I am sure commenting on this only adds fuel to the fire, but I did want to point out that as I recall the person that is responsible for this movie vault thing also runs a legit company. I would find it difficult to believe that he has not checked into this because no one would want to put their business assets at risk. If there truly is an investigation then prove it. I get pretty annoyed when people claim something, but cannot or do not provide any reference to back those claims. And for the record I do not condone pirating of any kind and believe that regardless of accessibility issues even blind people must follow the laws.
On Apr 27, 2012, at 10:51 PM, Christine Grassman wrote: > Naturally, if the moderator deems this discussion verboten, I will refrain > further, but I would feel remiss not to point out the following for > consideration: > 1. As of several hours ago, there was nothing on the FBI's official web site > regarding an investigation, nor were there any press releases or other > comparable references to an investigation of the movie vault. A reference > would be appreciated; mere speculation or rumor could be deemed libelous. > > 2. The problem industries have with illegal file-sharing is loss of revenue. > Since, at least in the United States, there is virtually no way to purchase > audio-described movies or television shows, the industry is not being cheated > of revenue. > 3. The files are straight audio, with no ability, for example, to "watch" > with sighted peers while having the benefit of the audio description. This is > not at all remotely similar to downloading a film for the family to watch. > That being said, the vast majority of the sighted community does this with > impunity, even though many of the shows and movies they download can be seen > for free when they are are shown on television. We, on the other hand, cannot > even enjoy full access to these shows when they *are* on television. Either > they are not audio-described at all, or it is not easy to turn on the > secondary audio channel, or a particular station only carries foreign > language broadcasts on the SAC rather than audio description. Comparing > access to audio-described movies and shows in mp3 format to the type of > file-sharing which goes on 24/7 on hundreds and thousands of sites is a > stretch. > 4. If the government and/or the involved industries wish to do something > about the existence of resources like the movie vault, the former should > mandate, and the latter should provide a market from which we can obtain > these items. I have been able to watch a non-described movie with others > after listening to an mp3 file and tell another blind person what is going on > thanks to that previous experience. My two blind children have been able to > enjoy fare which their peers enjoyed months or years ago. Until the > entertainment industry levels the playing field, I will utilize resources > like the movie vault with the same guiltless pleasure I take in bookshare.org > (and, by the way, it is possible to download books from bookshare.org which > are available commercially.) We cannot use the Kindle as others do. WE > cannot use the Nook. We are severely limited in what we can access > independently when it comes to entertainment, and we must even still fight > for access to education at every level, despite technological advances. > Holding us to the same standards as the vast majority of illegal file-sharers > is legally, morally, and economically inequitable. > > Christine > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
