Wendy Cockcroft 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: UK Says It Won't Implement The EU Copyright Directive, Which Wouldn't Have Passed Without Its Support During A Crucial Vote

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2020 @ 07:21am

    Re: Re: Sabotage

    Now, now, PaulT, everything is the EU's fault, even the weather. It's to punish us for leaving, innit?

  • On the post: You Don't Own What You Buy: The Tetris Edition

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2020 @ 07:17am

    Re:

    Very difficult to argue against this point as what they are doing is committing fraud.

  • On the post: You Don't Own What You Buy: The Tetris Edition

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2020 @ 07:16am

    Re: Re: Option C

    @tex2us, they say you bought the right to use the game but unless there's a clause that allows them to yank it back it's not bought, it's rented. The RENTAL isn't being offered, but SALE and sale implies you own the thing till you dispose of it. They're committing fraud.

  • On the post: Supreme Court Asked To Tell Cops That Consenting To A Search Is Not Consenting To Having Your Home Destroyed

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2020 @ 05:52am

    Re: House destroyed

    The courts side with the cops unless the case is particularly egregious. In this one the cops were able to claim the destruction of a man's house as being in the line of duty. I agree they should have been punished but that's the world we live in.

  • On the post: As Tulsi Gabbard's Silly Attention Seeking Lawsuit Against Google Falters, She Files Equally Silly Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2020 @ 03:16am

    Re: Re:

    I want to hear how you wouldn't want to sue the b'jesus out of that person seeing how it damaged your reputation before the American Voters!
    I'll bite. I wouldn't sue because politicians trash-talk each other all the time. "Russian Asset" is the new "Socialist." What I would do is push back, using her own words to paint her as a delusional, paranoid loon. The funnier or more apt you are on social media, the more popular you become. Why do you think Trump's infantile name-calling is so effective among his base? There's no need to sue.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 07:52am

    Re: Parents who are crap at parenting

    Eh, I don't think class consciousness is the answer to anything. In the UK all it does is drive a politics of envy without addressing any of the issues affecting those of us lower down the scale. Put it this way: a man who worked for my uncle once asked for a pay rise. Uncle said no can do, but instead offered the man a promotion to farm manager. The man was delighted, having risen up the class ladder, as it were, but didn't have an extra penny to show for it. My takeaway was to become a "Show me the money!" kind of person when it comes to such matters. In the UK, "the money" isn't being directed to individuals and groups because of class but because of access to privilege. Put it this way: no one can every answer my question as to which class Lord Alan Sugar is in; yes he's a peer of the realm but he was born in the East End and still has his Cockney accent. Class is a red herring. Show me the money. Meanwhile, the trendy right-on lefties aren't willing to even retweet my complaints about benefits claimants starving to death due to sanctions (evil UK Tory policy) or the chronic under-funding of our legal system. It's actually cheaper for you to go to jail and get it over with than stand trial and face the risk of losing and being on the hook for the bill after months of waiting for a trial date that actually results in a trial being held. They're more interested in surfing the zeitgeist wave than being in any way useful. No, mate, class consciousness is a waste of time. Show me the money!

  • On the post: SmileDirectClub Is Trying To Silence Criticism By Tying Refunds To Non-Disparagement Agreements

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 05:08am

    Re: Re:

    We have a saying over here: pay peanuts, get monkeys. Seriously, don't go cheap on your teeth. Your health is your wealth, people.

  • On the post: In 'N Out Burger Continues Its Bullshit Pop-Up Technique To Keep Trademarks It Isn't Actually Using

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 03:11am

    Re: Frustration

    If some business owner who had never heard of In 'n Out decided to set up a fast food outlet with that name, they might sue him. This is a revenue by trademark trolling abuse issue. They're just waiting for some poor schlub to fall into the trap.

  • On the post: Copyright As Censorship: Gun Rights Advocate Gets Video Taken Down With Bogus Copyright Claim

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 03:06am

    Re: Is it okay to send a DMCA takedown? By a copyright abolition

    1. Does the uploader pretend the work is his own and make money from it?
      IF YES: file that DMCA notice.
      IF NO: Do not file a DMCA takedown notice. Stop.
    I don't like copyright and am skeptical of the DMCA regime, but when some cheeky toerag did that to one of my favourite artists, Preston Reed, I was outraged. What he did was bundle three of Preston's works together and pretend it was his own; he didn't credit Preston and was earning ad revenue. Preston makes his work available on YouTube and doesn't mind people using it, but this was cheeky. The artist has the right to be associated with his work. Long story short, I advised his wife to file the notice and to get her friends to gang up on the uploader in the comments, asking him politely but firmly to take the video down if he wasn't going to acknowledge Preston, as he had stated that the piece was his own work. He took it down before the wife could get the notice done. tl:dr; if someone is using your work and pretending it's their own, then tries to make money from it, dogpile on and DMCA that twerp! Preston is happy when people post videos of themselves playing his music, he only asks that they reference the fact that it's his work. It's not too much to ask. When using someone else's work for advertising my business (when I had one) I asked first; it won me a lot of friends, including the very skeptical Mrs. Reed, who distrusted me on principle because I advocate against copyright overreach. It doesn't hurt to be courteous, folks.

  • On the post: Report Says Saudi Prince MBS's Whatsapp Account Personally Sent Jeff Bezos Malware Used To Access His Phone

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 02:49am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    So the question is this: which is worse: intentionally killing people without need or unintentionally but knowingly killing people without trying to fix it or actually needing to? If you know your policies are killing people but do nothing about it (see UK government - benefits claimants dying of starvation for examples of this happening in practice), you're responsible and it is intentional; you're doing nothing about a situation that you know kills people that you could resolve. Now in Bezo's case the kill count is low. Nonetheless if he personally knows about it and does nothing, his casual neglect -- the thing that causes people to die -- is a choice he has made and that is what makes him responsible. It's deliberate when the casual neglect continues despite the evidence that it kills people. Bezos would no doubt argue that most of his workers aren't dropping like flies, undiagnosed heart conditions, etc., are in play here, etc. Okay, fine. But his neglect means that the workers are denied the medical coverage that would get them checked out to ensure that any condition is diagnosed. Americans really do need Medicare for all; it's not your boss's job to see to your healthcare, it's the government's. Public healthcare provision is as important, if not more so, than the military. There's ALWAYS money for the military however expensive the kit is, so why is there none for healthcare? Enacting this would get Bezos off the hook for the healthcare provision that would catch undiagnosed conditions. Meanwhile, he needs to stop pushing his workers so hard and pay them more.

  • On the post: The Similarities Between The US's Case Against Julian Assange And Brazil's Against Glenn Greenwald Are Uncanny

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2020 @ 02:40am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Put it this way; I believe it's unlikely.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 07:02am

    Re: Tech is harming us all

    I have taken two weeks off from tech. It happens when I go on holiday and am too busy being a tourist to get into arguments in tech blog comment threads. When I got home and went back to work I signed back in again. Social media isn't endless, it's just social. It's how you use it that counts; are you constantly glued to your phone, zombiing around half aware of what is going on around you or do you limit your usage to when you're not supposed to be working, etc.? It's only endless if you can't keep your eyes off it. Litmus test: Is it all about you or is it all about finding out what's going on? For me, it's all about what's going on. I rarely take selfies and what I ate for dinner last night is not for discussion. Okay, it was salad.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 06:58am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Stop watching telly. For the children!

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 06:57am

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

    It certainly does. When I use social media it looks a lot like my posts here. Sometimes I get into conversation with people; at other times I'm just laughing along with something funny. It's definitely social. It's at its best when people are interacting with each other rather than merely reacting to something.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 06:55am

    Re: Obligatory

    "A rough whimper of insanity" is my favourite. I know the founders wanted it to be inspiring humanity, who go far. Utopia is definitely hairy...!

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 05:20am

    Re: Re: Re: Finish your thoughts, Uriel ;P

    You've never seen The Sunday Sport! I apologise in advance for any brain cells lost reading that tripe.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 05:18am

    Re: Re: Social Media

    It's an attack on stupidity. Wait...

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 05:17am

    Re: Re: Re: Social Media

    No, he's just riding on the crest of a wave of resentment, relying on Boogeyman politics to keep him afloat. When people stop being afraid of The Left, he'll be out on his ear.

  • On the post: Academic Consensus Growing: Phones And Social Media Aren't Damaging Your Kids

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 05:15am

    Re: Re:

    We also need to take into consideration the fact that we're farming our childcare out to others while we go out to work. We have to -- the days of the man going out to work while the woman stays at home to mind the kids are over; he can't bring home enough bacon to feed the family so she has to work whether she wants to or not. This then takes a toll on the family, and the parents divorce. Those of us who want careers have to choose between either having kids at a fairly early age and being poor, hoping to get better off later, or staving off having kids until we can afford to, at which point some of us find we can't have them because we either left it too late or couldn't have them in the first place. This is not the result of market forces, it's the result of our society being more focussed on money than on people. The economy needs to work for the people but we work for the economy and our society is suffering as a result. It's easy to blame the parents (I'm a product of a broken home, and yes, finance was a factor) but if we're going to pass judgement, please get all the evidence in first. Okay, some parents are crap at parenting, but without the resources and a community like the one I grew up in there's nobody around to help, advise, and set an example with peers for the kids to emulate. No wonder they're crap at parenting!

  • On the post: The Similarities Between The US's Case Against Julian Assange And Brazil's Against Glenn Greenwald Are Uncanny

    Wendy Cockcroft ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2020 @ 08:45am

    Re: 252 days and counting

    This is not the Free Chelsea Manning campaign blog. Yes, it's bad that she's locked up but that's not what the story was about. If we're going to take that route we might as well fit patriot Reality Winner, who exposed malfeasance, and patriot Ed Snowden, who told us all we were being spied on, in as well.

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