Sheogorath 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1548)

• On the post: EU Publishers Present Their 'Vision' For Copyright: A Permission-Based Internet Where Licensing Is Required For Everything

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 04:36pm

  Re:

  Bad analogy. All appendices of the human body have some importance. Check out this Wikipedia article for the evidence.

• On the post: Local Blog Outs Local Politician's Crazy But Anonymous Comments. So…Is That Okay?

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 04:27pm

  Re: Re: Re: An example of Godwin's Law?

  Okay, does seventh comment down from the blogpost count as 'eventually' and thus fulfil the requirements for Godwin's Law? Check out the original unabridged comment by Thucydides.

• On the post: Local Blog Outs Local Politician's Crazy But Anonymous Comments. So…Is That Okay?

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 03:49pm

  Re: Re: An example of Godwin's Law?

  In my mind, the comparison is ridiculous because it equates the promotion of birth and disease control with the murder of millions of Jews, gay men, disabled people, and other such 'undesirables'.

• On the post: Facebook Fighting Against Massively Broad Warrant From NY District Attorney For All Information From 381 Accounts

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:52pm

  Re: Re:

  That's what I believe too, but I also understand that Facebook tries with all its feeble might to make that as hard as possible. That's why if I was to ever create an account on that site (will never happen, like), I'd make sure to create an email account in a plausible name for Facebooks bots to look at. Simples!

• On the post: Author To Chobani: I Own The Word 'How'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:43pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Good idea. I'mma do this in the UK and Europe and charge a high licence fee for the wordmark 'APPROVED' and none at all for the wordmark 'DENIED'.

• On the post: Hollywood Goes After Korean Fans Subtitling Soap Operas, Pressing Criminal Charges

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:06pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Simple solution...

  are getting copies which has either had it stripped away
  Oh, crap. A typo. Never mind, since I live in the UK, I can just ask Google to strike it from their record.

• On the post: Hollywood Goes After Korean Fans Subtitling Soap Operas, Pressing Criminal Charges

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:02pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Simple solution...

  Indeed I am, PaulT. The real stupid of that specious argument is the fact that the big powerful rights owners know for a fact that only those who get official content (however they get it) are inconvenienced by DRM because pirates are getting copies which has either had it stripped away. To make matters worse, counterfeit DVDs are very often sold with their own copy of the original distributors' DRM on the disc!

• On the post: Privacy Rights Groups Ask Eric Holder To Ensure The FBI's Biometric Database Doesn't Become Just Another Domestic Surveillance Tool

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 07:41pm

  Eric Holder's response

  "But if you want to protect the right to privacy of ordinary citizens, then that means you must hate freedom. Waaaah! What's poor widdle fweedom evaw done to you? Oops, Ewwie's done a poopie!"

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 07:35pm

  Actually, she's kinda right...

  Second, it must remunerate and reward creators. That's not just about fairness. We expect creators to invest their time and talent. Of course reward, recognition, remuneration are essential: without them, the creative tap would fast stop flowing. I have always believed that.
  
  But the current copyright system does not do it well. Not nearly well enough. Many creators scrimp by on a pittance, unable to find their full audience, unable to share or sell their works as widely or creatively as they want. Limitations and obstructions do nothing for creativity.
  
  The above is absolutely correct. After all, without copyright for Shakespeare, Hamlet's Soliloquy would never have seen the light of day and I could never have repurposed it as I did in the following fanfic. I would also not now be listening to Ode to Joy by Beethoven if it wasn't for copyright incentivising him to compose it, and then what about Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella et al.? Oh, wait...

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 07:31pm

  Actually, she's kinda right...

  Second, it must remunerate and reward creators. That's not just about fairness. We expect creators to invest their time and talent. Of course reward, recognition, remuneration are essential: without them, the creative tap would fast stop flowing. I have always believed that.
  
  But the current copyright system does not do it well. Not nearly well enough. Many creators scrimp by on a pittance, unable to find their full audience, unable to share or sell their works as widely or creatively as they want. Limitations and obstructions do nothing for creativity.
  The above isdd absolutely correct. After all, without copyright for Shakespeare, Hamlet's Soliloquy would never have seen the light of day and I could never have repurposed it as I did in the following fanfic. I would also not now be listening to Ode to Joy by Beethoven if it wasn't for copyright incentivising him to compose it, and then what about Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella et al.? Oh, wait...

• On the post: Local Blog Outs Local Politician's Crazy But Anonymous Comments. So…Is That Okay?

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 03:07pm

  An example of Godwin's Law?

  John Huppenthal said: Hitler worked to eliminate the Jews. Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood was given the job of eliminating African Americans. Hitler fed 6 million Jews into the ovens. Sanger has fed 16 million African Americans into the abortion mills.

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:30pm

  Quoted for truth

  Again, this is not to say that copyright is not important. It's to point out that it's faulty and dangerous to assume that copyright alone is the tool by which to get artists paid. It leads to poor policy choices that often ignore more interesting (and potentially lucrative) methods being developed in the market.

• On the post: One Year After Granting Adulthood To Video Gamers, Committee Suggests Australian Government Reenact Ban On R18+ Games

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 02:18pm

  Current situation in the UK

  • To provide that it is an offence for any person to supply a R18+ computer game to a minor; and/or
  • To provide that it is an offence for any person to supply a R18+ film to a minor; and/or
  • To provide that it is an offence for any person to supply a Category 1 Restricted publication to a minor.
  Sounds pretty much like the current situation here in the UK, except that it's up to local governments to enforce the ratings, not Westminster. Of course, it may be an offence to supply 18 rated films to those under that age, but that's never meant that irresponsible parents go to jail (prison), only irresponsible shopkeepers and store assistants/managers.

• On the post: Hollywood Goes After Korean Fans Subtitling Soap Operas, Pressing Criminal Charges

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 01:56pm

  Reducing the harm Hollywood does to consumers

  The police involved in this case go on and on about the "harm" these fan subtitles are creating.
  Okay, so reduce this 'harm' by no longer providing subtitles that are accurately translated, and thus reduce the very real harm that Hollywood does to active consumers by taking away such a large paying audience, thus reducing the amount of money they have to fritter away on chasing people they don't intend to sue for alleged copyright and trademark infringements. Simples!

• On the post: Google Alerts Press About Right To Be Forgotten Removals, Putting Those Stories Back In The News

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 09:34pm

  Re:

  I have only one thing to say about your (non)link: Barracuda Web Filter. headdesks

• On the post: Author To Chobani: I Own The Word 'How'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 09:32pm

  Re:

  The Patent and Trademark Office doesn't offer patents for words at all, common or otherwise. Trademarks, on the other hand...

• On the post: EU Publishers Present Their 'Vision' For Copyright: A Permission-Based Internet Where Licensing Is Required For Everything

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 05:29pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Authors who out-and-out forbid it are pretty rare anyway; the only example I can name is Marion Zimmer Bradley, and that was because a fan tried to sue her for copying their fanfic for the latest installment, which is considered very bad form in most fandoms.
  FTFY. By the way, the author whose name you gave in error was called Anne McCaffrey.

• On the post: DailyDirt: Correlation Is Not Causation

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 05:49pm

  I got one!

  People claiming that the MMR causes Autism just because the vaccine is given around the time that late-oneset Autism first appears.

• On the post: Author To Chobani: I Own The Word 'How'

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 05:47pm

  Question:

  So if I trademark the word 'THE' for use in the name of a yoghurt, that means no one else can use it in a book title ever again? And there's me thinking trademark law didn't work like that!

• On the post: Google Alerts Press About Right To Be Forgotten Removals, Putting Those Stories Back In The News

  

  Sheogorath ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 05:41pm

  Google is not the only search engine

  Because these fools have the belief that Google is the only search engine out there, based simply on its ubiquity, they forget that people can still use relevant search terms in Yahoo and Bing, for example. Et voila!

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