<div><font color="#333333"><font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">No, it follows the fact that vengeance (the "fuck you" Byron mentioned) isn't fruitful to remedy the situation.</font></font></font></div>
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</font></font></font></div><br></font></font></font><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Mike Hale <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:eyeronic.design@gmail.com">eyeronic.design@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">What you said doesn't follow.<br>
<br>
Making a digital copy isn't burning down a business. The analogy<br>
linking 'piracy' with theft is ludicrous.<br>
<div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><br>
On Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 11:50 PM, Christian Sciberras <<a href="mailto:uuf6429@gmail.com">uuf6429@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Byron, you don't protest to the government by burning down 100-year-old<br>
> business, if you know what I mean...<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 12:12 AM, Byron L. Sonne <<a href="mailto:byron.sonne@gmail.com">byron.sonne@gmail.com</a>><br>
> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> The thing that makes me laugh about all of this, and one of the key<br>
>> things I learned from reading Gibbon's Decline & Fall is this:<br>
>><br>
>> The number and frequency of laws passed regarding things directly<br>
>> relates to how widespread these things are, and how they much the laws<br>
>> are ignored and ineffective. Laws can't prevent a damn thing, they can<br>
>> only specify remedies. As it is said, "it's only illegal if you get<br>
>> caught".<br>
>><br>
>> The cat is out of the bag and will never be put back in. There's no way<br>
>> to stop people from 'illegally' copying copyrighted material.<br>
>><br>
>> If they somehow managed to require and implement tech so that perfect<br>
>> digital copies can't be made (unlikely) then people will simply use a<br>
>> camera to record the video as it plays on the screen. Hey, wait a<br>
>> minute, that sounds just like that screener I downloaded someone taped<br>
>> in Russia! ;)<br>
>><br>
>> If they manage to require and implement tech so that you can't trade it<br>
>> over the internet (unlikely) then people will simply trade it on private<br>
>> networks or, like we used to do in the old days, via sneakernet.<br>
>><br>
>> The problem is that in an attempt to control the dissemination of<br>
>> copyrighted material (and people are right, artists do have a right to<br>
>> reap the benefits of their effort) the powers-that-be are stepping over<br>
>> the line and into territory that impacts our ability to communicate in<br>
>> the fashion we choose.<br>
>><br>
>> It might be fine to try and prevent piracy but in the process of doing<br>
>> so you are trashing the other desires of people that have nothing to do<br>
>> with piracy.<br>
>><br>
>> I'm sure if the copyright lobby had their way, they'd require us to wear<br>
>> special glasses in order to see our laptop screens, on the assumption<br>
>> that anything not explicitly licensed was assumed to be unlicensed, and<br>
>> thus pirated, which we would be blocked from our field of view... and as<br>
>> a result, some girl/guy who wants to write a simple freeware text editor<br>
>> now has to jump through regulatory hoops and spend money to obtain a<br>
>> special registration that allows their text editor to display to the<br>
>> screen. This is a cheesy example, but I think it makes the point.<br>
>><br>
>> In the guise of 'protecting artists and businesses' what is happening is<br>
>> that the powers-that-be are requesting (and too often getting) powers<br>
>> that allow them to trample on the general idea of freedom of<br>
>> communications and other things people cherish.<br>
>><br>
>> As a result, people are inclined to engage in the very behaviours that<br>
>> elicited the laws and crackdowns, quite simply, as a way to raise their<br>
>> middle finger and say "Fuck You".<br>
>><br>
>> This is when piracy and theft becomes freedom of expression - when it's<br>
>> done in protest.<br>
>><br>
>> --<br>
>> <a href="http://www.freebyron.org" target="_blank">http://www.freebyron.org</a><br>
>><br>
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