sumgai 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Investigation: CBP Targeted Journalists, Illegally Shared Info With Mexico, And Attempted To Cover It All Up

    sumgai ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2021 @ 08:19pm

    Re: Re: Acronym undefined

    No, it does indeed stand for Canadian Border Protection. You see, we are helping Canada to keep their citizens at home and not running around loose here in the USA. It seems that when they go back home, they grouse about the purchasing power of their money compared to ours, and other stuff that's important to them. Naturally, Toronto doesn't like that sort of unrest amongst the populace, I'm sure you understand.

  • On the post: Hacked Data Exposes Law Enforcement Officers Who Joined Far-Right Oath Keepers Group

    sumgai ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2021 @ 08:25am

    Re: ACAB

    Yes indeed, A Case Of Beer is a fact!

  • On the post: Hacked Data Exposes Law Enforcement Officers Who Joined Far-Right Oath Keepers Group

    sumgai ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2021 @ 08:35am

    What's that old saying? Oh yeah, it's something like:

    Stupid thugs become jailbirds, smart thugs become cops.

    Looks like these 200 or so guys just invented a new category, somewhere in between those two extremes. Let's call them ""personal-security-averse thugs".

  • On the post: In Josh Hawley's World, People Should Be Able To Sue Facebook Both For Taking Down Stuff They Don't Like AND Leaving Up Stuff They Don't Like

    sumgai ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2021 @ 09:07pm

    Re:

    Both K'Tetch and JB are pointing the finger in the somewhat wrong direction. Instead of going after the campaign warchest, go after the actual congresscritter doing the performative grandstanding. He is not permitted to use campaign funds for personal purposes, so if the legislative body fines him for asshattery, then he has to pay out of his own pocket. Sure, he can whine to his under-100-IQ constituency that he was "robbed", and they can feel sorry for him by ponying up some more moolah, but it can't go to his campaign - it will have to go to a "Personal PAC", as #45 has demonstrated is not only possible, but very highly profitable. But to make it all work, the "fine" has to be significant... a $10,000 slap on the wrist is only a couple of weeks of paycheck to them. Instead, make it something like half a year's worth of pay - $85K to $100K, a sting like that starts to get some attention. Also, look closely at staffers. Some of them are directly responsible for this bullshit. Or at the very least, they could've warned the douche-bag that this wasn't going to fly. To protect themselves in the latter case, they'd need to file a report with the House Speaker/Senate Majority Leader - failing to do so infers complicity. Fining these jokers might help to put a stop to such outbursts of insanity.

  • On the post: South Korean ISP Somehow Thinks Netflix Owes It Money Because Squid Game Is Popular

    sumgai ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2021 @ 08:33pm

    Re: Re: A man that sells fishes..

    CRAP! We need a "Delete Post" button. That should've been "delivers the claimed bandwidth about as often as #45 tells the truth. Crap.

  • On the post: South Korean ISP Somehow Thinks Netflix Owes It Money Because Squid Game Is Popular

    sumgai ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2021 @ 08:30pm

    Re: A man that sells fishes..

    It's bad when the ISP fails to deliver the claimed bandwidth about as often as #45 tells the truth.

  • On the post: South Korean ISP Somehow Thinks Netflix Owes It Money Because Squid Game Is Popular

    sumgai ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2021 @ 08:27pm

    Re:

    Slight error there:

    Except that they don't, they generaly go for average + margin.
    That should be "average MINUS margin". Reason being, that way the ISP can keep claiming that they need more government handouts in order to "expand to meet customer's needs".

  • On the post: Infrastructure And Content Moderation: Challenges And Opportunities

    sumgai ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2021 @ 09:59pm

    ... infrastructure companies performing content moderation

    Right there, Komaitis has left the reservation. I'm not speaking, as AC does just above, about the definition of infrastructure (though AC is definitely correct in his assertion), I'm speaking about the usual moronic conflation of speech (and moderation thereof) and association.

    No, those companies (Cloudflare et al.) are not moderating content (speech), they are simply choosing with whom they may wish to associate - an entirely different matter altogether. Different enough such that 1A specifically calls out each of them separately - it leaves no doubt in anyone's mind what the Founders intended.

    Look, if I invite you into my home for a discussion, and you start blathering about space lasers controlled by the Jews, I'm gonna ask you to leave in rather short order. Have I just committed "content moderation"? No, I have clearly and forthwithly make a choice regarding with whom I wish to associate. You, the frothing-at-the-mouth conspiracist, are completely free to spout your drivel elsewhere - I haven't denied you any of your rights, I've simply exercised one of mine.

    Mike, I'm sorry, but after 3 green-background articles in a row, I perceive that these so-called experts are not yet ready for prime-time. They have not actually thought through all of the ramifications of what they're allegedly pondering before they make their proposals. And now we see the biggest snafu yet, the conflation I mention in the first paragraph. That's probably worse than "waaaah, make the internet work like I say it should work, waaaah!" These people need a guiding hand, a gentle nudge to look at themselves, and come to understand why simpletons like me can easily pick out the flaws in their proposal. And it ain't the 7+ decades under my belt, either.

    Hopefully, you can provide that guidance, they need it.

  • On the post: The SHOP SAFE Act Is A Terrible Bill That Will Eliminate Online Marketplaces

    sumgai ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2021 @ 12:46pm

    Re: Re: I can't wait for this to backfire...

    Actually, yes, I do imagine that shit will happen, it does all the time. My scenario won't apply universally across the board, but after all, the corporation itself doesn't contact the platform, a person from that corp initiates the contact. And people can be funny/weird when it comes to communications, I'm sure you'll agree. Reference my first line about what happens, and when.

  • On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

    sumgai ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2021 @ 12:40pm

    Thanks for the double First Place!

    In case someone missed that thread, my post "On Second Thought" had a typo of major proportions. I followed it up with this:

    Sorry, that first paragraph got cut short. (And I didn't see it in the Preview.)

    ... and thus the IRS will come up short in the Taxes From Internet Sales department.

  • On the post: Top Publishers Aim To Own The Entire Academic Research Publishing Stack; Here's How To Stop That Happening

    sumgai ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2021 @ 07:58am

    Re: Re: Can't get into prior piece! But here 'tis.

    Yes, blueballs went off the rails some time ago, but lately he seems to be trying to earn a Darwin Award.

  • On the post: Blumenthal's Finsta Debacle: It Remains Unacceptable That Our Politicians Are So Clueless About The Internet

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 09:32pm

    Re:

    How the hell do we keep electing people who show us time and time again they are completely detached from reality, have no idea what they are doing, and often just make things worse to score points in some imaginary game in their head?
    TAC, I'm a bit surprised at this question. You know as well as I do that the answer is money, pure and simple. Congress is the shining example of that old maxim: "He who has the gold gets to make the rules."

  • On the post: Blumenthal's Finsta Debacle: It Remains Unacceptable That Our Politicians Are So Clueless About The Internet

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 09:22pm

    Re: Re:

    How do you verify age? Like seriously, how do you verify someone's age remotely?
    Easy - you give them the test written by Al Lowe in the first episode of Leisure Suit Larry. (aka Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of The Lounge Lizards.) OTOH, if a minor lies about his/her age during signup, how is a given platform supposed to find out about it? He/she said they were 20 (or some other number above 18), why should the platform suspect that an investigation is in order, to see if they told the truth? And if they are found to be a minor, that leads to charges of invasion of the privacy of a minor, which is even worse than having done the same to an adult. A formula for describing the problem: Expectations of Privacy plus Expectations of Trust, divided by various laws, does not equal a good time for the platform provider.

  • On the post: Blumenthal's Finsta Debacle: It Remains Unacceptable That Our Politicians Are So Clueless About The Internet

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 09:44pm

    Bluminidiotathal is lucky. I would have look him straight in the eye and said "No."

    If he'd gone on a tear of a rant, I'd simply point out to him that "1A gives me the right to associate with whomever I might please, so long as I'm not coercing that other person to associate with me. If I choose to trust that associate is indeed who he/she says he/she is, that's my First Amendment right." I'd leave unstated the implied snark of "I dare you to pass a law that challenges 1A like that".

    More: if Congress wishes to protect minors from online platforms like mine, I'd demand that Congress protect my platform from minors that lie about their age!

  • On the post: Against 'Content Moderation' And The Concentration Of Power

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 08:14pm

    I'm sorry to have to say that there are so many inaccuracies in this article that I'm not at all going to even try to rebut them.

    Yet another "the world should do it my way, waaah, waaaah" article. This is getting embarrassing.

  • On the post: Social Media Regulation In African Countries Will Require More Than International Human Rights Law

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 10:08am

    It is truly too bad that some people just refuse to "get it".

    I'm sorry to be the one to break the bad news to you, Mr. Ilori, but until you come to a complete understanding that neither you, nor the UN, nor any other body of persons has any power whatsoever over these bad actors (in your case, African governments), you are just peeing in the wind.

    To wit, your only weapon available for use to bring these bad actors into line with your thinking is actual war, with weaponry that does not discriminate good from bad, it just kills, period. You can't shame these bastards, you can't ostracize them, you can't defund them, nor disturb their finances signficantly, and you most certainly can't just shake your finger at them and say "naughty boy" - none of those options work on people in power. They understand only one thing, and that is the credible threat of losing their personal life (lives). Only at that point can you "persuade them to see the light".

    And for the record, we citizens of the US are having the same problem - assholes in both State and Federal governments who think that just because they are in a position of power, they have free reign to do whatever is best for them, and screw what everyone else thinks about them and their actions. What I said above about the African dictators applies in our own home as well.

    Well, all except the bit about fearing for their lives. We citizens have some work to do on that part, about forcing them to straighten up and fly right, or get the hell out of Dodge. Civilized behavior, and all that, I'm sure you understand.

  • On the post: Misquoting Einstein Is Fast And Stupid, But Not Accurate

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 12:52am

    Re: Re: Quotes are stupid

    If that was not an intentional misinterpretation, then it's double the funny.

  • On the post: Misquoting Einstein Is Fast And Stupid, But Not Accurate

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 12:48am

    Re: Re: Challenge Accepted

    That uncreated storage would be an additional cost, something that looms large in planning and budgeting... particularly in the public sector. So far, excepting Texas, the general grid can handle the transfer of enormous amount of power for short durations. Since wire is less costly than pretty much any storage medium of equivalent capacity, guess way the wind blows....

  • On the post: Misquoting Einstein Is Fast And Stupid, But Not Accurate

    sumgai ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2021 @ 12:44am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Challenge Accepted

    Sorry, I should've paid closer attention. As above, yes the word is often used in patent language. Much of this stems from the fact that what works once should work again, and since patents have been around for about as long as our country.... you can probably guess why this word, and others, seem to be "out of step" with today's common vocabulary, but are part and parcel of the patent world. As an example, I looked up something that I happen to know from personal experience. Check out how many times "plurality" appears in this patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US5477765A/en ... and this is from 1994. Dig into the referred patents that go back in time, and you keep finding the word, over and over. And wouldn't you know it, the patent passes the examiner's litmus test, despite the fact that it's re-inventing the wheel for about the 15th or 20th time. Ah, the power of language, ain't it grand.

  • On the post: Clearview Suffers Brief Bout Of Better Judgment, Drops Subpoena Demanding Activists' Communications With Journalists

    sumgai ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2021 @ 10:26am

    Re: FOIA FOIAs

    Yes, provided that you limit the scope of your inquiry to a certain topic, or to a certain source of those FOIA's, and probably a time/date range as well. Too broad a request will likely get you a "Too Burdonsome" response.

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