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Emmanuel Goldstein Profiled
Danny Ra sent us a link to a really interesting story about 2600's Emmanuel Goldstein. It's mostly about him, and his involvement with the recent DeCSS hoopla, and it's definitely worth a read since his case stands to change the face of the Net. The worst case scenario is of course the banning of links.
Ah for the days if 8-bit Adventure!
but as much as i dont like the guy, he needs to be given credit where its due. He has the balls to stand up to the MPAA and fight for the rights of all DeCSS users. Plus he's taken on the SS, the FBI, the court system, etc etc. Part of me thinks of him as a media whore, but yet he still has done alot to contribute to the electronic community and protect us from the bass-ackwards view that the media and society has on 'hackers'.
"sex on tv is bad, you might fall off..."
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
Apart from the fact that it is completely futile to ban links, its probably time for a website to host a links database - just thousands and thousands of URLs, anyone can submit a link,no testing would be done to even ensure it was a link. then instead of saying `get your decss source here` you`d say `check out link #139523 from the links site`. the site would be mirrored, and you could submit the same site multiple times.
Anyone see any problems with this? It could be mirrored easily, would compress reasonably well, and i cant see how it could be the subject of a legal threat. `Your honour, we found the defendant openly passing on a single, 32-bit number!`
I think you mean "1984", there was no Goldstein in "Catcher in the Rye". That was Holden Caulfield.
Thanks mate, upgrading my threshold now :(
Bizar technology?
> When will you people realize that it is all about page impressions? The slogan should be "Page Impressions from Nerds.
>Advertising Revenue Matters."
You're so right! And to double the add revenues, just post some stories twice! But you've to becareful with that trick, it's better to wait a few days before reposting the same story.
Personally, what I would do would be to put 2600 in the hands of someone else, much as Bill Gates did with Microsoft. He can still be as involved with the magazine itself, just not fiscally.
I may be completely wrong about all this since I am not a politician, lawyer, accountant, or some other form of scumbag. :o)
Mas vale cholo, que mal acompañado.
This is the first story I've read about this since the decision. I must say I'm very glad to see it. I was beginning to wonder if the appeal was going to happen or not. I'm also extremely happy that someone like Mr. Corely is willing to actually go to court to back up what he believes in. Would I have the guts to do the same if I were in his position? I don't know. I would hope so, but you just never know until you're actually in the situation.
Side note: Anyone else find it ironic (or maybe just an odd coincidence) that the author of this article's name is just a couple of letters off from that of the friend-to-artists-and-consumers-alike Hillary Rosen?
Free Hans!
It begins It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
The text is here Try reading it to find out the difference betweem Smith and Goldstein
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF
OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM
by
Emmanuel Goldstein
Winston began reading:
Chapter I
Ignorance is Strength
So Winston Smith, you will agree is the better name to assume
Another ONtopic comment here
Read the deposition here.
Also, it seems this guy is just doing it for a laugh, trying to become famous in some high level law case. I'd bet quite a bit of money on him not winning - I'd say he has no chance. Still, only in America...
Freedom of speech and freedom to do what the hell you want (which is basically what he stands for), is all very well, but the film makers have to have some rights too - i.e. to make money from their efforts, and not be ripped off by crackers trying to make a swift profit out of piracy.
Just my 2-penny's worth...
Yet he refuses to give up.
Aside from owing 8 million dollars and change for court costs on the side of the MPAA, what else is going to happen to him? I some how doubt that the couch change of a community of hackers is going to do much good - and the EFF certainly doesn't have that kind of money.
I don't know... his situation seems pretty shitty to me - these massive risks, the uphill battle. Should those who feel threatened by the MPAA find a different strategy to beat the nasty licensing (and other various attrocities) that the MPAA are looking to impose?
Whew! For half a second, I thought the article was written by Hillary *Rosen*... then I stopped hearing Twilight Zone music and learned to read.
Is today Monday? anywhere? It sure feels like it.
Eric
The "defendant" isn't just passing a single number--he's not just saying "42," he's saying "link 42 on the links page" or somesuch.
I'd bet five bits the court would find a links page legally equivalent to a direct link... and the rest of us would find it a waste of time.
The worst case scenario is of course the banning of links.
You mean the banning of links to illegal material.
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
-- Yes, I'm an utter fool.
Linking is transitive...that's the whole point of the Web. If it is illegal to link to illegal material, then the page that contains that link is itself illegal material, and any pages that link to it, and any pages that link to those pages, and so on.
I enjoy listening to Off the Hook since Emmanuel goes on some rant on how a vending machine ripped him off, and for that he thinks there's some huge corporate conspiracy against him to take his 65 cents away.
He's a high-tech andy rooney. For once I just wish he would tell Rich the Rebel to go screw off for once, when he calls up(which is on every show, first time. he's OTH's own troll) and discovers if you press so-and-so buttons on a payhpone, you get this and that operator.
...and I was hoping for an Emmanuel Lewis profile! (as small as it might be :) )
-k
Don't we already have that? It's called a search engine. If I want to provide a link to something, I just say take a look at entry number 4 on this page
For some reason, the line "Hope lies in the proles" seems terribly ironic to me right now, especially taken in the context of (basically) an entire internet community doing absolutely nothing to change their situation.
Ummm... yeah it is. The presedence set here is not just that you are responsible to what you link to, but are responsible to what is linked to from that site as well. And on and on. By creating one link, you become responsible for the entire content of the internet. Now, while this may not be strictly enforced (when's the last time someone *really* got busted strictly for giving their friend a copy of a video game?), it is one more charge they (the immortal them... one day I'll find out who they are) can bring against you when they suddenly decide they don't like you. In colleges, something along these lines can be used to deny someone net access, or even computer access entirely. Besides... I should be able to play DVD's on a toaster if I own the disc and the toaster (I heard that somewhere...)
The Sacred Chao says, "MU".
I run a Website.
One of the pages on my site contains the full text of the Bill of Rights.
Fifty other sites link to that page.
I post DeCSS on that page.
Through no fault of their own, fifty people are now in violation of some ridiculous law.
Browser? I barely know her!
http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~ cud igest/CUDS3/cud337.txt
is of course the banning of links.
NOO! Links is my favorite web browser!
Can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of Emmanuel Goldsteins?
"I am a cipher, a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce" -Jimmy James
TIA for the +5 Informative score which this comment will no doubt garner.
props to all dead homiez
"The worst case scenario is of course the banning of links. "
Dear God! Slashdot might actually have to do some writing of its own then! That would be disastrous!
If 2600 offered a DVD of the Valenti deposition, I'd buy one. And I don't even own a DVD player.
"a program called DeCSS, which disables the Content Scramble System (CSS) that prevents consumers from making copies of DVDs."
*sigh*
will they *ever* get the idea? you can copy DVDs just fine without DeCSS - it is not removing copy protection, it is removing WATCH protection.
--
-=DaveHowe=-
I remember the days when Emmanuel used to hang in #hack on efnet and argue with kiddies all day about how he was elite - apparently because he had nothing better to do. This is a guy who has profited from teenage kids writing articles for him for free, in exchange for their chance to be in "2600" ooooh wow, 2600. 2600 was lame back in 93, and its even lamer today because its politically focused and imo slaps the real hacker community in the face. I can't see any legitimate hacker reading 2600 and not laughing his ass off. Emmanuel Goldstein isn't even his real name. He is the epitome of poser.
Violate propriety
We should all just go back to Gopher, and declare EVERYTHING in all of the standard to be public domain, so no one could patent 'one click' this or 'linking' that or such... it'd be great! besides, all of the sites would be perfectly usable from an 80x25 text mode shell!
IBM had PL/1, with syntax worse than JOSS,
And everywhere the language went, it was a total loss...
Yuck, I followed the link, silly me. I think I need a shower. Too bad I'm at work. Ai! Dame desu yo! Interrobang 1/2, waiting for a kettle of hot water
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
...because Winston Smith's already been taken...probably before Corley was ever Emmanuel. See either your old Dead Kennedys album covers, or http://www.winstonsmith.com .
AND...if you'd actually read the book beyond the first chapter, you'd know that Goldstein is the amicus hostis of the 1984 world. Does he even exist? I'm not even sure Eric Blair knew.
Eric Corley is also an amicus hostis and I think he's even admitted it. Either way, it's a slippery political position, and sure to get you spat on from several directions. Lots of people love him, lots of people hate him, and even more people pay close attention to what he does. I think that was always the point.
Winston Smith (as even the real Winston will tell you if you ask) is just a dupe of the State. I don't think Corley wants to be there.
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
Hopefully I didn't put any [] around my words.