Fair Use Computer Game

mpawlo writes "As reported by Greplaw, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) together with Privacyactivism has released an interactive video game designed to educate players about their privacy and fair use rights. The game is focused on digital rights management technologies, online spyware, and data profiling servers. We have seen similar games in Sweden from the Anti-piracy Bureau and Flash movies from BSA in the US, however striking a different tune. Play Carabella." Cute idea.

Comments

a video game teaching you about privacy?

[RogueProtoKol]

a Q3 or UT mod would of been more popular

just imagine, running around fragging bots called B3D and the other spyware/adware etc... stuff, now that IMHO would be fun :)

Lessons learned

[juliao]

Having played the game, here is what I learned:

Don't look for music online, unless you're willing to obtain it illegally.

The best place to legally buy music is still a record shop.

Import albums give you more rights than most US releases.

Summing it up, if you want your rights back, stay offline and move abroad.

Re:Lessons learned

[skotte]

yeah, thats what i got too. i 'played' all branches of possibility (i'm bored, wot of it?) and the highest 'scaore' i got was fFrom buying the CD in store. a point to not take lightly kids.

maybe this will get trolled down., but here's my viewpoint: if you like a band, go buy their fFriggin CD. i have a couple fFriends who insist it is a poliical stance to buy or not buy, and will give some lengthy debate on which CDs should be purchased. but they tend tomiss the one big point. you arent just lining the pockets of the RIAA. you are supporting somehing you like. you are paying the guy behind the counter (who is probably just a fFinancially instable kid like you).

plus, as our girl carabella fFound out, P2P is time consuming! so it's not really fFree, is it?

ok, i'm done. don't [troll] me, please.

Re:Lessons learned

[Enry]

But the first batch of protected CDs were from outside the US. Which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Re:Lessons learned

[Erasmus Darwin]

"Don't look for music online, unless you're willing to obtain it illegally."

Call me crazy, but I was under the impression that just as you can find both legally and illegally distributed software online and just as you can find both legally and illegally distributed books online, you can find both legally and illegally distributed music online.

Mp3.com comes to mind as a place where you can download legally distributed music for free. Emusic.com appears to be legally distributing mp3s for a fee.

I'm sure the music traded on venues such as Kazaa or IRC is more likely to be illegally distributed, but to characterize all online music as being illegal is absurd.

The Game..

[dcavens]

First off, it's a pretty sad game. Basically propaganda.

Would anyone actually 'play' this who wasn't interested already to know the entire content of the game?

Content of the Game:

• Buying CDs allows you to have fair use rights.
  
• Buying Copyrighted CDs takes away those rights.
  
• Downloading MP3s preserves those rights, but may involve copyright violations.
  
• Kazaa is not very nice.
  

That's about the extent of the game.

Why not just send out a press release?

you can't get 100%

[xQx]

It's impossable.
If you use any of their listed p2p networks you pirate music and loose privacy.
If you subscribe you don't get your mp3 player working.
If you go out and buy the non-copyprotected CD, you loose money, thus points.

That game sucks. ... Did I mention flash was evil? :)

Still, It's good to raise awareness. See if I can head off a few "snowball fight" emails by replying with a url to this page and a "if you forward it to 10 people in the next 20 mins something funny will pop up on your screen. I don't know how" message. That should inform the people in need :)

Re:you can't get 100%

[Stipe]

More to the point, the only way I can see of getting 100% by their rating system is to not spend any money. If the record store had sold a non copy protected CD at a reasonable price, (which to my mind is the best solution, if available), the score would be 92: 100-8 for spending money.

Does the EFF think that you should be able to obtain artist's work and not pay any money?

About the BSA one...

[John Pfeiffer]

Okay, I know the story was about the EFF's cute little game, but after watching that BSA thing, I have something I need to say about them, and [graphics] software in general.

First off, */sarcasm* you have no idea how many software packages I've paid for with money I picked up while on a quest, inside my computer, to destroy an evil virus. */sarcasm* ;)

Now, seriously. Why is every useful piece of graphics software like $500 and up? Your average private individual who may want such software, because of an interest in a particular profession, isn't likely to be able to afford it.

For instance, for the budding computer animator. There are only two real choices, Newtek's Lightwave 3D, and Alias|Wavefront's Maya (I don't much like the software personally, but it too is worth a mention because they do TWO things right).

Both companies just drastically lowered the prices on the packages, making them MUCH more accessible (They're still really expensive, but when you think about how much an animator can make WITH it, you can understand).

Why aren't more companies doing that? I mean, only professionals can afford the software (And they WILL buy EVERY version, WHEN it comes out), but to become a professional, you have to know the software, and probably have already done some work with it.

I think more companies should do things like release learning editions of their software (Like A|W), so that people who can't afford the software can atleast gain valuable experience that could help them get somewhere in their chosen profession (Which would in turn mean they could probably afford the software!), the other option is to lower the prices drastically. (which I can't really see any of the other companies doing...)

Now, to handle as many of the obvious replies as I could think of...

Q. You keep talking about experience, why not go to school for it?

A. Uhm, we're talking about not being able to afford software, so you suggest some kind of higher education? And what if the person is say, still in high school?

Q. What about academic versions of software?

A. Oh /god/ did I think of that! I mean, come on! When Lightwave was still $2500, you could get an academic copy for $900... Unfortunately, I don't even know anyone who is IN school.

Q. Get a job hippie!!

A. Okay, that's not EVEN a question. And, I have one. Also, I am not a hippie.

Q. Well, if you have a job, why aren't you saving up to buy your software?

A. I do, I have, I will probably continue to do so until my demise. Thankfully, I was not speaking for myself (not anymore anyway). I was speaking, once again, in general. Some of the greatest minds of our generation are flipping burgers in some McHell(TM) somewhere (or working some equally crappy job). Do you really see someone in such a job (or two, for that matter) being able to save up for such software (realistically. I don't mean over the course of several millenia)? Oh darn. And that one was the next George Lucas...

In closing:
I'm actually lucky enough to have managed (Through several arcane rituals, human sacrifices, and a connection), to get a job that allows me to afford my software, (even Lightwave! Although it took saving for a couple versions AND the price drop), but most aren't as fortunate (ESPECIALLY aspiring artists!).

If companies such as Adobe (And Newtek still, despite their already incredible price drops.) lowered their prices to something more affordable to the average up-and-coming, their userbase would be that much bigger, because those same people who would otherwise either pirate the software, or simply be screwed, are now part of the userbase!

Of all the things in the world, I think human creativity is one of the most valuable. It would be nice if the companies that supply this generation's paintbrushes felt the same way.

I've never seen anything modded 'insane rantings' before... Let's see if I can make /. history.

This ofcourse is all my subjective opinion, and it probably has little-to-no basis in what the rest of you like to call 'reality'.

Well, that's fine.
I don't work with reality.

Re:great

[mOdQuArK!]

Shouldn't children be taught to make up their own minds...

Up to a certain age (actual age determined by "maturity" level), most children don't really want to make up their own minds - they want their parents/guardians to tell them what's wrong & right. That gives them a moral base which they can incrementally adjust as they get more life experience.

It's not too hard to imagine a kid raised by someone who _really_ let the kid "make up his/her own mind". The term "spoiled brat" comes to mind.

Buy at Concert?

[Matthew Weigel]

Go to a concert, enjoy the artist, buy the album right there. The CDs can be cheaper, they provide instant gratification, they are anonymous with cash (and mostly, they don't accept credit card), and generally more money goes to the artist because of the fewer middle men.

Oh yeah, and you get to go to a concert, which is usually a better experience than just listening to the CD. Unless it's one of these bands/people that didn't start off playing clubs and such, but jumped into a studio....

Live music is where you get the most entertainment, and the artist gets the most money.