Mike Masnick 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: And Now Basically Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Looks Sketchy

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 13 Jun, 2026 @ 01:23pm

    How language works is what is most common and easily understood. And in this case, most people refer to the bricks as Legos. It's natural, it's understandable, and that's all that matters. Language adapts.

  • On the post: And Now Basically Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Looks Sketchy

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2026 @ 11:04pm

    Yes, she claimed she only required the $10 deposit in that video. But the spreadsheet shows much higher numbers — including the full price of some of the sets. That's what's sketchy.

  • On the post: And Now Basically Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Looks Sketchy

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2026 @ 11:02pm

    I mean. Why are you both siding this?
    It's called... accurately discussing. I'm not "both siding." That means something different. The whole point is that I'm calling out the sketchy behavior of everyone involved... because they all did sketchy things. I make it clear who comes out of this looking worse. Did you... want me to lie to you?

  • On the post: And Now Basically Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Looks Sketchy

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2026 @ 11:01pm

    As I said to someone on Bluesky, I decided long ago that I'm not here to go with the Lego company's marketing. I'm going to communicate clearly and it's better to say "legos."

  • On the post: Bari Weiss Asked 60 Minutes To Lie. Scott Pelley Had Already Done Plenty On His Own.

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 09:22pm

    Yeah because countries that have the kinds of laws you're talking about haven't been taken over by fascists who used those laws against the marginalized... oh wait... You really have no fucking clue how the world works, do you?

  • On the post: ‘Tomb Raider’ Remake Developed Using Some AI, Everyone Freaks, Crystal Dynamics Responds, And I’m Confused

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 05:18pm

    You are free to make your own site. Until you own this one, you are not the editorial director. I write what I want to write. I don't write about what I don't find interesting. It's great that you find other things interesting. Go write about it.

  • On the post: ‘Tomb Raider’ Remake Developed Using Some AI, Everyone Freaks, Crystal Dynamics Responds, And I’m Confused

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 05:13pm

    I'm a little confused by this argument. If the output is "slop" then people won't like it and the problem takes care of itself. If the output is quality then... what does it matter what tool was used to produce it? I agree that much of the "art" produced by these tools is shit, but that's a problem that solves itself over time. But I've also seen skilled artists use the tools well to produce real art. The underlying factor is that they are actual artists who have an artistic vision and know how to properly use the tools, combined with their own artistic sense, to produce something artistic. To me, it's still just a tool. And if it is in the hands of an artistic person they can make art. If they can't and it's slop then it will be ignored because no one wants slop.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 05:08pm

    All things aside, had the YouTuber not been brought in, no one would have cared.
    Yes. I agree. I made that point towards the end of the article. But also, Ben could have gotten plenty of attention without exposing himself to unnecessary legal risk.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 05:07pm

    He was told, and believed, that lawyering up could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars… So even if he won he’d lose. You should have bothered to research that, and write it in your story.
    I have responded to this misleading point multiple times above. The videos ONLY discussed the cost of hiring a lawyer FOR LITIGATION. But there's more to lawyering than litigation.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2026 @ 05:03pm

    But I get it. You want to say that the kids don’t know what they’re doing and they should have hired grown-up lawyers to handle all of the issues. And you can say that if you ignore everything that’s in the videos. And in a perfect world that would work, but in fact the justice system is not just.
    Did you not actually read what I wrote? Because this comment sure reads like you only read the headline and not the rest of what I wrote. I agree that Johnson and Best appear to be terrible and corporate BAM appears to be terrible. And that the cops in American Fork appear to be terrible. I'm just ALSO noting that Ben did some shit that will make his own life a lot more difficult than it needs to be, most of which could have been avoided by... talking to a competent lawyer rather than assuming that he could misread statutes and get this all right.

  • On the post: ‘Tomb Raider’ Remake Developed Using Some AI, Everyone Freaks, Crystal Dynamics Responds, And I’m Confused

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2026 @ 02:22pm

    Your reading comprehension could use a serious upgrade. The problem is that there is a group of people, apparently including yourself, who takes "exploring where and how the tech can be useful, while still openly discussing where it can and does go wrong" as blind cheerleading. It's so fucking stupid and wrong and you should stop it.

  • On the post: ‘Tomb Raider’ Remake Developed Using Some AI, Everyone Freaks, Crystal Dynamics Responds, And I’m Confused

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2026 @ 12:21pm

    Techdirt has always been about an optimistic view of technology with the recognition of how companies, governments, and others can fuck it up if they're not careful about it. Nothing has changed. We haven't "turned into" anything different than we've been all along. We're not cheerleaders for LLMs, and we have pointed out (as we've done with other tech before this) both the potential benefits and the potential downsides while trying to explore ways to get the benefits without the downsides. It's so weird how people who just showed up to Techdirt in the last couple years seem to think they know what a 29 year old site's viewpoints should be.

  • On the post: Whoops: Hackers Simply Had To Ask Meta ‘AI’ For Access To High Profile Instagram Accounts

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2026 @ 02:18pm

    I guess my mistake was assuming people had reading comprehension abilities and could understand nuance. Sorry. But, no, what I wrote there DOES NOT MEAN what the original commenter said. I'm sorry that you are unable to read two different things and not realize they're different, but dude, that's on you. It is both possible (and, honestly, required to live in a real society) to be able to hold two different thoughts in your head and recognize that they are different. When you can understand that, then come back and we can have an adult conversation. Until then, you're no better than a kindergartener in your ability to understand complex topics.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2026 @ 02:04pm

    Exactly this. I don't know why about a dozen comments below are all focused on lawyers as if the ONLY value they add is in litigation (which is too expensive). That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about lawyers who can review contracts, tell you that the raffle stunt is stupid and unhelpful, explain to you how not to violate stalking statutes, etc. And yes, TO NOT TALK TO COPS WITHOUT A LAWYER PRESENT. That's not cheap but it's way different than hiring a lawyer for litigation. I see that a whole lot of people bought into this saga have no clue what lawyers actually do.

  • On the post: Todd Blanche Pinky Swears The $1.8 Billion J6 Slush Fund Is Dead, But Won’t Sign Anything Saying That

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2026 @ 10:13am

    • Obama did the same thing.
    This person is trolling. They keep claiming this even though it's false. It's not just false, it's demonstrably so false that even extreme partisan MAGA GOP folks are saying it's false. I am just copy/pasting what I wrote the last time this troll made this false statement, solely to educate people on why it's false. This troll is here to troll not to learn or educate. Original comment: “This is almost exactly the same as what Obama did” It’s not. If this troll could read, we actually already addressed this in our earlier post, citing not some “leftist activist” but rather Ed Whelan, one of the most right wing conservative legal commentators out there, who pointed out all of the many (important) ways in which this was entirely different from what Obama did. As Whelan noted, the Keepseagle settlement was approved by a court, which makes all the difference in the world. This one was not. Second, the Keepseagle settlement had very strict restrictions on who could make a claim on the fund, and what evidence you needed to present to be eligible for a claim. This fund does not have that. So no, any actual lawyer will tell you this is extraordinarily different than the Keepseagle fund (which is what the troll is falsely suggesting is similar to this). This is today’s lesson in “how to debunk bullshit MAGA talking points.” I am sure the troll will return with insults and goalpost moving (it’s all they can do) but it won’t make them any less full of shit.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2026 @ 06:09pm

    I watched it. I was just responding to the claim that Ben needed to be there when they were serving him, after being trespassed. You can hire process servers and I've never, ever seen a plaintiff go with the process server to serve them. That's not how it's done. Which is why it's no surprise that the cops would find it weird and be skeptical. Again, not defending them, but it's not at all surprising.

  • On the post: Whoops: Hackers Simply Had To Ask Meta ‘AI’ For Access To High Profile Instagram Accounts

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2026 @ 05:39pm

    I get it. You have no real arguments so you will repeatedly lie and misrepresent my argument. Does it... make you feel good to lie so directly? It's freaking weird. Get a fucking life.,

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2026 @ 04:40pm

    Yeah, I thought about all that but my take is that, if you put yourself in the cops shoes (something I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing) they show up and from their vantage point it's a bunch of rowdy out of town youtuber influencer kids against local homeowners in the community. It's absolutely wrong but it's not surprising that the cops generally accept the claims of the homeowners over the kids. But, yes, the arrests were pretty egregious. The "threats of murder" is an exaggeration. Yes Johnson said he'd shoot someone, but I don't think that reaches the "true threat" level required to break the law.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2026 @ 04:37pm

    I didn't include the stuff about Mormonism because it's all pretty speculative and I focused the article on concrete issues that were clear from the evidence. The claims about it being some sort of Mormon Mafia working to close ranks is... maybe true but needs evidence. Also the fact that all this happens in between SLC and Provo means that... no matter what it's all going to be Mormons. It's easy to jump to bigoted conclusions, but would you say the same thing if everyone involved happened to be Black or Jewish or Catholic? Or is it okay to jump to conclusions as you did because of Mormonism? But, no I'm not Mormon (not even close) and we've published plenty of stories critical of the actual Mormon church (often for IP bullying). But instead of looking any of that up, you just jumped to conclusions. Which says way more about you than us. Maybe think about why you would do that.

  • On the post: Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did

    Mike Masnick ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2026 @ 04:30pm

    Yes. This is why you see stories of process servers finding people somewhere else or whatever. It's how process serving works.

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