On Sat, 2005-04-23 at 21:16, Jason Spatafore wrote:
> > I am no fanatic.  My kids go to Flash based game sites all the time (on
> > Linux).  I tend to be practical.  However, unless the market (You and Me)
> > demands full access to content I create and/or pay for, business will
> > continue to try to hold my data hostage.
> >
> > If my data is in open (better yet, Free) formats, I control when I use it.
> > I control what program or device is used to access it.  I keep more of my
> > freedom.  Therefore I sometimes tell businesses with my actions that I
> > don't accept my data locked away from me.  Actions include purchasing a
> > different product, not viewing their website and even doing without in
> > some cases.
> >
> > If the market (You and Me) just accepts it, They will keep pulling every
> > penny they can out of us.  If the market (You and Me) rejects this stuff,
> > the some of the businesses that don't care now will learn to care because
> > I will patronize them.
> 
> Sadly, in this day and age, it really doesn't matter if you accept it or not. 
> It only matters if the law accepts it. And don't think for one minute that 
> you are dictating the laws that are created. You're not. Hell, your votes 
> hardly matter worth a crap anymore...look at how many were thrown out in 
> Florida. (I can make up thousands of reasons to throw away a lot of stuff. 
> But the reality is that you are given the right to vote and it must be 
> counted....originally.)
> 
> Consumers don't have power anymore. These days, you cannot buy a Finnish 
> application which would allow you data freedom (lack of software and 
> copyright laws) in order to circumvent data lockouts on an American 
> application. Hell, if you look at the case with that Bobby Fisher thing...you 
> can't even move to another country to avoid your own country's laws, EVEN IF 
> YOU DIDN'T BREAK ANY LAWS IN YOUR COUNTRY to begin with! The point is simple: 
> The consumer world, along with the legal world, are trying to turn towards 
> controlling not only what you do, but how, where, and when you're gonna do 
> it. It's just that simple.
> 

WOW, did I start something here.  :-)  Still haven't gotten back to
looking at the Shockwave issue.  I was thinking there ought to be some
way I can run the shockwave drivers on Wine or Crossover without messing
up the Flash drivers that do work.  But I've also got to earn a living
in the meantime.

I'm with you on the Bobby Fisher issue.  It ought to be unconstitutional
to limit an American's behavior overseas, unless of course we're serfs
or the government's property. It should also be illegal for the Feds to
tax us for income earned overseas while living overseas. Of course that
doesn't mean we can go rob or murder people over there, because we are
subject to  the other county's taxes and laws while we're over there. 
It's just that - as bad as our laws can be - I've always thought of law
as being something territorial, and not applying to citizens outside the
boundaries, since we are not (officially, at least) the government's
property.  I guess that view was wrong, and we ARE the property of the
Feds, at least as far as they see it.

> Now, can we fight? How would we fight such a thing? Our governments have taken 
> away our guns. (England is worse, you can't fight there at all since no guns 
> are allowed.) Can we just stop using our money on these applications? Well, 
> maybe. But look at it this way: How much *has* the Open Source community 
> damaged commercialism? None. Not one bit.
> 

I don't agree that it's quite that pessimistic.  I think that the
mainstream commercial media has an interest in ignoring the Open Source
movement's impact, and won't notice the true extent of our influence
until it bites them on the rump.  I also believe that widespread civil
disobedience can sometimes torpedo a bad law - such as the 55 mph speed
limit, or alcohol prohibition.  In fact this is probably the ONLY way
it's likely to happen, since the system itself is corrupt. 

> What's really happening is that companies somehow managed to convince the law 
> that "potential earnings" can be measured and can also be considered 
> "losses". Software patents and copyrights are laws specifically targeted 
> towards "potential losses through unauthorized distribution." I don't know if 
> anyone else views this as a bad thing...but I certainly do. Because, if we 
> all follow that logic, I should be able to sue people who cut me off in 
> traffic because of the "loss of time" in slowing me down. I should also be 
> able to turn around and sue banks, theme parks, and any other place with 
> lines for "loss of time." But can I do that? No. These are 'okay' in our 
> society.

I always laugh at those figures, because it assumes that if people
download a million copies of something for free, that the same million
people would have actually paid $20 for the aforementioned content. 
It's like they're totally ignorant of economics and supply/demand
curves.  More likely they say it that way because they realize the
public is ignorant of economic principles.

> 
> But yet, it is not okay to modify that kick ass javascript you found online 
> and then use it in your own webpage, *even if you credit the original 
> author*. It's not okay to take a 30 second sound clip and place it online. 
> It's not okay to take 2 minutes of a movie and place it online. Hell, it's 
> not okay to broadcast an already broadcasted radio broadcast online (or even 
> stream it from the radio to the internet)! It's a simplistic view of the 
> situation, yes. But does it hold truth? Yes. Yes it does. And we will all be 
> criminals, in time. (Hell, the only good thing I see coming out of this whole 
> mess is that the term "criminal" will be so common and prevailent that people 
> will be asking "What's your crimes?" instead of "What's your name?" in 20 
> years. It'll be like showing off a tattoo, or scars...done with pride.) :)
> 
> Corporate gains with no consumer protection. That is our reality.

I've always had mixed feelings about so-called intellectual property. 
On the one hand, I've never produced anything of value except words and
code.  On the other hand, the idea of the government looking over your
shoulder preventing you from copying something goes against my
anarcho-capitalist philosophy.  Oh well, maybe I'll find a middle ground
some day.

Vaughn

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