OT: An Interesting Read About Bit-Torrents

geoschmo · #1 December 17th, 2004, 10:44 AM

Makinus, have you purchased anything from Shrapnel since SE4 Gold? I thought they got those international shipping probelms straigtened out. I could be wrong though.

Geoschmo

TurinTurambar · #2 December 17th, 2004, 01:05 PM

Umm.. yeah... I don't understand. You go to the website, you see that's it's available, you order it, it shows up at your house, you install it on your computer, you play the game.

Please explain to me where a p2p comes into this tried and true process (?!)

Turin

Aiken · #3 December 17th, 2004, 01:58 PM

Quote:

TurinTurambar said:

Umm.. yeah... I don't understand. You go to the website, you see that's it's available, you order it, it shows up at your house, you install it on your computer, you play the game.

Please explain to me where a p2p comes into this tried and true process (?!)

Turin

If you deal with pirated content you don't have to order it and PAY for it. That's the main difference.

Gandalf Parker · #4 December 17th, 2004, 03:50 PM

The law is full of many apparently disconnected things that do apply here. They end up asking "was reasonable effort made to comply with the law". It comes up in everything from mean dogs, to icey sidewalks, to stores displaying adult material, etc etc. What is reasonable effort or unreasonable effort. In the case of things like P2P software, or reMailer software, or disc copying software, its going to come up as an effort to change the direction from writing it so that NO accountability can possibly be done to writing in some ability for accountability.

Nodachi · #5 December 17th, 2004, 05:55 PM

Going after the BT sites is only a peice of the picture. Take a good look at the DMCA, here's a link to an excellent analysis. In a nutshell, the big corporations want you to have no fair use rights. Look at your game collection, how many of us make a back-up copy just as soon as we buy a game? Well if your games were movie dvds or music cds and RIAA/MPAA had their way those back-ups would be illegal.

geoschmo · #6 December 17th, 2004, 06:04 PM

Somebody will have to explain to me why this is a bad thing. Why do we assume that we have an inalienable right to make copies of software, even for backup purposes?

I'm trying to make a corellation to some other product we use in our lives, but it doesn't really translate well. We don't have magic boxes that we can stick our shirts and dishes into and have instantaneous perfect duplicates come out the other side.

tesco samoa · #7 December 17th, 2004, 06:10 PM

geo they are not perfect duplicates.

A mp3 is not a perfect duplicate
Nor is a divx

With compression there is loss.

Aiken · #8 December 17th, 2004, 06:35 PM

Quote:

geoschmo said:
Somebody will have to explain to me why this is a bad thing. Why do we assume that we have an inalienable right to make copies of software, even for backup purposes?

Because I purchase it. Seller offers me some commodity for a certain price, and I agree with it and pay him money to obtain an inalienable right to use it at my own discretion. This is a basic principle of market. Now I can use, destroy, present, resell or keep it. All restrictions to my intentions towards this commodity are artificial obstacles which violate my rights to a certain extent.

Atrocities · #9 December 17th, 2004, 10:40 PM

Quote:

geoschmo said:
Somebody will have to explain to me why this is a bad thing. Why do we assume that we have an inalienable right to make copies of software, even for backup purposes?

Simply put Geoschmo, we do not. That is clearly outlined and stated in all software licenses. It is our responsibility to read the included documentation when we install and use software. If the software is acquired illegally, then you have no excuse to be using it and are running the risk for doing so. That said, many people opt to use pirated software as opposed to buying it.

I do think though, that out dated software should be considered low priority and therefore encouraged to be traded freely. It is a win win situation for the manufacture. They interest people in their old software, while positioning themselves to sell more new software to those who like their old software.

Ask yourself this question, all those programs you have boughten over the years, how many of them do you still use? Why allow them to go to waste? You can sell the copies to a second hand store, or do what many people have done, and interrupted the law to mean that they can publish copywrited software on a P2P network.

I for one do not like to obtain things via p2p. I simply feel that I should pay for them so that I have ownership over the right to use it. I do not own the software or the program, but I do own that copy and am responsible for it. In that way, I do back up my copies, or buy a second copy when I can afford it. I simply believe that if I am going to pay $50.00 plus for something that can be damaged or destroyed very easily, I want a spare. Like a spare tire so to speak. However that does not mean that I want to use someone else�s used or spare tire.

JMHO and 2 cents worth.

(Spelling errors)