017 @ 08:49am

    It's worth re-iterating that ISPs spent years arguing consumers didn't need added privacy protections because the sector would self-regulate.

    I'd be more inclined to agree with this argument if there were any precedent, but when has any powerful industry ever actually done so?

  • On the post: Charles Harder Loses Again: You Can't Just File Defamation Lawsuits In A Random State Because You Like Its Statute Of Limitations

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 14 Sep, 2017 @ 10:43am

    I've been making my way through the Techdirt podcast back catalog, and I was recently listening to one where they talked about different states having different laws being a good thing, as it's "the laboratory of democracy" where you can figure out what works. They talked about a few counter-arguments to this idea as well, but no one brought up this one.

    It's good to see that the judge saw through it, at least.

  • On the post: Tesla Remotely Extended The Range Of Drivers In Florida For Free… And That's NOT A Good Thing

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2017 @ 03:31pm

    Re:

    I'm also terrified of over-the-air updates. What prevents anybody from performing a MITM attack and screwing your car?
    Cryptographic signatures. The same thing that's kept Windows Update secure for the better part of two decades. There are good reasons to be worried about this technology, but that's not one of them.

  • On the post: Case Dismissed: Judge Throws Out Shiva Ayyadurai's Defamation Lawsuit Against Techdirt

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2017 @ 03:21pm

    This is awesome news!

    Any chance of him appealing, though? I know some things can be appealed and some can't, but I'm not too clear on the specifics...

  • On the post: Black Lives Matter Sues Police Department Over Illegal Surveillance Based On First Amendment Activities

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2017 @ 02:08pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Paradox

    ...because he was a criminal?

  • On the post: Leaked Plans Shows Top EU Body Backing Copyright Industry Against The Public, The Internet, And Innovation

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2017 @ 01:13pm

    In order to ensure that rightholders can exercise their rights, they should be able to prevent the availability of their content on such [online] services, in particular when the services give access to a significant amount of copyright protected content and thereby compete on the online content services' market.

    Screw that. They can "exercise their rights" the same place the rest of us have to exercise our rights against entities we believe are violating our rights: in court.

    Any copyright takedown without a court order is a violation of the uploader's basic rights. Due process exists for a reason, and it should not get thrown out the window just "because copyright."

  • On the post: After Previously Claiming the Economics Would Never Work, HBO Streaming Now A Major Windfall

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2017 @ 08:49am

    Re:

    Ugh. Hey Techdirt, your parser is severely broken, and various attempts to fix it using Markdown that the link claims is supported also fail. This is about the best I can make it do, and it's still ugly. :( Trying again:

    • Would you stream to set-top box?
    • Would you stream ABC or Fox?
    • Would you stream into my house,
    • where I can start streams with my mouse?
    • Would you please stream Game of Thrones?
    • "No!" replied the marketing drones!
    • I do not like that stream flim-flam,
    • I do not like it, Web-I-Am!
    • I will not stream to set-top box,
    • I will not stream ABC or Fox!
    • I will not stream into your house,
    • where you can start streams with your mouse!
    • It'd put our finances in a jam,
    • I will not stream it, Web-I-Am!
    • You do not like it, so you say,
    • but try it, try it and you may.
    • Web, if you will leave me be,
    • I'll stream something, and you'll see.
    • I'll run it past the marketing drones,
    • we'll try streaming Game of Thrones.
    ...
    • How can this be? Accountants say,
    • there's tons of money coming our way.
    • It's popular, and you know what?
    • Even once Apple takes their cut,
    • we're making twenty million more
    • on streaming than we made before.
    • I guess I like this stream flim-flam,
    • I do, I like it, Web-I-Am!
    • But as we are still HBO,
    • alternative streams have to go.
    • Hey, lawyer, send a nastygram
    • to that foul pirate, Web-I-Am!

  • On the post: Developer Puts Game On The Pirate Bay Because Steam Key Resellers Are The Bigger Evil

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2017 @ 02:41pm

    OK, for the benefit of those of us who are not well-versed on wonky Steam issues, what's the problem with key reselling?

  • On the post: After Previously Claiming the Economics Would Never Work, HBO Streaming Now A Major Windfall

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2017 @ 08:43am

    Would you stream to set-top box? Would you stream ABC or Fox? Would you stream into my house, where I can start streams with my mouse? Would you please stream Game of Thrones? "No!" replied the marketing drones!

    I do not like that stream flim-flam, I do not like it, Web-I-Am! I will not stream to set-top box, I will not stream ABC or Fox! I will not stream into your house, where you can start streams with your mouse! It'd put our finances in a jam, I will not stream it, Web-I-Am!

    You do not like it, so you say, but try it, try it and you may.

    Web, if you will leave me be, I'll stream something, and you'll see. I'll run it past the marketing drones, we'll try streaming Game of Thrones.

    ...

    How can this be? Accountants say, there's tons of money coming our way. It's popular, and you know what? Even once Apple takes their cut, we're making twenty million more on streaming than we made before. I guess I like this stream flim-flam, I do, I like it, Web-I-Am!

    But as we are still HBO, alternative streams have to go. Hey, lawyer, send a nastygram to that foul pirate, Web-I-Am!

  • On the post: Mayweather V. McGregor: Showtime Got Injunctions On Pirate Stream Sites Which Didn't Work & Neither Did Their Own Stream

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2017 @ 12:55pm

    From what I've heard, Showtime and another service (can't remember which) tried streaming the fight, with enormous technical issues... and then there was Sling, the third legitimate service that streamed it. People are saying they're the only ones who actually pulled it off.

    Might be worth looking at, if they can stay up when everyone else is crashing under heavy load.

  • On the post: Even Many ISP-Backed Allies Think Ajit Pai's Attack On Net Neutrality Is Too Extreme

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2017 @ 08:41am

    Of course this may have been Pai's plan all along; to offer an extreme frontal assault on net neutrality and FCC authority that would subsequently make any resulting "compromises" seem almost sane.

    Otherwise known as the "I want a pony" maneuver.

    "Daddy, I want a pony!"

    "No."

    "Daddy, I want a pony!"

    "I said no."

    "But Daddy, I really really want a pony."

    "NO!"

    "Oh... fine. Can I at least have a puppy, then?"

    "*sigh* ...all right."

    "Heh heh heh. Easiest puppy ever."

  • On the post: Techdirt Turns Twenty!

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2017 @ 10:11am

    Re: Re:

    Wow, awesome reading comprehension there. I said that I really love all the stories except those, and you somehow interpret that as "those are all the stories I see"?!?

  • On the post: Techdirt Turns Twenty!

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2017 @ 09:35am

    I first discovered Techdirt in 2012 when people kept linking to it from the SOPA discussion on Reddit, and I found that you guys had some top-notch discussions of the issues involved.

    5 years later, you continue to be really good at it. I just wish you'd stick to your strengths, and stop running so much of the "police are evil, government is evil" garbage that undermines your credibility and makes you look like wacko conspiracy theorists. That severely detracts from what is otherwise a really good site.

  • On the post: Moving On From Obviously Fake News To Plausibly Fake News Sites

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2017 @ 02:54pm

    The closer to the truth, the better the lie, and the truth itself, when it can be used, is the best lie.

    -- Foundation, Isaac Asimov

  • On the post: YouTube Briefly Nukes Video Of Nazi Symbol Destruction For Violating Hate Speech Rules

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2017 @ 08:48am

    First they came for the sexists, and for everyone who wasn't sexist but who spoke up for them--they called them sexists too. And so I didn't speak up.
    Then they came for the racists, and for everyone who wasn't racist but who spoke up for them--they called them racists too. And so I didn't speak up.
    Then they came for the homophobes, and for everyone who wasn't homophobic but who spoke up for them--they called them homophobes too. And so I didn't speak up.
    Then they came for the Nazis, and for everyone who wasn't a Nazi but who spoke up for them--they called them Nazis too.

    Maybe I should speak up now, before they find a reason to come for me and call me something even worse?

  • On the post: Two Bollywood Film Producers Get Court To Block Tons Of Sites In India, Including Archive.org

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2017 @ 10:29am

    Re:

    a still-backward nation
    ...such as the USA, which pioneered the concept of extralegal takedowns on accusation alone, flying in the face of Western legal tradition?

  • On the post: The Dangerous Rise Of Unproductive Entrepreneurship

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2017 @ 04:03pm

    But part of the point of Allworth's article is that it feels like too many people are just focusing on "profit" as the end goal, and thus either unwilling or unconcerned with determining if the entrepreneurship that drives the profit is "productive" or "unproductive."

    Wasn't it Bill Clinton who famously said, "It's the economy, stupid!"?

    Well, there's definitely some stupidity involved there. This seems to be one of the biggest, most harmful misunderstandings of our day. It's not the economy, stupid! The economy is an effect, and a second-order effect at that, not a cause. Trying to manipulate it directly leads to disaster. (See: every major economic bubble/crash cycle since we started down this path in the 80s.)

    If you want a strong economy--one that's truly strong rather than a bunch of fake strength propped up by debt--you don't achieve it by focusing on the economy. You achieve it by focusing on morality. Do the right thing, treat your people well, have businesses treat their workers and their customers well rather than exploiting them, and you get the sort of strength that nations dream about.

    Just look at Henry Ford. His policies of treating his workers well and paying them enough that they'd be able to buy Ford automobiles were so successful at jump-starting the American middle class that the whole concept ended up being referred to as "Fordism" by economists. Somehow we've gotten away from Fordism, to our detriment. Bring it back, stop trying to manipulate the economy directly, and we'll see our economy pick up.

  • On the post: Contractor Exposes Personal Information Of 1.8 Million Chicago Voters On AWS

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2017 @ 01:58pm

    Typo alert

    First, while it's true nt voting information was exposed

    I do nt think that's what you meant.

  • On the post: Louisiana's Criminal Defamation Law Abused Again, But This Time The Gov't Gets Away With It

    Mason Wheeler ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2017 @ 08:57am

    There's no reason legislators should allow this law to remain on the books any longer. The only thing it does is encourage people the law doesn't apply to (public figures) to work with compliant law enforcement agencies to shut down criticism.

    OK, this is the part I don't get. If the law's been found unconstitutional, does it even need to be repealed? I was under the impression that it automatically gets stricken down by judicial review.

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