Vidiot 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (907)

• On the post: State Judge Prefers Prior Restraint To The First Amendment, Orders Blogger To Delete Supposedly Defamatory Posts

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2019 @ 09:07pm

  This judge is finds Copperplate Gothic very persuasive.

• On the post: A Seamless Journey Awaits You On The Outbound Flights: All You Have To Give Up Is Your Face

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2019 @ 01:13pm

  I hear that for cost reasons, low budget carrier Spirit Airlines is opting for a buttcheeks-on-photocopier biometric system.

• On the post: Tennessee Senate Unanimously Passes Actual Anti-SLAPP Bill

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 09 Apr, 2019 @ 02:23pm

  Hard to even say the word "Tennessee" without thinking first of Marcia Blackburn. Maybe a good, hard, one-P SLAP would dislodge a few AT&T paychecks from her purse.

• On the post: ACLU Asks CBP Why It's Threatening US Citizens With Arrest For Refusing Invasive Device Searches

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2019 @ 09:07am

  Re: Re: The constitution either applies everywhere or nowhere

  You mean "take back Taco Bell", which clearly belonged to the Mexicans in the first place.

• On the post: Copyright Enforcement Service Claims $600 Billion-Worth Of Images Are 'Stolen' Every Day

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2019 @ 02:53pm

  A ray of sunshine in that informative image size chart

  Good news: if you've made it your life's work to create unique, labor-intensive images in a 75x75px format, your valuable assets would appear to be safe... untouched. Unused and unsaleable, too, I'd guess.

• On the post: Federal Court Says Teen's 'Fuck Cheer' Is Protected Speech

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2019 @ 03:16pm

  "There will be no toleration..."

  That's right. Not today, not in the future. There is no such word as "toleration".

• On the post: EU Commission Refuses To Explain Why It Published Medium Article Mocking The Public's Concerns Over Article 13

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2019 @ 07:40am

  Viewed from the outside... across the water... the EU Parliament often comes across as being comprised of an elitist, patrician majority -- top hats, monocles and watercress sandwiches -- and on the minority, populist, "common man" side, a bunch of Molotov-toting loonies. Of course, that's just a perception, but it doesn't help when those clearly in control treat legitimate concerns with disregard and contempt.

  Sure glad that doesn't happen here!

  (/s)

• On the post: Rep. Devin Nunes Sues Internet Cow For Saying Mean Things About Him Online

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2019 @ 11:56am

  Lead with the dictionary definition - that was my go-to strategy for high school essays whenever I knew absolutely nothing about the topic at hand. It's the biggest, waviest, reddest flag imaginable for the stream of bullshit sure to follow.

  And Nunes doubles down - by listing a bunch of synonyms, too! That dictionary-thesaurus desk set sure earned its keep this week.

• On the post: Chicago Tried To Justify Not Informing ACLU Of Social Media Monitoring Partner By Saying ACLU Is Really Mean

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2019 @ 12:15pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Tell him about the use of passive voice, too.

• On the post: AT&T Begins Trying To Screw Up HBO In Earnest

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2019 @ 09:35am

  Re:

  That makes me a lucky guy... Verizon abruptly canceled HBO on my behalf, telling me they decided it was no longer part of my FiOS package. Just a little "gotcha" between telecoms? Inflict some pain by dropping AT&T's content channels?

• On the post: Good Luck, Japan: Government About To Make All Copyright Infringement A Criminal Offense

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 15 Feb, 2019 @ 12:52pm

  Imagine a cell block full of incorrigible plagiarists - scary!

  Don't make me get all Gilbert-and-Sullivan, now...

  Japanese Emperor sings:

  My object all sublime

  I shall achieve in time—

  To let the punishment fit the crime,

  The punishment fit the crime;

  And make each prisoner pent

  Unwillingly represent

  A source of innocent merriment,

  Of innocent merriment!*

• On the post: Another Pre-Super Bowl 'Sex Trafficking Sting' Busts A Bunch Of People Trying To Buy Sex From Cops Pretending To Be Teens

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 05 Feb, 2019 @ 04:09am

  Re:

  In other news, Krispy Kreme corporation reported a spike in donut sales in the region...

• On the post: Another Pre-Super Bowl 'Sex Trafficking Sting' Busts A Bunch Of People Trying To Buy Sex From Cops Pretending To Be Teens

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 05 Feb, 2019 @ 04:06am

  Re: Cops bust 300+ pickpocketing ring

  ... with a string attached, yanking it progressively down the walkway. YouTube hilarity ensues.

• On the post: Newly Revealed Documents Show Facebook Gleefully Refusing To Refund Money To Kids Who Ran Up Huge Bills On Mommy's Credit Card

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2019 @ 03:10pm

  Well, there's "refusing to refund", and then there's "still refusing to refund". Standard customer service policy is to refuse the first request, and then play out the scenario... see how serious they really are. Cave too quickly, and every customer wants every purchase refunded, they think; wait too long in the dialogue, and kiss the customer goodbye.
  
  As you suggest, it's much less an issue of refunds, but more about how easy it is for kids... or barely-competent adults... to run up obscene bills on in-game purchases. Good luck attacking that cash cow, though.

• On the post: NY Court Tells NYPD It Can't Hide Surveillance Of Protesters Behind A Glomar Response

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2019 @ 04:20am

  Re: Great post

  They keep telling us that AI will deliver wondrous improvements in our daily lives... well, this is by far the longest robo-spam forum post I've ever seen. And one which rolls-in copious lumps of text from the original... good job, evil geniuses!
  
  Proof of a better life through AI.

• On the post: Turkish Court Jails Journalist For Telling The Truth About A Politician's Offshore Tax Shelter

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2019 @ 04:16am

  Re: If You Don’t Know How To Type “Yıldırım” or “Erdo

  这不是正确的用法
  
  The stylebooks recognize that using non-Latin alphabets and diacritical marks adds nothing to comprehension.
  
  That sort of insistence upon "the right way" of using incomprehensible characters is, as the old joke goes, like wetting your pants while wearing a dark suit... it makes the wearer feel warm all over, but nobody else actually notices.

• On the post: Infamous Pinkerton Detectives Claim Red Dead Redemption's Use Of Historically Accurate Pinkertons Is Trademark Infringement

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2019 @ 01:15pm

  Re:

  And Securitas AB sales figures have shown a sudden uptick in the 11-17-year-old male demographic. What's not to like?

• On the post: Fifth Circuit Says Apple Can't Be Held Liable For A Car Crash Caused By Someone Reading Text Messages

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2019 @ 02:15pm

  Re: Re:

  Come on, now - you know why: like the mythical unbreakable encryption backdoor, anything is possible if they'll just nerd harder. Get crackin', high-paid coders.

• On the post: 2019 Brings Another Wave Of Cable Programming Blackout Feuds Nobody Wants To Address

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2019 @ 09:57am

  Clash of the titans... Verizon vs. Disney

  Days before the new year, Verizon notified me that they were playing chicken with Disney. The fact that I can't tell you who won (I guess I don't look at Disney-created content on cable) speaks volumes about the true value of Disney's offering.

  Apologies for the length, but here's the threat language:

  "Despite what you may be hearing from Disney, we have been negotiating a renewal agreement to keep their networks, which include those from Disney and ESPN, as well as ABC affiliates in Philadelphia and New York, in our lineup.

  Disney is currently proposing that Verizon pay hundreds of millions of dollars more for its programming, despite the fact that many of its key networks are experiencing declining viewership. In addition to the proposed rate increase, Disney is also demanding we include, and pay for, another regional sports channel, the ACC Network, in order to continue bringing you all the other Disney and ESPN networks we do today. The rising cost of programming is the biggest factor in higher TV bills and we are standing up to networks like Disney, refusing to accept these huge increases.

  We’ve given Disney a reasonable offer to continue providing you access to its networks. Unfortunately, as of today, they have rejected our offers and there is a possibility that we won’t be able to reach an agreement with them prior to our contract expiration on December 31, 2018 at 5pm EST."

• On the post: German City Wants Names And Addresses Of Airbnb Hosts; Chinese Province Demands Full Details Of Every Guest Too

  

  Vidiot ( profile ), 20 Dec, 2018 @ 04:21am

  Re: Re: Re: If doing "business" in a locale, then subject to loc

  "Care" is too strong a word; more like "Geez, I thought I swatted that gnat an hour ago. Sure is annoying."

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