Oxford Yanks Student Page Over Spoof DeCSS

eval writes "A student at Oxford had his page pulled by the computer services group there because he had a spoof DeCSS on his page, and linked to opendvd.org." Once again, the organizations like the MPAA (though Oxford administration did not officially confirm this) get their way simply by sending an official-looking letter. Where are we when universities - the last stronghold of intellectual freedom - excuse their censor-first, ask-questions-later behavior by saying: "We were here to further the aims of the University in Education and Research, not to fight other people's copyright actions"? (more)

The day following the Web page's removal, the school administrator was surprised to learn that the DeCSS his staff yanked had nothing to do with DVDs...

From: Alan Gay <alan@ermine.ox.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: ox.talk
Subject: Re: Deep linking
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 13:14:54 +0100
Organization: Oxford University, England

So, you are saying that all this fuss is because you wanted to wave a red rag at the bull by *pretending* you were offering decss software. The result of this is that the University has spent, and is still spending, a vast amount of administrative effort and lawyers' fees over something that has nothing to do with it, and is just a game to you.

I'll leave others to discuss the sense of that.

Comments

Finally... a story where this is *not* offtopic...

[Anonymous Coward]

and I'm asleep at the keyboard. Doh!

Oh well... here it is.
Add your own, and spread this far and wide:

ftp://ftp.u.washington.edu/public/arobs /css
ftp://sun.rl.odessa.ua/pub/decss
http://130.111.75.63:142
http://216.35.100.9/ma/kdawson/deecessess
http://24.114.168.235/public/css.htm
http://24.15.107.67/DeCSS
http://24.6.244.114/DeCSS
http://2600.dk/mirrors/css
http://334.se2600.org
http://DVDoutrage.Tripod.com
http://MSD.dyndns.org
http://alcor.concordia.ca/~sd_fort
http://amergeisaphreak.netfirms.com
http://andrewstern.freeservers.com/decss
http://artun.ee/~rommi/css
http://benyossef.com/freedom
http://bigpoppa.adsl.alpha1.net/decss
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/clcktwr
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/klflatt
http://budice.ancients.net/decss
http://budsmoker.com/sites/decss
http://bur-jud-118-039.rh.uchicago.edu/d vd
http://cant-stop-us-all.freehosting.net
http://chaz.fsgs.com/misc/DvD
http://chemlab.org/~dvd
http://cherryville.org/dvd
http://come.to/intelex
http://cs.unca.edu/~dillzc/decss
http://css.choppy.com/data
http://cssalgorithm.8m.com
http://cybertrippin.net
http://cymorg.bizland.com/index2.html
http://dB.org/dvd
http://dandruff.cs.unm.edu/~bap/DeCSS
http://darklord.darkthrone.com/users /smith/dvd
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~homeyd/DVD
http://dcwi.com/~wench/decss
http://debian.mps.krakow.pl/mirror/css http://decss.8m.com
http://decss.cx
http://decss.cyvoid.net
http://decss.fall0ut.com
http://decss.freeservers.com
http://decss.freeshell.org
http://decss.fzylogic.net
http://decss.htmlplanet.com
http://decss.netfirms.com
http://decss.z-man.org
http://decss_files.tripod.com
http://decssmirror.homestead.com
http://deelbeson.detour.net
http://dephile.hypermart.net
http://dephile.hypermart.net/dvdinfo.html
http://developer.dnepr.net/dvdcss
http://dialug.org/html/decss.html
http://dirtass.beyatch.net
http://dlsf.org
http://dogh ousepages.lycos.com/collecting/midnightrider/DVDEn crypt.html
http://donotsueme.freeservers.com
http://donotsueme.homepage.com
http://dosdemon.yi.org/decss
http://dsl129.drizzle.com:2001/downloa ds/DVD
http://dvd.coolpeople.dhs.org
http://dvd.k4dwi.net/dvd
http://dvd.loathe.com
http://dvdcopy.cjb.net
http://dvdcrack.homepage.com
http://dvdcss.newmail.ru
http://earendel.gt.ed.net/dvd
http://ebmedia.net/dvd
http://elknews.netpedia.net/dvd
http://fairuse.freeservers.com
http://freedecss.50megs.com
http://freemymind.homepage.com
http://freeshell.org/~simm
http://friko6.onet.pl/war/mkochano
http://ftp.yodanet.schwaebischhall. de/pub/DeCSS
http://ftso.org/decss
http://geocities.com/donquix0te
http://geocities.com/dontquit222
http://go.to/decss
http://go.to/nairos_dvd
http://hammer.prohosting.com/~deepbleu http://heavymusic.8m.com
http://heky.org/dc
http://home.att.net/ ~phreakonaleash/ccs_mirror--screw_the_feds
http://home.clara.net/bangor/DeCSS
http://home.cyberarmy.com/drj/DeCSS
http://home.cyberarmy.com/enac/dvden crypt.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~kaos_inc
http://home.earthlink.net/~rocketrob
http://home.earthlink.net/~snagnbytz
http://home.monet.no/~christel/dvd.html
http://home.onestop.net/lakitu/mirror
http://home.pacbell.net/pfconces
http://home.postnet.com/~wsl3/DeCSS
http://home.primus.com.au/ratzmilk
http://home.rmci.net/bert/dvd
http://home.rmci.net/bert/fuckthelawyers
http://home.sol.no/~craphead/DVD
http://home.worldonline.dk/~loadfree/CSS
http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/paul.chan
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~cbunton
http://imezok.tripod.com/Untitled.txt
http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/dvd
http://inferno.tusculum.edu/~neil/decss
http://internettrash.com/users/linuxdvd
http://intfreedom.homepage.com
http://io.spaceports.com/~decss
http://isupport2600.8m.com
http://jackvalenti-ismyhoe.tripod.com
http://jadin.virtualave.net
http://jump.to/decss
http://jupiter.spaceports.com/~decss
http://kb5kjn.karco.org/~alpine/DVD
http://kesagatame.tripod.com
http://kevins.ne.mediaone.net/~kevins/dvd
http://killer.radom.net/~shoggoth/dvd.ht ml
http://linux.uci.agh.edu.pl/~outlaw/ decss.html
http://loogham.2y.net/decss
http://magic.hurrah.com/~fireball/dvd
http://mail.sirak.org
http://matt.frogspace.net/css
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/jwhite80 55/DeCSS
http://members.home.net/dgweb
http://members.hometown. aol.com/_ht_a/MysticJTY/myhomepage
http://members.theglobe.com/Greed yMan/greedy.html
http://members.tripod.co.uk/SneakyBat
http://members.tripod.com/donotsueme
http://members.tripod.com/donquix0te
http://members.tripod.com/ny2600
http://members.tripod.com/r-sobin/dvd
http://members.tripod.com/~Denney/DeCSS
http://members.tripod.com/~baloney97/dvd
http://members.tripod.com/~lucvdb/decs s.html
http://members.tripod.com/~sk8or311
http://members.xoom.com/CaitSith16/DeC SS.htm
http://members.xoom.com/LinuxDVD
http://members.xoom.com/NiKeX
http://members.xoom.com/amateursoft
http://members.xoom.com/arjicle
http://members.xoom.com/chapter3/Mamma No.htm
http://members.xoom.com/freedvdinfo
http://members.xoom.com/get_decss
http://members.xoom.com/iamkeenan/master
http://members.xoom.com/iox
http://members.xoom.com/maud123/Home/C SS.htm
http://members.xoom.com/mogreen/decss
http://members.xoom.com/nyc2600
http://members.xoom.com/phireproof
http://members.xoom.com/s_o_sam/help.html
http://members1.chello.nl/~o.seibert/DeC SS
http://merlinjim.freeservers.com/dvd
http://mikedotd.penguinpowered.com/deccs
http://mikedotd.penguinpowered.com/decss
http://mikepark.org
http://mpaasucks.homepage.com
http://natara.freeservers.com/decss/ decss.html
http://ndez.bizland.com/css-auth
http://neil.gotlinux.org
http://netmanor.iboost.com/zachgoss/s imm.html
http://nomoredvd.tripod.com
http://ny2600.iwarp.com
http://nycsoftware.com/MirrorList.asp
http://osiris.978.org/~brianr/css
http://pages.hotbot.com/arts/weknow
http://pages.hotbot.com/edu/silex/mir ror.html
http://pcmania.bg/9-99/mortyr/_vti_ cnf/_vti_pvt
http://people.mn.mediaone.net/bojay/sl ashdot
http://people.mn.mediaone.net/si mulacrum/decss.htm
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/cy berwave/DeCSS.html
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/dantepsn http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/wtaylo r/decss.html
http://planeta.clix.pt/DJ_AmAzInG/DVD
http://primate.net/DVD
http://pyrrhic.8m.com/DeCSS
http://quintessenz.at/q
http://rha.housing.niu.edu/~davebb/css- auth
http://rlk.ch.utoledo.edu/DVD
http://sadennes.is.dreaming.org/hanadu http://saturate.org/decss.asp
http://saturn.spaceports.com/~brainz/DVD
http://screw_MPAA.tripod.com
http://sektor1.dhs.org/decss.html
http://sites.onlinemac.com/beback
http://sites.uol.com.br/decss
http://smokering.org
http://st-bart.net
http://strange.8k.com
http://stunman.iwarp.com
http://stuweb.ee.mtu.edu/~krcalh oo/DeCSS/DeCSS.htm
http://sweet.as/decss
http://tatooine.fortunecity.com/moorco ck/337
http://telnet.stealth.kirenet.com/~star /dvd
http://the.wiretapped.net/wt/dvd
http://theannux.homestead.com/decss.html
http://thesanitarium.n3.net
http://ts1.online.fr/dvd
http://underground.pl/dvd
http://users.1st.net/roundhere/decss
http://users.1st.net/roundhere/decss /index.htm
http://users.bigpond.net.au/nf/dvd
http://users.pandora.be/glenn.plas/dvd http://vandenborre.org
http://vedaa.tripod.com/decss.html
http://w1.1634.telia.com/~u163400190
http://wakeupthe.net/dvd
http://warpedreality.members.easyspace.c om
http://website.lineone.net/~kellypink/D eCSS
http://werewolf12.cjb.net
http://wildsurge.a2000.nu/decss
http://wiw.org/~drz/css
http://wusn-members.xoom.com/ambisagrus
http://www.19f.org/dvd.html
http://www.2600.org.au/dvd.html
http://www.UnderTheStairs.com
http://www.adulation.net/css
http://www.agybby.com/dvd
http://www.algonet.se/~skeleton/other.ht ml
http://www.alltel.net/~ledwards/css.htm
http://www.amerisuk.com/~carbon/css.html
http://www.angelfire.com/biz5/revblack http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/drug me
http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/acidlocke http://www.angelfire.com/hiphop/rawkus http://www.angelfire.com/in/sight
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/DVDoutrage http://www.angelfire.com/movies/DeCss
http://www.angelfire.com/movies/dvdiss http://www.angelfire.com/movies/mpaasucks
http://www.angelfire.com/nh/panzah
http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/ny2600
http://www.angelfire.com/or2/buzzkill
http://www.angelfire.com/pe/sh3/deccs
http://www.angelfire.com/pokemon/decss http://www.angelfire.com/punk/DeCSS/DeCSS
http://www.angelfire.com/punk/freedom
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/dblagbro
http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/braindamage
http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/winger s/decss.html
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/bigbrother http://www.angelfire .com/wa2/phederalphelony/breakingnews.html
http://www.angelfire.com/wy/leggosfun /dvd.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/yt/mpaasucks
http://www.angelfire.com/zine/DeCSS
http://www.artnotart.com/anne/decss.html
http://www.asleep.net/dvd
http://www.asylum.webprovider.com
http://www.auntfloyd.com/DeCSS
http://www.auracom.com/~rhomac/dvd
http://www.azillionmonkeys.c om/qed/recess_for_css.html
http://www.best.com/~drumz/decss
http://www.bugbbq.org/decss
http://www.capital.net/~mazzic
http://www.charm.net/~dutch
http://www.chello.nl/~f.vanwaveren
http://www.cognitronics-tech.com
http://www.conspiracynow.com/theories/d ecss
http://www.constant.demon.co.uk
http://www.copkiller.org
http://www.corecomm.net/~davebb/css-auth
http://www.corova.com/dvd
http://www.cpinternet.com/~jhanson
http://www.crosswinds.net/oakland/~ahrendt/Lawyers _are_scu m-sucking_pigs [...]
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dvdcrack
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS
http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/~feise/DeCSS
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/dvd.htm
http://www.csl.mtu.edu/~pdl athro/filez/DeCSS/DeCSS.html
http://www.ct2600.org/2600-DVD.html
http://www.cybertrippin.net
http://www.cyperspace.org/~multicom
http://www.december.ndo.co.uk
http://www.deforest.org/CSS
http://www.deprecated.org
http://www.dgw3.com/dvd
http://www.discountwebhost.com/decss
http://www.divisionbyzero.com/decss
http://www.dodgenet.com/~nickz/decss
http://www.ductape.net/~alpha/decss
http://www.duffbrew.com/decss
http://www.execpc.com/~unicorn/dvdmirr or.htm
http://www.firstlight.net/~clarka/decss
http://www.flypop.com
http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscrap er/coax/1107
http://www.fortunecit y.com/skyscraper/motorola/1415/decss.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/vic torian/parkwood/95/DVD
http://www.frankw.net/decss
http://www.free-dvd.org.lu
http://www.freebox.com/zcedri
http://www.freeyellow.com/members8/mpa aidiot
http://www.fsp.com
http://www.futureone.com/~damaged
http://www.geekbits.com/decss
http://www.geocities.com /CollegePark/3807/2600Tribute.html
http://www.geocities.com/Ongakka/rebel. html
http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline /Curb/1232/DeCSS
http://www.geocities.com/Res earchTriangle/Station/2819
http://www.geocities.com/Shapierian
http://www.geocities.com/Silic onValley/Hardware/6188
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconV alley/Modem/4192
http://www.geocities .com/SiliconValley/Ridge/3727/2600/dvd.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Silic onValley/Software/3971
http://www.geocities.com/Silic onValley/Software/8762
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/5258/de css.html
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhi bit/5771/decss
http://www.geocities.com/ SunsetStrip/Underground/3587/dvd
http://www.geocities.com/Ti mesSquare/Dome/4021/dvd.html
http://www.geocities.com/cold_dvd
http://www.geocities.com/corporatemin dcontrol
http://www.geocities.com/dba3297
http://www.geocities.com/decss2
http://www.geocities.com/decss_2000
http://www.geocities.com/decss_forever http://www.geocities.com/decss_mirror
http://www.geocities.com/djph3ad/decss http://www.geocities.com/donquix0te
http://www.geocities.com/duck_ohm
http://www.geocities.com/dvdcracked
http://www.geocities.com/dvdfightback
http://www.geocities.com/dvdrevolution http://www.geocities.com/dvdsuit/dvd
http://www.geocities.com/dvdthings
http://www.geocities.com/epoxy_css
http://www.geocities.com/fairusedecss
http://www.geocities.com/fr33dvd
http://www.geocities.com/getyourdvd
http://www.geocities.com/ghaniali
http://www.geocities.com/iwantdvd
http://www.geocities.com/k4dwi/dvd
http://www.geocities.com/k4wi/dvd
http://www.geocities.com/ma dasian2000/decss_mirror.html
http://www.geocities.com/mastaflame
http://www.geocities.com/meluchwj
http://www.geocities.com/mydefiance
http://www.geocities.com/necready433
http://www.geocities.com/necready433/dvd
http://www.geocities.com/neurosis_dvd
http://www.geocities.com/opendvdecss
http://www.geocities. com/siliconvalley/computer/2303/DVD.html
http://www.geocities.com/soho/studios/67 52
http://www.geocities.com/solidex
http://www.geocities.com/verruktesten
http://www.geocities.com/warrdragon_2000
http://www.geocities.com/watice2
http://www.geocities.com/whackmol
http://www.geocities.com/xtridzz
http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~awirth1/decss
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~castongj
http://www.hackunlimited.com/dvd
http://www.hakor.com/DVD
http://www.hellnet.org.uk/decss.htm
http://www.hobbiton.org/~tpm
http://www.hote.qc.ca/dvd
http://www.hotsoupmedia.com/decss
http://www.idrive.com/decss/web
http://www.iinet.net.au/~matlhdam/DeCSS
http://www.image.dk/~mbp
http://www.imsoelite.com/dvd
http://www.infa.abo.fi/~raine/pub/ software/DeCSS
http://www.ironbrick.com/decss
http://www.ismokecrack.com
http://www.jabberwocky.eyep.net/decss.ht ml
http://www.k4dwi.net/dvd
http://www.kentroad.demon.co.uk/decss
http://www.kiss.uni-lj.si/~k4ef1890/css
http://www.kki.net.pl/~rsr66/css
http://www.koek.net/dvd
http://www.krackdown.com/decss
http://www.lemuria.org/DeCSS
http://www.lifesolo.com/bin
http://www.linuxnerd.net/decss
http://www.linuxstart.com/~kv ance/projects/decss.html
http://www.linuxstart.com/~sys_admin
http://www.lockpicking.nl/decss
http://www.mafkees.com/dvd
http://www.mayday2000.org.uk/decss.htm http://www.members.tripod.com/dkdecss
http://www.mindspring.com/~coueys
http://www.mindspring.com/~stonethrower
http://www.multimania.com/sxpert/decss http://www.mykle.com/DVD
http://www.myshed.net/dvd
http://www.nacs.net/~vodak/dvd
http://www.netby.net/Oest/Hva lfiskegade/jana/css.html
http://www.netspace.net.au/~gromit
http://www.networksplus.net/blogg
http://www.neurosis.org/dvd
http://www.nsnva.pvt.k12.va.us/~abc
http://www.ntsmedia.com/decss
http://www.nvhs.nl/decss
http://www.nwu.edu/people/ldb/decss.html
http://www.oblivion.net/~amar/css
http ://www.oksanen.net/ville/this_is/under/Finnish/jur isdiction/otherstuff.htm
http://www.olen.net/deCSS
http://www.oz.net/~tvaughan
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~jer24
http://www.penismightier.com/weisha upt/dvd.html
http://www.pepper-land.net
http://www.philter.com/DVD
http://www.pippy.itgo.com
http://www.posexperts.com.pl/people /wrobell/css
http://www.projectbullshit.com/decss.html
http://www.projectgamma.com/deccs
http://www.qix.net/~pheonix/decss.html http://www.ratol.fi/~asiipola
http://www.reapers.org
http://www.redgnatt.homestead.com
http://www.redrival.com/chimx/computer s.html
http://www.robotslave.net
http://www.rpi.edu/~jettea/dvd.html
http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~marsie http://www.scwc.net/DeCSS
http://www.sealteamsix.com/phagan
http://www.sk3tch.com/freedecss
http://www.smackfu.com/decss
http://www.spin.ch/~rca/decss
http://www.stanford.edu/~drumz/decss
http://www.stupendous.org
http://www.subcor.com
http://www.swcp.com/~ampere
http://www.tar.hu/decss
http://www.teamnismo.com/2600
http://www.underwhelm.org/decss
http://www.users.on.net/johnm/DeCSS
http://www.uwm.edu/~zachkarp
http://www.vent-soft.com/dvd
http://www.vexed.net/CSS
http://www.visi.com/~adept/liberty
http://www.vulgar.net/dvd
http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~echerry/dvd
http://www.webnx.com/tuna
http://www.webzsite.com/decss
http://www.wizardworkshop.com
http://www.wolfpaw.net/~decss
http://www.worldcity.nl/~frank/dvd
http://www.wwcn.org/~grit/free
http://www.xs4all.nl/~oracle/dvd
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rasch/dvd
http://www.zeal.net/~pyro/DeCSS
http://www.zip.com.au/~zzz/dvd
http://www.zone.ee/DeCSS
http://www3.50megs.com/dvd4free

This announcement brought to you by the DeCSS Polar Bear.

Re:Janet vs the World? Hardly.

[divec]

9.2 seems incredibly sweeping. If I put up a research paper showing that racism is endemic in the police, that will cause annoyance and inconvenience [to the police]. If 9.2 is enforced properly, JANET should be sued for misrepresenting itself as a network suitable for sharing academic information. As for "needless anxiety", who is to say what "needless" is? This website has illustrated an important point so I would say it was arguable whether the anxiety was needless.

Hmmm, it pisses me off that Oxford has a women-only college. There must be many people like me who find that annoying. So their website is "likely to cause annoyance" and should be yanked under 9.2.

Re:As a former Oxford student...

[MROD]

I'm sorry you feel that way about Oxford in general.

As a sysadmin at one of the science departments here at Oxford I can say that not all the people in the University should be tarred with the same brush.

Knowing the way the University works, it's probable that the decision to pull the page was probably made at the Proctor's office level and not at the OUCS (Computing Services) level.

I cannot talk for the people in the Computing Laboratories (CompSci department) but there ARE some really knowledgable and on-the-ball hackers (original meaning) running computers around the University.. and their average age is WELL below the 65 you state.

Myself, I would have tried to explain the technicalities to the powers that be.. however, in the end if this had happened within our department I would probably have had to bow to the pressure also.

I'm not saying that the student was right or wrong in putting the page up as he did, but every person who gets an account on any system within the University has to sign an agreement that includes the proviso to remove any service pending an investigation.

All this sort of stuff is new territory for everyone and there seems to be a great worry over setting the wrong president for the future.

Stephen Usher

(Note, I'm speaking for myself and not for the Department of Earth Sciences or the University of Oxford in any official manner. These are my opinions and mine alone.)

PS. What's wrong with Solaris or any other UNIX type OS for servers in a university? (Oh dear, I can hear those flame burners being lit as I type.. :-))

Look before you pull

[grahammm]

Shouldn't the university have looked at the page (which would take no more than 30s) before spending much administration and legal time on the matter?

Universities

[yonderboy]

As a person who studys at and works for a university, I can say that Oxford did the right thing. As it is, universities don't have all that much money, especially for lawyers. This also has nothing to do with censorship. The university owns the machines. The students don't pay for their access. When you get your account, you sign an agreement saying that you give the university the right to your data, especially if they're getting sued over it.

Re:Universities

[MillMan]

I hate to break it to you, but universities have always been this way. The institution was never radical, it was always the students. Whenever you see footage of protests from the 60's or today, they usually occured in direct opposition to the demands of the management (whatever they're called at your local U) of the school.

Universities are pretty passive when it comes to defending freedoms...it's a never ending tug of war, really. Thats why people need to stay active: institutions are never going to keep us on track. They'll cave in to corporate and government demands without students yelling and screaming. The university I just gradauted from did this kind of thing ALL the time. Corporations have been really increasing their presence on campus, from the corporation funded research lab to the coke contract for all soft drinks on campus (I want my mountain dew, god damn it).

Re:Universities

[gilroy]

Quoth the poster:

To my way of thinking anything that gets me involved with Lawyers and the college bureacracy more than necessary falls under that category

Which simply underscores that many people working at universities are, sadly, unaware of issues of academic or social freedom. He posted a "spoof" -- a parody, a "a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule" (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary). I suppose I can't comment on UK free speech laws, but in the US, parodies are protected.

If you don't think that the parody could serve a legitimate purpose as social commentary, consider the agitation it caused in this case.

This trouble isn't "unnecessary", unless you feel that the student's right to free speech is "unnecessary". I'm sorry, but the student's web site was legitimate and any trouble you'd have with the lawyers or the college bureaucracy would have been part of your job.

I wouldn't have been so surprised or even incensed if this had been a corporate site. We expect that kind of reasoning in the Corporate World. I had hoped a university -- especially one as venerable as Oxford -- would see matters more clearly. Sadly, the business of higher education is becoming business.

Re:Universities

[dieman]

Two issues here:

A) a univ. just said "yeah, even though its not it, We dont care, free flow of information means shit to us! We just dont want your corp lawyer dogs coming at us!" What kind of implications does this have in the future for them kind of scares me.

B) the data was not illegal or anything

This is censorship via corp. strongarming. I think people who value their data in public access on these systems should *move* immedately to ensure that the freedom of their information is continued.

UK vs USA

[roman_mir]

British are basically scared of litigation. Unlike the USA the rest of the world is not as used to court rooms. It seems that the USA is one large court room where the plaintiffs and defendents are constantly rotated. It also seems that all this is done for only two reasons: 1.To enrich the lawyers; 2.To enterntain the public.

However, this does not mean that the truth always wins in US courts. Remember O.J. Simpson? On the other hand the cases sometimes are simply ridiculous, remember Monica vs Clinton?

So, I would say, the rest of the capitalist world outside the USA is scared of the USA litigation system, and the non-capitalist countries either simply ignore the USA rules or suffer from it without even being given a chance to defend themselves.

Re:What a stupid thing to do

[niagaracyber]

Sorry, but given the whole tense legal situation around the DeCSS fiasco at the moment, what was he thinking about doing this? Yeah sure it wasn't *real*, but anyone who thought about it for half a second would have realised that this would cause him trouble, real or not.

Right. Don't cause trouble. Don't make waves. The lawyers know best.

The major corporations are going to try to take a yard for every inch legislatures give them in the narrowing of civil liberties. The time to fight them is now, not when you're allowed only to post about what you did last summer and what brand of breakfast cereal you happen to like. [Sounds depressingly like an AOL chat room, doesn't it?]

Many university administrators are gutless wonders, although some were professors, and I would have hoped that someone at Oxford would have asked questions first and shot later.

Dave

DeCSS Napster and the DMCA

[Adam Selene]

Now, I KNOW this isn't the US - BUT, one of the interesting things I see is that to have the site pulled under the DMCA, they have to swear, under the penality of purgery, that a copyright violation has occured.

Maybe, we can bring a class action lawsuit against RIAA/MPAA for violating the DMCA - I'm sure some US lawyer would LOVE to get hold of some of their money

Re:Free Speech at Universities

[gilroy]

Quoth the poster:

That may not make most people happy,

It's not about making people happy -- slashdotters or lawyers -- it's about doing what is right

but it would certainly keep them out of legal hot water.

As if that were a good thing?? They were being bullied by a lawyer and they rolled over. Guess what happens now? They get bullied by even more lawyers, for even less grounds.

Earlier, the poster said:

I don't think that the administration should be under any imperative to check up on allegations before they act.

This position is particularly untenable considering how easy it would have been to check ... thirty seconds, tops. Of course, then you'd have to stand up to the lawyers and actually defend a person entitled to your defense.

But even if it were difficult, the university should have checked first. A university is a privileged place. Part of the price is a larger responsibility to speak out, to defend the free flow of ideas, to resist conformity pressures. Sadly most universities fail to see this, but it's true nonetheless.

I would have thought that Oxford was more than a vocational school focused only on the bottom line. I would have thought that a venerable institution like that, having fought hard for its liberties and rights, would stand up to penny-ante scare tactics and drawn a line in the sand. I guess I was wrong.

A way to manipulate Oxford University

[divec]

Cool, somebody in Oxford put a page up saying "Oxford is better than Cambridge", and I'll send a faked letter, supposedly from the University of Cambridge, threatening to sue for defamation. Then let's see if they remove from their website all claims that they are any good at all.

American law doesn't apply in the UK

[divec]

The MPAA were quite right to ask for this page to be removed from Oxford's servers.

What law would you say it could possibly violate? Remember we don't have things like UCITA and DCMA here [yet].

Remember what that lawyer tried so hard to get Ali G to understand. "American law doesn't apply in the UK. You can't *ever* ``plead the fifth'' here!"

Re:The Uni acted correctly though could have been

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure, the University doesn't want to get involved in a costly legal battle, *if* MPAA has a case. But, in this case, there is no case; the student hadn't posted what MPAA claimed he'd posted.

Now Oxford has bigger problems:
1) They have presented themselves as buckling under easily to legal bullies, and so there are likely to be more legal bullies in the wings.

2) They have presented themselves as not respecting freedom of speech. (The material the student posted was the spoof code that was designed to thumb its nose at the MPAA in protest of its activities.) This is not good for PR, not good for admissions, not good for fundraising.

Nobody wants to see Oxford dragged in to court against the MPAA.. I've been in this position myself so I know it ain't pleasant - or cheap... but, my god, if you didn't even do anything....

Janet vs the World? Hardly.

[Unfallen]

Just had a look at the JaNET (the UK Uni thing) policy over at http://www.ja.net/documents/use.html which says:

"9.2. the creation or transmission of material which is designed or likely to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;"

and then

"9.4. the transmission of material such that this infringes the copyright of another person;"

Obviously there's no copyright infringement with a CSS-removal program, so 9.4 doesn't apply. But, to Oxford Uni's credit, rule 9.2 handily steps in and covers any other eventuality possible, including this one...
Winner: JaNET, MPAA, Oxford Uni, et al.

I guess a protest or petition outside a library would be fine (see enough of 'em...), but take the argument to a new, under-understood electronic forum, and you can't do a thing. Freedom of speech appears to be a myth.
Still, with all these rules as to how we can speak, maybe an AI English-Language Finite State Machine is just around the corner....

Re:Free Speech at Universities - Oxford and UK law

[tkb]

Extract from Oxford University's Code of Practice regarding freedom of speech (adopted by Council in 1987):

1. General duty to uphold freedom of speech
Members, students, and employees of the University are bound at all times so to conduct themselves as to ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured for members, students, and employees of the University and for visiting speakers.

However, the Code does seem primarily concerned with visiting speakers rather than publication (and predates the popularity of the Web by some years). And if exercising this freedom is outside the scope of academic activity, then the expenses incurred are the responsibility of the person organising the speech, meeting etc. - not (in general) the University.

The 1986 Education Act protects (in the UK) freedom of speech and assembly within universities. However, Geoffrey Robertson QC (a distinguished UK human rights lawyer) comments that this was introduced by the government of the day because several of its own members had been prevented from speaking at universities by demonstrations (or the fear of demonstrations) against their policies.

A letter to Mr. Alan Gay

[Sara Chan]

I've sent the following letter to alan@ermine.ox.ac.uk, and CC'd a newspaper.

__________________________________________

Dear Mr. Gay,

This letter concerns OUCS's reaction to the complaints of the Motion Picture Association of America about DeCSS. As I understand it, (i) the MPAA has claimed that DeCSS is used to copy DVDs, (ii) a web site at Oxford University contained a link to a copy of DeCSS, and (iii) OUCS has forced the removal of that site.

There are three points that I hope you will be willing to consider.

First, please look at this simple example of some encrypted information: NbszIbeBMjuumfMbnc. In this case, by shifting each letter one to the left, we can easily decrypt the information: MaryHadALittleLamb. Notice, though, that "NbszIbeBMjuumfMbnc" can be copied (by hand, by computer, by whatever) just as easily as "MaryHadALittleLamb". So encryption does not provide any protection from copying. The information stored on DVDs (i.e. movies) is encrypted, but as with "NbszIbeBMjuumfMbnc", this encryption does not provide protection against copying. DeCSS does essentially one thing: it decrypts the information stored on DVDs. Hence DeCSS does not do anything that that aids in copying DVDs.

Second, you might well ask, "If the above is true, then why is the MPAA so upset?" The answer is that the MPAA does have a use for encryption: to collect extra money, in a way that is not easily visible to the consumer. Because DVDs are encrypted, each DVD player must include some decryption software. Currently, every DVD player uses decryption software that is sourced from the MPAA. The MPAA charges a fee for each copy of this software. Consumers just pay for the DVD player, but (unbeknownst to them) the player manufacturer pays a fee to the MPAA for each player sold. If DeCSS becomes widely used, then the MPAA will no longer collect those fees. The MPAA cannot copyright their own decryption algorithm, because algorithms cannot be copyrighted. So they choose to obfuscate, intimidate, and lie.

Third, this is more than just a "game", as you allege in your message to ox.talk of 2000-05-18. The purpose of DVD encryption is to get extra money from consumers. This may or may not be ethical (I would argue that it is not). But it is surely unethical for the MPAA to allege that their actions are to prevent copying. The purpose of the web site was to protest against such allegations. The actions of OUCS thus amount to disallowing a reasonable, and legal (as you can verify), protest against corporate disingenuity and to accepting the profit-motivated obfuscations, intimidations, and lies of the MPAA. Do you believe that these are reasonable actions?

Sara Chan

__________________________________________

liberalism n. The use of compassionate rhetoric for authoritarian ends.

Oxford did absolutely the Wrong Thing

[Chagrin]

I can understand the administrative hassles in ensuring that your network is free of illegal materials, and for this I hold nothing against Oxford University in originally removing the spoof "decss" software. I would have done exactly the same thing (although I believe I would have taken the time to look at the archive before deleting it).

However, once the fact comes to light that this software is indeed NOT illegal, the site should have been immediately put back into place. Oxford has nothing to gain by extending this mistake.

Finally, Oxford backs up its decision with a terrible reason: "We're in the business of education, not controversy". Baloney! Controversy is education. This particular issue could be discussed for hours in curriculums dealing with journalistic, legal, or computer science and reveal a great deal of information that must be considered when engaged in any profession of these and many other areas.

As for Oxford's legal costs, they would never become an issue if they would stop and prove to litigants like the MPAA that they understand and know these types of cases are frivilous and won't stand up in court. To do anything less puts you in the path of being continually pushed around.

What a wonderful precedent, Oxford.

I find this fascinating...

[fluxrad]

first off. anyone remember what that last A stands for in the 'MPAA'??? I just....can't...seem...to...remember...

Secondly. I sort of disagree with the article on the whole topic of universities being our last bastion of freedom. Look at napster. Universities were some of the first institutions to ban it. Look at the mid 30's. Universities in germany were sponsoring book burnings even before Hitler came to absolute power. To say defending a University just because it's a school or some such argument is sort of, well, dogmatic. The key thing to remember is the phrase "give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile." If the MPAA is going to start screwing with anyone and everyone who writes about DeCSS (Ironic that it wasn't even reverse engineered in the states), then anyone and everyone needs to fight the MPAA, and the DMCA, and any other law or organization that aims to take away rights which we feel are worth fighting for. If you let these kinds of acts go unnoticed when they're against "small" people - like joe user on the internet, then the crap that goes on at Oxford, or anywhere else for that matter, is moot.


FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network