MyNameHere 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Kickass Torrents Creator Can't Get Criminal Case Tossed Out

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2017 @ 05:13am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    " I don't remember American authorities trying to extradite people to the US who had never set foot there for piracy with physical media."

    I don't remember people with physical media selling into the US in huge numbers.

    The rest, well... take a rest, you are straining yourself to be witty and proving you are only a half wit.

  • On the post: Monkey Selfie Case May Settle: PETA Knows It'll Lose, And The Photographer Is Broke

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2017 @ 03:14am

    Re:

    Yup, and there you are, commenting. Self diagnosis?

  • On the post: Kickass Torrents Creator Can't Get Criminal Case Tossed Out

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2017 @ 02:29am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    I think that if you actually read the whole story (I know you don't often) you would note that the judge went over and above what was required and explained why, even if the defendant himself made the request that the charges would not be thrown out.

    I was agreeing with Roger - torrents in and of themselves (as a protocol) should not be found illegal - but it's not the protocol that is on trial. So the point either way is moot.

    "ignored the actual arguments in the article to pick on something you think you can easily reject."

    I did no such thing. I agreed with Roger, but I pointed out that it's not relevant in the case, and that I consider torrents as a protocol legal, just their use is not.

    See, the problem here is people are making the incorrect assumption that torrents = piracy. They aren't always. But even you can remember the guy who took his pirate site, after losing in court, and turned it into a legal torrent site. He lasted a very short period of time because people were not coming to a site looking for legal content. That legal content (as listed) is generally distributed directly in the games or is used internally as a transfer protocol between data centers. Again, the protocol itself isn't illegal.

    "Nobody is doing that, although the people prosecuting these cases are very happy to try and treat the crime differently because the action has "on the internet" as part of the action."

    I don't think so. They are going to where the crimes are happening. With millions of Americans pirating every day, it's clear that the internet is the hot spot for piracy of all sorts - and most importantly, where people profit from it. Kim Dotcom made millions off of piracy, playing the "just a file host" card but then taking steps to launder all the income away from the site as fast as possible. Other sites that have faced justice have been making hundreds of thousands and even millions running their pirate sites. When there are millions in ill gotten gains, there will be law enforcement on the case.

    Too often, the excuse is "on the internet" to mean it's not important or somehow not real. Read Mike's post careful and you will see how hard he is working to try to build up layers of excuses as to why a guy building pages for unreleased movies and such and putting download links on them is somehow NOT responsible "because torrents". It's an insane technology dodge that requires everyone ignore the reality of the situation, that he was making a boat load of cash running pirate site. People didn't come to the site for his personality or witty conversation, the came to download the latest movie and TV shows, and the site happily made link buttons to the very best of them. It's pretty hard to deny reality, unless of course it's "on the internet".

    So yeah, summary (because you likely didn't read). I agreed with Roger, said it's not relevant anyway, and explained why. You shit yourself trying to come up with a way to slam me. You failed (again). Thanks for playing.

  • On the post: Kickass Torrents Creator Can't Get Criminal Case Tossed Out

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2017 @ 01:17am

    Re: Re:

    It's great to say bit torrent has it's non-criminal uses. In fact, bit torrent is neutral, a nothing.

    Bittorrent isn't on trial here, for that very reason.

    Kickasstorrents is on trial not because of the protocol they happened to use, but how the used it and to what end. KAT was about sharing pirated stuff, plain and simple. The site operator(s) went out of their way to create information pages for many of the movies and TV shows - and part of that "top of the page" was links to download in various formats including "cam". The site operator cannot deny that his business was predicated on piracy.

    "You're insisting that torrent search engines be responsible for everything they link"

    Actually, all the courts (and some of us) are saying is that if you build a site with the intention to aid and abet piracy, then you will be treated as such. Based on everything that was on the site, it would be impossible for the site operator(s) not to know that their site was helping people pirate.

    It's pretty simple, when you stop trying to hide it behind technology.

  • On the post: Film Director's Op-Ed Ignores Reality To Push Hollywood Lobbying Talking Points

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2017 @ 05:43am

    "It's hard to believe Singleton isn't aware of the numerous opportunities indie directors have now that weren't available when he first broke into the business. "

    it always comes back to the same place. The new chances and situations are there generally to let people play in the minor leagues at best. Cheaper technology, equipment, and editing suites mean that yes, more people can turn out movies. We can see it by the number of movies competing to even get into many of the "alt" film festivals.

    Yet, very few of them are breaking through. Very few of those people are actually going on to making a career out of it at a level that makes it possible for them to only make movies for a living.

    It's almost a glass ceiling.

    The same thing has already been shown in the music world. More people making music, more people making a little money at it, and fewer people and groups breaking through to the top levels. The mid and lower level pie has been chopped up differently so that there are more lower end people and the mid level people make less, in no small part because of fewer live music venues and more competition for them. That doesn't even consider the people who "play for exposure" or "play free and sell your CD" type gigs.

    I think what this guy is pointing out is the same thing we see in music - that middle step is now missing. The ladder has more, closely spaced rungs at the bottom for usre, but then there is a gap that few people can climb over that gets them climbing the steps nearer the top of the ladder.

    Is piracy at fault? I think we know that since piracy has become a big issue, Hollywood has turned towards what they feel is more sure things, name stars, sequels, and the like. The terd-riffic Emoji movie is perhaps the most out there that they will dare try. No more Waterworlds!

    Mid range past winners like Kevin Smith have hit he skids. His last one (Yoga Hosers) made a shocking 40k of ticket sales on a 5 million budget - and that with all of his internet fame, his followers, and all that - they essentially sold about 40k tickets total.

    So yeah, something is different. Piracy? Who knows. Just something is different and it's not all that good.

  • On the post: Once Again With Feeling: 'Anonymized' Data Isn't Really Anonymous

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2017 @ 01:25pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ..and?

    What's the issue? One of the cornerstone of Mike's tacit approval of piracy is that it is something that technology allows, so creators should suck it up and deal with it, an find ways to profit from it, rather than thinking about the losses that may occur.

    Tracking is exactly the same thing. It's something that technology allows (even requires in the case of cell phones), so you should suck it up and deal with it, rather than losing sleep over what you can't avoid.

  • On the post: Once Again With Feeling: 'Anonymized' Data Isn't Really Anonymous

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2017 @ 01:19pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: ..and?

    Actually, it's the same logic that has Techdirt supporting piracy - technology allows it, so figure out a way to live with it.

    Usually technology is the friend of the Techdirt readers. When the tables are turned, it's fun to watch the song change.

  • On the post: Once Again With Feeling: 'Anonymized' Data Isn't Really Anonymous

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2017 @ 03:19am

    Re: Re: ..and?

    "companies bulk harvesting data are essentially going through your pockets and then removing you name from the generated report of the contents and claim that is anonymous."

    Colorful description aside, you miss the point. Technology allows it. Face it, technology can track you. The phone in your pocket is a beacon to your location. Facial recognition cameras can pinpoint your location and everything from your fastpass car transponder to your refillable public transit card is tracking your every move. Technology allows for it, and it's often an unavoidable trade off for the technology to even work.

    The internet is no different in reality. Google and a large number of other companies are tracking you ever day. What makes this story sort of funny is that coming to Techdirt triggers over 40 tracking cookies from a half a dozen sources. Each page view sends you visit data (anonymous, natch) to soundcloud and others, who can track your interest in the sorts of things discussed here.

    For reference, EFF.ORG sets a single cookie for their own use only. A visit to the Drudge Report triggers hundreds of cookies.

    There hasn't been a level of tracking in "meatspace" because Technology hasn't supported it in the past. But the cell phone alone has clearly changed all that, and all those other things I mentioned before are all conspiring to tell the world where you have been and what you do.

    Is the data anonymous? At each point, it is. Combined, perhaps less so. Can we really stop one company from using your data because combining a second or third data set might be the tipping point on your anonymous life? Do you not think it's already happened?

    You already gave it up. You just don't realize it.

  • On the post: Def Leppard Claims Music Piracy Is Bringing Younger Audiences To Its Concerts

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2017 @ 06:22pm

    Re:

    HI, I'll take you up on that.

    Let's look at things. Def Leppard has been stuck on the "rock oldies" type tours are pretty much in a rut. They changed that by (shock) actually releasing a new album in 2016. Previous to that, all of the touring had been on tours with other classic rock acts, and their short Vegas residency did nothing to take them away from that.

    The new album didn't do amazing well, but since classic rock acts generally don't release a lot of new music, it got good airplay on classic rock and modern rock stations, and got the band a lot more exposure than doing another mouldy oldies tour would.

    With a new album, they generally get access to the "current" market rather than those who remember their 0s heyday only. So they are exposed to a wider audience through radio airplay and such, as boom, a bigger, wider, and somewhat younger audience.

    Piracy is an "effect", not a cause. People are buying and / or downloading the album because they are first exposed to it somewhere else. The download or the purchase isn't step 1.

  • On the post: Once Again With Feeling: 'Anonymized' Data Isn't Really Anonymous

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2017 @ 06:04pm

    ..and?

    Karl, if you follow an individual around during the day and note all the places they go when in public, you can draw the same conclusions.

    I can randomly pick a person and, within a few days, tell you who their immediately family is, what they like to eat, where they work, and so on.

    The internet is a public place. Even if you make the effort to hide yourself, the reality is that you are walking in public places. Like it or not, everything you do online has a certain public nature to it.

  • On the post: Twitter Suspends Popehat For Writing About Violent Threats He Received From Another Twitter User

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2017 @ 05:23am

    Re: Re:

    Paul, I think President Trump is a moron studying hard to be an idiot, and failing. I don't hold him up as a shining example.

    Ken on the other hand is held up here as being just this side of godly. Yet, rather than let this pass or just blocking the guy and getting on with life, he instead engaged in a twitter spat. Seeing that he is fairly well read and followed, it's not surprising that some of it got caught in the filters that exist exactly to stop this sort of thing.

    I just though that Ken would be a little wiser than to get into an argument that has no positive outcomes.

  • On the post: Guy Who Accidentally Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained After Defcon

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2017 @ 06:17am

    Alphabay

    I think the under story on this one is that Alphabay was recently busted. The timing of this indictment seems to be pretty much in line with information that may have been gleaned from that site's transactions and postings.

    As for the legality, I am pressed to find a solid legal use for malware that involved selling it on for profit. Like many criminal conspiracy cases, this one will get down to intent. If the "other guy" wasn't capable of writing the trojan himself, then the conspiracy is clear. Even a "writing for hire" situation is unlikely to excuse actively writing malware.

    It's not a pretty case, no matter how you look at it!

  • On the post: Twitter Suspends Popehat For Writing About Violent Threats He Received From Another Twitter User

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2017 @ 03:30am

    You would think a lawyer would know better than to get into a twitter spat. Seems pretty silly on both sides.

  • On the post: How May 35th Freedoms Have Blossomed With China's Martian Language

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2017 @ 05:40am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Effect and Cause

    "That's not even grammatically parsable, let alone informative. But, thanks for the response."

    Let me say it more clearly. Lived there, done that, and sort of technically still do.

    "Why do you seem to think that everyone involved in these messages will inevitably just stop if pressured?"

    I don't think they stop with pressure. China is well known for sending people to "retraining" facilities to change their views. They have other ways of accomplishing things. People like Ai Wei Wei have talked about how their lives and those of their families are disrupted for decades. The system has way more patience than the people fighting it.

    " Resistance movements throughout history have had non-violent action and printed material supporting those taking direct action."

    The difference in places like China (and say North Korea) is that they relentlessly track down those spreading such information and make sure that it gets stopped.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/117983/tiananmen-square-massacre-how-chinas-millennials-discuss-it-now

    That piece is a bit fluffy, but it gives you an idea of how solidly the information is suppressed, and also how maybe one more generation from now that it will effectively become nothing more than a lie put forward by the West to discredit China, or something along those lines.

    China is also very wise. Unlike NK which has built up a whole big bundle of lies tied together with misinformation and an iron fist, China uses an interesting combination of tools to achieve much of the same without having to lie extensively. Except for certain gaps or bumps in the day to day, it really is as if nothing ever happened. It's been surgically removed and has left no obvious scarring. It's actually pretty amazing.

  • On the post: How May 35th Freedoms Have Blossomed With China's Martian Language

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2017 @ 03:17am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Effect and Cause

    You are thinking about it wrong. If you want to build a revolution, you don't do it under the bright lights where the government sees you and stamps you out. Those who post online in China aren't really much more powerful than you average keyboard warrior.

  • On the post: How May 35th Freedoms Have Blossomed With China's Martian Language

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 02 Aug, 2017 @ 01:50pm

    Re: Re: Effect and Cause

    ""standing out in China is not a good thing (trust me, been there, done that)""

    I have spent have been spending a bit of my life living in China.

    " I dare say that the important thing here is to try and get ideas and information past the automated filters being used by Chinese authorities."

    It's a game played by people who spend their lives trying to get around the rules and the laws put in place by their government. There is some official tolerance in many areas, but a few things such as what happened on that day not in May is not up for debate. Like many other things, the people do like to test the government and see how far they can push, just like animals testing the limits of their cages in a zoo. The reality, however, is that they are still caged.

    Whatever gaps they find are just as likely traps built to catch the unwary. The people who really fight stuff like this aren't posting online, they aren't dumb enough to call attention to themselves and their friends.

  • On the post: Another Appeals Court Denies Suppression Of Evidence Obtained With An Invalid FBI Warrant

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 02 Aug, 2017 @ 03:18am

    I think that the judge in this case isn't wrong. While the police are law enforcement, they are not lawyers and they cannot be 100% sure of the law - it's why they are not judge and jury, right?

    The nature of the warrant is pretty new, and it's not unusual for judges (and law enforcement for that matter) not to truly understand all of the ramifications of an internet based process.

    The real error rests with the judge that issued the warrant. The judge should have known that an internet wide warrant would be beyond his jurisdiction and declined to issue it.

    Law enforcement should have considered it as well. But in the end, it's up to the judge to decide if they have the power to issue it. The police should not suffer because a judge overstepped his bounds. The police operating in good faith to try to capitalize on the chance offered by having the site stay live, allowing them to discover so many pervs that really do need to face the law.

    Now, the upside of all of this is that any time in the future someone considers a similar NIT, they will know that they need a much more wide ranging warrant to cover it all.

  • On the post: How May 35th Freedoms Have Blossomed With China's Martian Language

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 02 Aug, 2017 @ 02:55am

    Effect and Cause

    Here's the funny part. If you post in China in "martian" or use long winded prose to suggest a whole bunch of stuff without saying anything, you get added onto a list, and you are likely to find out that the neighborhood watch is watching you a little more and checking who you are talking to in real life.

    China has one and only one set of "truth" to work from. Any variation makes you stand out, and standing out in China is not a good thing (trust me, been there, done that).

  • On the post: Russia Has Banned VPNs

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2017 @ 01:34pm

    Odd

    I have to laugh at those (like the anonymous coward above) blaming the entertainment business for this. Snap out of it son, you are missing the real story.

    it's not about copyright or anything like that, it's all about government control and the simple fact that Russia is not a democracy and the people aren't truly free. What the Russian government fears the most isn't pirated software, but rather people thinking they can operate outside of their control.

    Dictatorships (even "elected" ones) need to be in control to remain in power. They cannot allow an opposition to build up and perhaps threaten them. An internet completely hidden by VPN, which would allow subversives to meet and build up a resistance without the government knowing, is not acceptable.

    It's not about entertainment. It's about controlling a country in perpetuating power.

  • On the post: Terrible Ruling Allows Untied To Keep Its Domain But Not Its Soul

    MyNameHere ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2017 @ 06:10pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ... assuming everyone is an idiot perhaps

    I am smart enough to know when you are trying to avoid saying "I was wrong" and instead are spending your time slagging me off personally.

    "you're avoiding every point raised"

    Let's see:

    I've encounters twats like you on a regular basis

    People like you aren't worth wasting time with

    people who constant come here, personally attack both writers and other commenters

    Hard to address your points when you are literally beating up on yourself.

    However, one point i will directly address:

    " was the confusion deliberate - as you are claiming - or did he agree to make some changes to reduce confusion while maintaining the parody? I'm not reading whatever 60 page document you want to link to, but I'll be happy to read any evidence you want to specifically reference (this is how honest debate works - "page 36 of the judgement shows...." is honest."

    If you aren't willing to go read the document, I am not going to play Coles notes for you. To have a better understanding of the story, you should read the documents attached by the writer, as they are quite important. The answers to your questions are all in there, but you have to read more of it to understand how and why they go there. There is no single line that I can point to that answers your wide ranging question, as it has to do with the whole judgement and how it got there, and not a single hot quote that can satisfy you.

    I will give you one to work from: " During cross-examination on one such complaint, the Defendant
    himself acknowledged that “clearly this customer is confused”. "

    If you want to understand the ruling (and the rules and laws of Canada), you need to read it, at least at a cursory level. Canadian law is different from US law (parody requires actual comedy, "sucks" sites are not considered parody in Canadian law, apparently). Moreover, the defendant in the story repeatedly admits to his use of United's graphics, site design, and such. You cannot get the full understanding by hitting 1 or 2 pages, you really need to real through the whole thing. The judge does an excellent job in explaining (with bilingual citations, I should point out) as to how the judgement was reached.

    Contrary to the way the story is written here on Techdirt, the judgement is sound and reasonable as per Canadian law. The law of Canada does not give quite as much latitude as is given in the US for defamatory speech guised as a "sucks" site.

    Read Paul. Learn something. Oh, and the personal attacks are almost all yours. Perhaps you need to fix yourself first!

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