Byron, you don't protest to the government by burning down 100-year-old business, if you know what I mean...
On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 12:12 AM, Byron L. Sonne <byron.so...@gmail.com>wrote: > The thing that makes me laugh about all of this, and one of the key > things I learned from reading Gibbon's Decline & Fall is this: > > The number and frequency of laws passed regarding things directly > relates to how widespread these things are, and how they much the laws > are ignored and ineffective. Laws can't prevent a damn thing, they can > only specify remedies. As it is said, "it's only illegal if you get > caught". > > The cat is out of the bag and will never be put back in. There's no way > to stop people from 'illegally' copying copyrighted material. > > If they somehow managed to require and implement tech so that perfect > digital copies can't be made (unlikely) then people will simply use a > camera to record the video as it plays on the screen. Hey, wait a > minute, that sounds just like that screener I downloaded someone taped > in Russia! ;) > > If they manage to require and implement tech so that you can't trade it > over the internet (unlikely) then people will simply trade it on private > networks or, like we used to do in the old days, via sneakernet. > > The problem is that in an attempt to control the dissemination of > copyrighted material (and people are right, artists do have a right to > reap the benefits of their effort) the powers-that-be are stepping over > the line and into territory that impacts our ability to communicate in > the fashion we choose. > > It might be fine to try and prevent piracy but in the process of doing > so you are trashing the other desires of people that have nothing to do > with piracy. > > I'm sure if the copyright lobby had their way, they'd require us to wear > special glasses in order to see our laptop screens, on the assumption > that anything not explicitly licensed was assumed to be unlicensed, and > thus pirated, which we would be blocked from our field of view... and as > a result, some girl/guy who wants to write a simple freeware text editor > now has to jump through regulatory hoops and spend money to obtain a > special registration that allows their text editor to display to the > screen. This is a cheesy example, but I think it makes the point. > > In the guise of 'protecting artists and businesses' what is happening is > that the powers-that-be are requesting (and too often getting) powers > that allow them to trample on the general idea of freedom of > communications and other things people cherish. > > As a result, people are inclined to engage in the very behaviours that > elicited the laws and crackdowns, quite simply, as a way to raise their > middle finger and say "Fuck You". > > This is when piracy and theft becomes freedom of expression - when it's > done in protest. > > -- > http://www.freebyron.org > > _______________________________________________ > Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. > Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html > Hosted and sponsored by Secunia - http://secunia.com/ >
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