Free Capitalist 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: As Expected, Mandelson To Introduce Plan To Kick File Sharers Off The Internet

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 29 Oct, 2009 @ 06:44am

    Re:

    Maybe you should take a look at this.

    http://www.musically.com/theleadingquestion/downloads/tlq_midem_09_show.pdf




    So if I am to understand this "literature" correctly, the industry is counting on the fear of file-sharing copyrighted works that might be generated by coercing governments to allow collection societies to terminate individuals internet accounts based on accusation. One might derive that the creators assume that if people are afraid to download, they will purchase CDs. You never know, that might happen.... there just isn't any correlative information in the document to back that up.

    But to my point... the contributors should look a little closer at the data they have generated here. The numbers do not look good for them.

    By the data presented, it appears that the French are now more fearful of being kicked off of the Internet for filesharing, as is lauded in the breakout box on page 11. This correlates with reality as France has been the proving grounds for creating a penal information society with their 3 strikes law.

    However, notice that the French are now less likely to stop file sharing if they were to receive a warning from their ISP (page 12) and even less likely under threat of disconnection (page 13) to stop file sharing. The willingness for the French to continue to file-share is very apropos, as they have been the proving ground for government involvement with this business problem.

    So the data you point to (I assume) in hopes of explaining why more people would buy by implementing a plan of surreptitious disconnection, is actually reaffirming the opposite and perhaps foretelling a more palpable and imminent doom for the music industry:

    By creating fear you are creating civil disobedience. End game? Geffen loses his ass and might be lucky to keep his head.

    On the whole though, that was a sweet bedtime story in large, colorful fonts. Thank you.

  • On the post: NFL Star Ochocinco Sets Up His Own Twitter-Based News Network

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 01:36pm

    Re: Re: Re: #1 Fan

    I tend to often agree, notwithstanding the overall net of the last 3 games, however, Alex starts this Sunday.

  • On the post: Olympics Trademark Law Insanity: Officials Can Enter Homes, Issue $10,000 Fines

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 12:55pm

    Oh....

    Ohhh... that's what guerrilla marketing is... I thought I was going to an Audi dealership but I ended up paying $200 to see some guy throw a hammer 30 feet.

  • On the post: NFL Star Ochocinco Sets Up His Own Twitter-Based News Network

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 12:36pm

    Re: #1 Fan

    Great Joe, we ask, once again, that you bestow your blessings on Alex Smith...
    ...
    and with a twitter feed for all.. Amen.

  • On the post: Could Redbox Crowdsource Its Way Around Movie Studio Blockades?

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 11:17am

    Re:

    Or they could just keep buying from Ingram under another business name......Seems much easier albeit less web 2.0 so I suspect your readers will flame me for some reason...


    The NERVE!!!

    I'm Google Waving your friends on my iPhone 4GPOS right now.

    j/k I would go with that idea if I ran Redbox.

  • On the post: RIAA: We Support Net Neutrality, Just As Long As It Includes The Ability For ISPs To Block File Sharing

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 09:30am

    Re: ignore the d*mn troll

    You are hereby accused and convicted of Raporism (C&TM 2009 Dark Helmet), failure to heed your own subject-line and failure to submit to bitter, bitter sardony. Your rights to neuter-ality have been revoked pending review by your RIAA appointed judicial and conciliator panel.

    Also, I accept your proposed schoolyard match. (sorry Jedi, nothing against you, we have to make an example of these Raporists)

  • On the post: Italian Politician Tries To File Charges Against 4,609 YouTube Commenters

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 07:09am

    Re: Hmm

    Yeah that's it.. he wants to SUE them....

    Nice chilling effect DH.

  • On the post: RIAA: We Support Net Neutrality, Just As Long As It Includes The Ability For ISPs To Block File Sharing

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 07:04am

    Re: Re:

    If you had nothing to hide you could haz your neuter-ality.

  • On the post: No, Twitter Use Is Not Costing Companies Billions

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2009 @ 01:14pm

    Another error is to assume that twitter time is additional net time spent "not working".


    Ha! That's a fine point. Twitter doesn't make slackers, it absorbs them from archaic means of not working.

    Seriously, the productivity problem I've run into time and again is that management often does not, or cannot, deal with non-producers.

  • On the post: A Look Behind The Curtain: How A Patent Hoarder Makes Money

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2009 @ 09:31am

    Re: In Defense of Trolls

    Dale, that is a fairly well thought out ideal you've illustrated for patent trolls.

    While I do appreciate the concept of attempting to generate profit off the the assets from failed enterprises, the *practice of profiting from hoarded, unused patents does not equate to a healthy economy or a healthy environment for R&D.

    To over-simplify, patent trolls are effectively using litigation and the judicial system to create profits. The people "paying" in this business model are innovators attempting to deploy technology in the market, and, of course the taxpayers.

    By permitting overly general patents to be hoarded by NPEs and broadly applied in civil court, we in effect stifle innovation from those who actually create new economies or improve existing markets. In creating an environment where all innovators need a requisite army of lawyers, we are closing the doors to the common man from participating in the advancement of the economy and of science.

    Had the environment in the 1800s been similar to today, we might very well still be left in the dark.

  • On the post: WSJ Editor: Those Who Believe Content Should Be Free Are Neanderthals

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 01:14pm

    Re: Re:

    I don't know. Probably because people wrongly equate our present economy with "free market", thereby completely misunderstanding the meaning of free market and capitalism in general.

  • On the post: WSJ Editor: Those Who Believe Content Should Be Free Are Neanderthals

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 10:54am

    Re: Re: Re:

    I believe you mean "ad hominid" ;)


    You never know, there might be more than one rat in that apartment

  • On the post: Less Than Expected Sales Of Beatles Rockband Shows It's Not Just About The Music

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 10:51am

    That's why..

    copyright holders absolutely, positively needs to be paid an arbitrary amount UP FRONT.

  • On the post: WSJ Editor: Those Who Believe Content Should Be Free Are Neanderthals

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 09:53am

    Re:

    No, it has nothing to do with whether or not he *has nuts, it is the issue that he *is a whining nutter that MM is writing about.

    Take for example Thompsons comment:

    If it’s a big news story, if we report a takeover and — we could hold that behind the pay wall, but if we do, BusinessWeek or someone else will simply write a story saying ‘The Wall Street Journal is reporting x,’ and they’ll get all the traffic. Why would we do that?”


    By admitting they know how to make money in this environment, he is really just whining about reality here and saying everyone else should think like him which would allow him to over-charge for all his news.

    Good luck with that.

  • On the post: Chamber Of Commerce Uses DMCA Claim Against Yes Men Prank Site

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 09:37am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I think you're all missing the truly sad point...

    Ha!

    Vivre la Fromage du Perriair!

  • On the post: Dear Lobbyists: When Crafting Astroturf Letters, Remember To Do A Search & Replace On XYZ Corp.

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 09:10am

    Re: Re: Re:

    I found it rather odd too. They both sent a canned response that I believe was automatically generated because I used the web service to contact my reps in that case.

  • On the post: Chamber Of Commerce Uses DMCA Claim Against Yes Men Prank Site

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 08:01am

    Re: Re: Re: I think you're all missing the truly sad point...

    Facts should never get in the way of a perfectly good conspiracy theory. Fight fire with Perriair!

  • On the post: Chamber Of Commerce Uses DMCA Claim Against Yes Men Prank Site

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 07:33am

    Re:

    Makes you wonder if its position is really driven by what's best for the environment or what's best for big corporations.


    Well, this is the Chamber of Commerce we're talking about.

  • On the post: Dear Lobbyists: When Crafting Astroturf Letters, Remember To Do A Search & Replace On XYZ Corp.

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2009 @ 07:26am

    Re:

    Letters to lobby are nothing more than expressions of a vote, yeah or nay, on a subject. Form letters are a simple way to make it possible for large numbers of people to make that vote, to express an opinion.


    I'm pretty sure Sequoia set up this system.

    No seriously, I correspond with my reps a couple of times a year. One time I used an EFF letter, and got a reply from my house rep and one of my Senators that they are no longer reading, or responding (or even tallying as far as I could tell) to mass-generated form letters.

    I hope they feel the same way regardless of WHO is handing them the boilerplate "votes".

    But the core issue here is that if, as you say, these letters constitute a "vote", then by making up companies and attributing opinions to individuals who have no opinion, these lobbyists are committing (voter) fraud.

  • On the post: Prosecutors Subpoena Tons Of Info On Student Journalists Who Provided Information To Reopen Murder Case

    Free Capitalist ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2009 @ 07:41am

    Just how guilty are the CC prosecutors?

    I could not think of a better course of action the state attorney could have taken to create an appearance of judicial conspiracy in the original case.

    If they had already conducted their own formal follow up investigation and found a need to look at the university's program, then this subpoena would be so incriminating.

    As it is, it makes one wonder if there really was misconduct on the part of the police and the prosecutors in the original case. It makes me wonder at the possibility of original conspirators being in even greater positions of power today and driving this charade.

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