RIAA nominated for "Internet Villain of the Year"

Joey Patterson writes "Slyck reports that the UK's Internet Industry Awards organization has nominated the RIAA for its Internet Villain of the Year award because they support "'right to hack' proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse"." Congratulations to them on being nominated for this prestigious and appropriate award ;)

Comments

This is getting silly

[unterderbrucke]

Does everyone really think the RIAA is evil for not letting people get away with piracy, or is this just the usual wanky groupthink?

Re:This is getting silly

[SoCalChris]

Does everyone really think the RIAA is evil for not letting people get away with piracy, or is this just the usual wanky groupthink?

Ok, I'll bite and reply to the troll...

Piracy is wrong. I agree with them on that. But trying to get legislation passed that would allow you to hack, cripple, and even disable networks and computers that you just think might have copyrighted material on them is worse than piracy in my opinion.

By your (And the RIAA's) logic, since I own the copyright on this post, and I'm pretty sure it is on your computer since you are probably reading it, I should now be legally allowed to hack your computer and bring it down because you have my copyrighted material on your computer. See why we don't like the RIAA now?

Re:This is getting silly

[VistaBoy]

The RIAA is evil because they buy senators and use them to buy laws that restrict our fundamental freedoms like the Fair Use of copyright law. Also, their copy-protected CDs crashed many machines, and destroyed the firmware on many drives. To add to this, the RIAA is NOW trying to get DRM into every media device and is trying to get laws passed that allow them to hack and DoS your computer so that they can keep you from "pirating" their music. Also, let's not forget their journalistic bullshit, like claiming that 4x CD burners are the equivalent of 4 CD burners.

Re:This is getting silly

[smack_attack]

That WTC submission to CNN listed as your website has me laughing hard. Thanks.

Re:This is getting silly

[SlowMovingTarget]

Pardon me for speaking for many on /. but:

We don't think they're evil, we think they are greedy. Most of the RIAA's actions toward computer and consumer electronics technology have been driven by a desire to control their customers. Many of the industry's business plans were built around locking in customers to pay-per-use media distribution schemes or straight CD sales.

Recently, they've tumbled to the fact that campaign contributions can cause legislation to skew in their favor. They've "requested" laws that make fair use illegal, and require that disabling technologies be embedded in any consumer device. Essentially, they've asked the U.S. government to create a "safe" market for them.

There's a precendent for this: RCA attacking, then coopting the whole television thing out from under Farnsworth (television's inventor).

The RIAA's actions do little to prevent piracy. For example, the measures asked for only apply to the U.S. electronics market, and the most serious piracy happens overseas, in China. China's suppliers will not manufacture devices for that market that include crippled features when it is cheaper to manufacture and sell devices with all the features enabled. The manufacturers would be forced to add the technology to sell in the U.S., but they'd simply raise the price a notch or two to compensate.

The RIAA's moves are bad for consumers, and especially bad for computer-literate folks like those at /. Evil? Perhaps not, but very, very greedy.

Re:This is getting silly

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought it was funny that "Tesla" was spelled wrong.

Re:This is getting silly

[CakerX]

This isn;t about stopping software piracy, this is about authority. The RIAA as a private company has no authority to do that, and it should stay that way. Any enforcement of copyright violations should be delt with by the goverment, and ONLY the goverment, which has been elected by the people and for the people. The RIAA is not a goverment agency and therefor has NO LEGAL RIGHT TO law enforcement.

Even if it was the secret service, they still need a warrant from a judge. The new law would give the RIAA Jurisdiction to be cop, judge, and jurry over the internet.

Re:This is getting silly

[j_kenpo]

Ok, so am I to understand that law enforcement are now allowed to shoot people that they THINK are criminals, and that includes all crimes such as speeding, running stop signs, jaywalking, and not having your dog on a leash? And just in case youve forgotten, police are granted the right to authority, and this kind of action is not acceptible. So by that rationale, the RIAA, whom are not an authority nor do I recognize them as an authority, do not have the right to brute force the law in this manner. So if they are not an authority, why should they be granted an immunity to the law. It seems almost like a crackpot scheme that a mad scientist bent on world domination would come up with, hence classifying them as villians. So to answer your question of do I think a corporate organization that is trying to pass legislation to enforce laws that they have no right or authority to enforce, spy, burglerize, cripple my property, and take away my civil liberties is evil, then yes, I do.

Re:This is getting silly

[ninewands]

Quoth the poster:

We don't think they're evil, we think they are greedy. Most of the RIAA's actions toward computer and consumer electronics technology have been driven by a desire to control their customers.

You contradict yourself. The RIAA's membership consists of record companies who want to sell me their products. This is not evil. However, to do so and THEN try to control what I can do with the product I now OWN violates the First Sale doctrine in that they are now trying to assert control over MY property without even having a potentially-unenforceable contract with me like an EULA. This IS evil.

Recently, they've tumbled to the fact that campaign contributions can cause legislation to skew in their favor. They've "requested" laws that make fair use illegal, and require that disabling technologies be embedded in any consumer device. Essentially, they've asked the U.S. government to create a "safe" market for them.

Actually, it goes somewhat farther than that. They are asking Congress to give them powers that exceed the powers of law enforcement agencies (under the Berman Act) AND to then to pick up the costs of enforcing their purely private rights via criminal prosecution under the DMCA.

I do not support "piracy" (although I see no connection between copyright infringement and piracy (which is a crime of violence and victimization)). However, I do, and always WILL, oppose the RIAA's and the MPAA's attempts to leverage their position as content VENDORS into making themselves America's secret police.

Oh, BTW, Merry Christmas and ... ITIHBT

Re:This is getting silly

[geekoid]

"driven by a desire to control their customers"

I would call that Evil.
Plus the assumption that everyone is a liar, thief, and copyright infringer, unless proven innocent.

Re:This is getting silly

[SlowMovingTarget]

Oh... Never mind. They are evil.

Re:This is getting silly

[Anonymous Coward]

Disrespect for private property (see hacking into personal computers to 'look for' and 'remove' various things), the equivalent of running sweat shops (Google for how much artists really get per disc) and directly/indirectly stiffling the march of technological progress (It's fun to get sued under the D - M - C - A!)...

If the first two aren't enough, the third ought to be considered a crime against humanity. I will label anyone who dares interefere with the progress of our race, be it technological, spiritual or what have you, as evil.

Re:This is getting silly

[EzInKy]

I couldn't agree with you more...assuming that everyone who uses your product is going to steal it is one of the most irritatingly exasperating stances an organization can take. I just today had a real world experience of that very nature at Best Buy purchasing a DVD player as a present for my daughter's family.

I went through the check out lane, paid for my purchase, had the player in my cart and looking at the receipt on my way out the door when a kid on a power trip in a yellow tee-shirt comes up to me demanding to see the perfectly visible receipt. I said no and continued walking towards the door and he took the damn DVD player out of my cart and said "then you don't get this!"

Talk about pissed...I did end up showing him the receipt, got MY Dvd player back and headed straight for the return counter. Of course, the lines there were long, and I just said fuck it and left with the player.

The power trip the kid at Best Buy today was on is the same power trip that the RIAA is on. It's about control and subjugation to their will.

Re:This is getting silly

[lungs5i9]

I think the RIAA is stupid for its militant stance on the destruction of a technology that could have saved their industry from their own extinction, and personally, I think the music industry deserves to be pirated, as it costs aprx. $0.17 to completly manufacture a compact disc (including booklet, case, and other factors.) From each $15.99 unit sold, the artist usually only recieves $0.04 per unit sold in royalties. And as far as the retailers are concerned, they have no choice but to charge that $15.99, as they buy the units for about 20% to 35% less than the consumer pays, which I assume is the general markup of pretty much everything these days. So if the retailer pays $12.79, less $0.04 to the artist and another $0.17 for manufacturing costs, they gross aprx. $12.58 per unit sold. My point is this: I have been paying these prices for years; they aren't in any financial difficulty, and the artists themselves aren't making $12.50 off a cd. This justifies the "piracy" of the music industry, in my mind, so long as you aren't bootlegging. Fight fire with fire, I say.

Re:This is getting silly

[Anonymous Coward]

Stealing music is wrong. Piracy is wrong too, but the RIAA has nothing to do with that. In fact, the major organizations trying to stop piracy in and around the US are the Navy and Coast Guard. But then, piracy is uncommon near the US; most incidents occur near Africa and southeast Asia.

Once again, please do not call unlawful copying of music "piracy" as it strengthens the subconscious impression of its severity. Piracy consists of robbing ships at sea by force, and often involves murder or threats thereof. Unlawful copying of music is just that. It's wrong, but it's not murder. Don't let the RIAA's choice of terminology get you thinking that the two are anything alike.

Re:This is getting silly

[re410]

That kid wasn't on a power trip, he was just doing his job.

What you describe happens in a lot of electronic and discount stores around the holidays. Basically, they just want to check that what you have in the cart is what you paid for. It's easy for someone to buy a $10 item, walk back in, pick up a DVD player and walk back out with receipt in hand. Sure, it's a lack of trust and you're treated like a criminal before the fact.

But, the fact is that many stores lose lots of merchandise this time of year. I don't like it, but I don't falt them one bit.

Re:This is getting silly

[Old Wolf]

Very trusting of you to give the kid the receipt... he could have been a thief.. he would take the receipt, then run to store security and say "this guy just stole my dvd player, heres the receipt to prove i just bought it"

Re:This is getting silly

[actor_au]

Also, let's not forget their journalistic bullshit, like claiming that 4x CD burners are the equivalent of 4 CD burners

Shut up man I'm trying to sell my PC on eBay according to those stats, yes it has a 15 gig.. I mean 800 gig Hard drive, 40 burners and 12 gigs of ram.

And three cases.

Re:This is getting silly

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing justifies piracy.
If you don't like it, don't use it.
It's not what you think it's right, it's whoever is in control thinks it's right.

I definitely agree it's BS that I have to 15 for a CD that only has one song worth listening to. The mainstream is whatever it's "hip" now. It's not about what I like, it's about what they want me to like. And for that I have a choice of not giving them 15 bucks. But it doesn't give me the right to get the same thing without paying.

In reality, there is no justification as most would agree, but their version of justification is far from acceptable, making themselves as villians

Re:This is getting silly

[EzInKy]

Sure, it's a lack of trust and you're treated like a criminal before the fact....But, the fact is that many stores lose lots of merchandise this time of year. I don't like it, but I don't falt them one bit.

And what would be wrong with a simple "paid" sticker placed on the box by the cashier who cheerfully accepted the money instead of forcing every single one of their customers to prove their innocence with a gruff "I need to see your recipt" at the door?

The point is there are many ways to solve both the RIAA's and Best Buy's perceived losses through theft. Treating everyone of your customers as a potential thief may certainly be one, but certainly not the only or best method.

Re:This is getting silly

[El]

I suspect that Best Buy, like many stores, suffers higher losses from Employee Theft than from it's customers. Hiring more employees to abuse customers won't fix this problem. Wouldn't it make more sense to just watch the customers that go through the checkout line, and then go back into the store instead of leaving?

Only nominated?

[cybrpnk2]

You mean they expect more nominations, and didn't just go ahead and award them the prize?

Re:Only nominated?

[AndroidCat]

A lot of people on Slashdot seemed to think that Alan Ralsky (the spammer) needed more things. A nomination might be nice too. Another conviction, better!

Re:Only nominated?

[uncoveror]

As reward for the RIAA being named Internet Villain of the Year, Let's all give them a consumer boycott.

Re:Only nominated?

[Anonymous Coward]

Another conviction, better!

I'm sure Alan wouldn't mind giving out BJs to his cellmates instead of spam. He would be 'opting in' to provide this service just as internet users have opted in to receive his spam. That's poetic justice at its best.

Why not?

[di0s]

Why not just "villian of the year"? They've done enough to deserve that.

Re:Why not?

[SpoonMeiser]

how about:

/.*(villian of the year)/

even?

Spell checking is wonderful

[fleener]

Villian? How about Villain

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Anonymous Coward]

Once is a mistaek, twice is on purpose.

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Anonymous Coward]

>Once is a mistaek, twice is on purpose.

Don't you mean misteak?

Hum...... Steak.... AAAAAAaarrrrrrrggllllllll......

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Jace of Fuse!]

I've stopped buying everything. I'm protesting everyone. Having no job helps.

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Night Goat]

Villian? How about Villain

Maybe that's the British spelling of villain.

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Anonymous Coward]

Offtopic? Bwahahaha, that moderator needs an edookathun.

Re:Spell checking is wonderful

[Anonymous Coward]

You stopped buying everything? If you "stopped," that implies you were buying everything before. How much loot did you amass before ceasing operations? You certainly never contacted me about my stuff. I would never have sold it to you, hence you could not buy everything.

new villians on the block

[saintan]

boris and natasha are going to be pissed.

Re:new villians on the block

[Guppy06]

"boris and natasha are going to be pissed."

Nah. After the collapse of the communist bloc, they had their names legally changed to "Jack Valenti" and "Hillary Rosen."

Re:new villians on the block

[ninewands]

Would that they had ... at least THEN watching Rosen and Valenti at work would be AMUSING ...

Re:new villians on the block

[geekoid]

like he said:
"boris and natasha are going to be pissed."

Re:new villians on the block

[Guppy06]

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but perhaps Boris & Natasha would be a good icon for a new MPAA/RIAA category.

Re:new villians on the block

[Anonymous Coward]

Does that mean they refer to WinMX and Kazaa as "Moose and Squirrel"?

Re:new villians on the block

[Snork Asaurus]

Hey, Rocky! Watch me download a tune of the 'net.

Awww Bullwinkle, that trick never works!

Presto!

(click) RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!

No doubt about it, Rock. MS audio stinks.

Re:new villians on the block

[Guppy06]

It means we can refer to their business model as Fractured Fairy Tale.

EKROUT

[Anonymous Coward]

EKROUT VOTED FAGGOT OF THE YEAR

he's posting as Slashdotess!!! with links to goatse!!!

What... no voting?

[jhines0042]

Of course that would be a sure way to slashdot the site....

well I hope they "win" the award. They've certainly gone out of their way to piss off many of the Internet's users.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!

This post brought to you by the letters F and P

[Anonymous Coward]

FP?

All trademarks and copyrights in this post are owned by CmdrTaco. First Post, FP, and French Toast © 1997-2002 Rob Malda.

Oh, they'll just sue

[syntap]

They'll just sue all the web sites reporting it as violating electronic copyright, just liek Wal-Mart did with Black Friday sales.

Re:Oh, they'll just sue

[phorm]

Nah, Wal-mart was sueing because the information was leaked and publishde without permission. Most people here already *know* the RIAA is evil, so it's not a secret... and they don't seem to be trying to keep it a secret that they're either.

Re:Oh, they'll just sue

[AndroidCat]

I guess the RIAA is going to win the intermural Evil Cup from the MPAA this year. Talk about a tough match!

I'm going to congratulate them...

[smack_attack]

...nah, I'm just going to be complacent about it like everyone else and keep buying CDs. Hooray for unchecked capitalism and industry lobbying.

Re:I'm going to congratulate them...

[glwtta]

"CDs"? "buying"?

Re:I'm going to congratulate them...

[Anonymous Coward]

I do the same thing, by the hundred! just bought 100 rated at 32x on a big spindle last week. I don't know what this stuff is about the RIAA charging $15 a cd. These were about 15 each. Support the RIAA, buy your spindle of 15 cd's today, and stick it^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hupport the RIAA as much as you can.

Re:I'm going to congratulate them...

[andrew_0812]

CD's were what your parents had to listen to music on. Buying was an antiquated way of obtaining music, kind of like bartering was. Ancient stuff.

Re:I'm going to congratulate them...

[Eric_Cartman_South_P]

By "CD's" & "buying" I believe he is refering to blank cds, with which download MP3's shall be copied onto.

Re:I'm going to congratulate them...

[hachete]

Buy a blank CD, burn some (suitable) tracks and send them *several* copies. A present or a *present*?

h.

In other news...

[JessLeah]

...the sky has been nominated for the prestigious "Big Blue Thing" award...

Re:In other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

.. but then lost when it turned out the awards were at night.

Re:In other news...

[Rayonic]

You mean the ocean lost out again? Those judges are bought and paid for, I tell you!

Re:In other news...

[Brainboy]

However the ocean is also a major competitor and has said that "the sky sucks." and "People can don't care about the sky, can't swim in that!" and "The sky is so ugly, people cann't have mirrors facing up or they'll break." Sky has refused to comment.

Re:In other news...

[twiztidlojik]

Well, since the ocean derives its blueness from the sky, I think that this award is, in fact, appropriate.

Just look out at the ocean on a cloudy day and tell me how blue it is.

Yeah

[tswinzig]

But who won "Internet VILLAIN of the Year"?

Re:Yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

redundant redundant redundant you fucking scabby karma whore - fucking redundant

But in reality...

[aerojad]

It's sad to realize, that when you step back, all that this will amount to is a good chuckle for the geek community and a *shrug* so what? from the record industry. What needes to happen is for publications on what the RIAA is doing to reach farther than the tech community and get on mainstream news. Of course, for reasons you can already probably figure out, it won't.

Re:But in reality...

[drudd]

I think this is exactly the sort of filler news which is likely to be picked up by local news shows and newspapers which have nothing better to talk about. It makes them seem "net/tech-savvy" and doesn't require any research.

Then the average joe hears about the RIAA (probably for the first time) and that they are evil. Sounds like a great introduction to me.

Doug

Re:But in reality...

[aerojad]

Yes but this filler news is stuck inbetween the weatherman who can't predict and the "aww look at the cute ~insert animal story here~", it's a portion of the news people probably don't pay much attention to, and I highly doubt that an one minunte news clip is going to cause people to realize how bad the RIAA is, or let people formulate opinions in any which way. The story needs *real* exposure, from network news shows, where they can concieveably donate a half hour or an hour to the whole RIAA/P2P story. One minutne might satisfy people who know the situation in the "ahh, it's finally getting out there!" aspect, but for Joe NonGeek, it will still amount to just about "yeah yeah yeah... hurry this up, I want to see Friends".

Poor wording

[Anonymous Coward]

because they support "'right to hack' proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse

Err.. actually it's the RIAA that is abusing copyright. Perhaps you meant infringement or 'unauthorized copying'. But at least you didn't call it "theft" or "piracy" (:

Hi, please read the comment.

[Viewsonic]

They won the award for hacking into peoples computers, which may or may not be a pirates. Who really knows with IP Spoofing, etc .. For all we know, they could hack into some CIA machine and wipe it out because someone spoofed the address .. Joy of joys. Read a little, would ya? The RIAA is evil, no doubt. But not because of piracy, but because their sales model is failing and they can't see it's obvious that $15 CDs cant compete with feature loaded $15 DVD movies with the soundtracks included as "extras" as an afterthought. They dont want to come to the conclusion that the only way to make money is to sell their music CDs for 5 bux a pop, cuz thats all that they're worth today compared to music based feature rich $15 DVDs.

Re:Hi, please read the comment.

[missberry]

They were actually trying to pass a law that allowed them to hack into computers using p2p. This wouldn't be masked behind IP spoofing/anonymizers/etc, as they were trying to make it legal for them to do openly.

I don't have the link available right now, but if you'd like, I can bring it up in a few hours.

:-D

[cpuenvy]

Muhahahaha!

PLZ FX PBRLM KTHX

[Anonymous Coward]

they didn't win the award, they were nominated for it.
and you tell him to read the story...

I nominate slashdot!

[Anonymous Coward]

For their devious way of wiping out entire web sites with their D.D.o.S attacks!

Otherwise known as a "slashdot effect"! ;)

The RIAA won't win this because...

[vudufixit]

1. It doesn't have a handlebar moustache to twirl
2. It doesn't shoot its own henchmen to prove how evil it is
3. It may be incorporated, but it isn't corporeal enough to die of impalement, the default method of bad guy death since the heyday of 70's action films.

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[BAKup]

2. It doesn't shoot its own henchmen to prove how evil it is

No, they just convince their henchmen to shoot themselves...Generally up with drugs so they OD, but you catch my drift.

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[RoboOp]

In addition...
4. No volcano fortress.
5. Hillary Rosen doesn't carry a cat to stroke.
6. No sharks. But they DO have lawyers with 'frickin laser beams' attached to their heads.

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[nhavar]

If Hillary would stop waxing the thing for a day or two you might get your handle bar mustache.

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[charon_on_acheron]

[Image of Hillary with her hand in her lap, stroking her pussy.]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[Anonymous Coward]

Furthermore...

No huge satellite laser controller [in suitcase]
No suitcase nuclear bombs
No nerve agent missiles fired at San Francisco
No plot to cause a Global Thermonuclear War with the help of an intelligent computer and a game of tic-tac-toe(yet)
No plan to shoot down Air Force One (that we know of)
No plan to have a river of psycoactive slime run under some museum in New York
No attempt to steal any nuclear submarine, or nuke the US Federal Reserve
No secret hideout in a disused London subway station, or a palace in Iceland
No ability to impregnate human beings with alien offspring or survive for extended periods in space
No tailgating a businessman with a rusty old oil tanker
No X-ray vision or psychokinetic abilities
Nothing says "Sorry Dave, I can't do that...", "Asta la vista, baby" or some other cheesy one-liner.
No one ring
Nobody chucked to the lions
No spiked pit or crushing roof

Most undeserving indeed.

Re:The RIAA won't win this because...

[sconeu]

Ewwww! Now I have to go take a shower. I feel so... dirty....

Nominations for the goatse redirect of the year!

[Anonymous Coward]

Trolls have become very sophistiacated in obscuring the link to goatse.cx, with some getting modded up to +5 on a regular basis! I think that the goatse link of the year goes to THIS!

The unsuspecting google goatse trick!

Oh like there is any difference..

[Viewsonic]

What, they're going to vote for anyone else on the list? Hardly...

misquoted sig

[Anonymous Coward]

chris rock said that about Jackson

Re:misquoted sig

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks, I'm fixing it now :)

Whats the prize johnny?

[Theros]

So who are the other nominees? The nominations are: BBC Watchdog: 'for a report on the important issue of spam that was more intent on vilifying ISP's than educating consumers' The Home Office: 'for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)' Oftel 'for (amongst a host of other things) failing to ensure expedient local loop unbundling by BT which has hindered both competition in the telco sector and the development of Broadband Britain' The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): 'for supporting "right to hack" proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse' Telecommunications analysts: 'for their substantial contribution to the meltdown in the telecommunications and Internet sector'

To: RIAA

[SuperBug]

From: Santa

I hope this little award shows just how much very you're appreciated. Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year.

Santa Clause

P.S. I still haven't seen any royalty checks for "Santa Got Run Over By a Reindeer."

Re:To: RIAA

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL]

I thought that was Grandma? And I think Santa would spell his own name correctly (for some reason I typed that as Satan the first time - freudian (sp?) slip?). Anyhow, here's a better one - course, it's a parody so I doubt Santa is entitled to any money:

The Night Santa Went Crazy by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Down in the workshop all the elves were makin' toys
For the good Gentile girls and the good Gentile boys
When the boss busted in, nearly scared 'em half to death
Had a rifle in his hands and cheap whiskey on his breath
From his beard to his boots he was covered with ammo
Like a big fat drunk disgruntled Yuletide Rambo
And he smiled as he said with a twinkle in his eye,
"Merry Christmas to all... now you're all gonna die!"

The night Santa went crazy
The night St. Nick went insane
Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal
Something finally must have snapped in his brain

Well, the workshop is gone now he decided to bomb it
Everywhere you'll find pieces of Cupid and Comet
And he tied up his helpers and he held the elves hostage
And he ground up poor Rudolph into reindeer sausage
He got Dancer and Prancer with an old German Luger
And he slashed up Dasher just like Freddie Krueger
And he picked up a flamethrower and he barbequed Blitzen
And he took a big bite and said, "It tastes just like chicken!"

The night Santa went crazy
The night Kris Kringle went nuts
Now you can hardly walk around the North Pole
Without steppin' in reindeer guts

There's the National Guard and the F.B.I.
There's a van from the Eyewitness News
and helicopters circlin' 'round in the sky
And the bullets are flyin', the body count's risin'
and everyone's dyin' to know, oh Santa, why?
My my my my my my
You used to be such a jolly guy

Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time
In a federal prison for his infamous crime
Hey, little friend, now don't you cry no more tears
He'll be out with good behavior in 700 more years
But now Vixen's in therapy
and Donner's still nervous
And the elves all got jobs
working for the postal service
And they say Mrs. Claus,
she's on the phone every night
With her lawyer negotiating the movie rights

They're talkin' 'bout - the night Santa went crazy
The night St. Nicholas flipped
Broke his back for some milk and cookies
Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped

Wo, the night Santa went crazy
The night St. Nick went insane
Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal
Something finally must have snapped in his brain
Wo, something finally must have
snapped in his brain
Tell ya, something finally must have
snapped... in his brain

Re:To: RIAA

[Hairy Dude]

Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time
In a federal prison for his infamous crime

Since when was the North Pole under US jurisdiction? ;-)

ASSHOLE

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't question Taco.
We will come over to your house and stuff our 14" dicks up your little ass.

-the AV3

How to let people know the RIAA is evil?

[mcmonkey]

Their icon should be a dog with shifty eyes.

Re:How to let people know the RIAA is evil?

[psycht]

Their icon should be a dog with shifty eyes

But Hillary Rosen is already on their website.

Re:How to let people know the RIAA is evil?

[antdude]

The one from The Simpsons? ;)

Re:How to let people know the RIAA is evil?

[Anonymous Coward]

no shit, sherlock

This award sponsored by...

[Zigg]

ts.com, who "is Europe's leading online ticketing service, enabling venues and promoters throughout the sporting, entertainment and travel industries to sell, market and distribute their tickets directly from their own websites.".

Anyone want to take bets who won't be getting a lot of contracts with RIAA member-backed acts if the RIAA wins this one?

Re:This award sponsored by...

[Anonymous Coward]

whats the RIAA going to do? not play in europe?

yeah right

In other news

[Anonymous Coward]

The sky is blue, the grass in green, and there is no Santa Clause.

Taco Fails Third Grade English AGAIN

[Anonymous Coward]

RIAA nominated for "Internet Villian of the Year"

Maybe he needs a tutor.

And the award goes too....

[azcoffeehabit]

LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND BALLROOM:

Hillary Rodam: Thank you, thank you, I really appricate all of the hard work that I put in to do this and I would like to thank all of my financial backers for making this possible...

Dennis Rodman: (Hey, I can see down her shirt from up here) psst.. you know what this ceremony is for right??

Hillary Rodam: Uhh, Yeah... This is my supreme ruler award ceremony

Dennis Rodman: (oh boy she's loaded) UH YEAH, supreme ruler lets go back to my dressing room and I will give you the real award.. this is part on stage is just for all of the people watching on TV.

Hillary Rodam: oooh, you got any vodka there

Dennis Rodman: Uhh, yeah whatever you want baby... I got it all, here let me show you...

Fade out with audience applause and standing ovation.

Re:And the award goes too....

[mstyne]

I think I speak for the majority of /.'ers when I say:

What the fuck?

Re:And the award goes too....

[Anonymous Coward]

What does Bill Clinton's wife have to do with this?

Re:And the award goes too....

[azcoffeehabit]

here let me fix that..

$perl -pi -e s/Rodam/Rosen/g parent.post

Re:And the award goes too....

[Anonymous Coward]

my words exactly

Thank you.

[unterderbrucke]

"What, they're going to vote for anyone else on the list? Hardly..."

My point exactly.
Wanky groupthink doesn't foster anything positive.

Re:Thank you.

[The-Perl-CD-Bookshel]

"Wanky Groupthink" could be the best/newest industry buzzword since .NET

PS. I'm not a troll, its a joke people! But you really should TM that :)

I couldn't agree more

[FreedOhm]

This is a subject I've hacked weezed and moaned about a lot- so I'm glad there's more people who think the RIAA is a villain.

They are evil for:

[Gareman]

1. Pushing legislation that lets them HACK your computer because of alleged copyright violation.

2. Grossly inflating their statistics and numbers to boost their reputation. Got a 5x CD burner? It's 5 CD burners according to the RIAA. The mainstream press (i.e., CNN) doesn't know the difference and reports the bogus numbers. They also inflate their losses, neglecting to tell us they cut their production during the same period.

3. Supporting digitally "protected" CD's that aren't guaranteed to work on your CD player with no recourse if you were stuck with unusable disks.

4. Driving scientists and researchers out of the US, due to their threatening to sue researchers who wish to expose security vulnerabilities in copy protection (Felten vs. RIAA).

5. Harassing manufacturers that make digital recordings more portable, like in the Diamond Rio(RIAA v. Diamond).

6. Harassing ISP's like AT&T and Optimum Online (successfully) for allowing P2P networks to exist.

etc. 7.

Re:They are evil for:

[Esion Modnar]

Pushing legislation that lets them HACK your computer because of alleged copyright violation.
This is the worst part. RIAA wants legalized vigilantism and punishment without due process. But only for them. Why not? They paid for it, right?

In other news...

[Tofino]

Peter Enckelman was voted the Online Villan Of The Year.

In Soviet Russia

[jwilcox154]

RIAA nominates You for "Internet Villian of the Year"

Oh,

Wait a second, that's this country, never mind.

Re:In Soviet Russia

[sconeu]

Damn! The weather report in HELL is for snow. An appropriate IN SOVIET RUSSIA post!

Re:In Soviet Russia

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, they are counted as a terrorist by G.W. AmBush,arrested without a warrant under the USSR^h^hA Patriot Act, tried in a kangaroo court, then executed.

Congrats...

[hdparm]

...should really go to the Organisation of UK ISPs for nominating RIAA and ts.com for sponsoring this particular award.

The RIAA? Evil? nahhh....

[korewashinda]

That's like saying Lars Ulrich is a capitalistic pig...

LaMe

[Anonymous Coward]

WHaT ABoUt MeeH?

R U 2 C00L 4 mE?

i WiLL HaCK YeR SiTE.

FAKE!

[lvdrproject]

This guy's a fake! The REAL Santa would know that his name was "Santa Claus"!

Re:FAKE!

[CableModemSniper]

Plus the song is GRANDMA Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Re:FAKE!

[sconeu]

Plus the song is GRANDMA Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Yeah, but on /., it's more like GRAMMER Got Run Over By a Reindeer!

Re:FAKE!

[SuperBug]

There was a remake of "aGrandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" where grandma was replaced with Santa.

And for the RIAA, it is "Santa Clause." :) How else do they make their FHV?(see Enron's CEO skit)

Re:FAKE!

[Ozymandias_KoK]

That's GRAMMAR, you putz!

Re:FAKE!

[sconeu]

No, I was deliberatly making a "speling" error because it's /.

(Hey, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

Re:FAKE!

[sconeu]

And yes, I know that "deliberately" is misspelled.

rassum-fassum-mumble-grumble bloody default "submit" button.

In response...

[hermescom]

After hearing the news, an RIAA spokesman stated that the accusations were ridiculous. He then twirled his mustashe and broke out in a bout of uncontrollable laughter.

Happy Holidays!

[teamhasnoi]

To the leader of the Internet Villian of the Year, H i l l a r y!

Re:Happy Holidays!

[anonymous coword]

!

Re:Happy Holidays!

[Anonymous Coward]

Dang, she's fat & ugly. She kind of reminds me of Rosie O'Donnel. Does anyone know if Hillary likes munching carpet too?

well today's their lucky day

[Anonymous Coward]

Not only do they win this award, they also win the:

ANONYMOUS COWARD RETARDED SACK OF SHIT AWARD

that's right hillary & friends, I've got your award right here (well, as soon as my pals beans & rice work their magic, your award will be ready).

so do you want to pick up the award or should I just fling it at you?

Thanks RIAA, for keepin' it real all these years. Hope you go out of business. Word is bond.

Slashbots are idiots

[unterderbrucke]

So, in response to them trying to make money, you'll teach them a lesson and give away their rightful property???

Re:Slashbots are idiots

[SlowMovingTarget]

Of course not. Why would you assume I condone piracy in any form, simply for voicing an opinion contrary to yours?

Your assumption aside, the idea that this is 'their rightful property' is interesting. I'd suggest, rather, that the original work should be the artist's rightful property. If I buy a recording of that work, I should have reasonable rights to do what I please with it (time-shift / location-shift / make backups). Reasonably, I have no right to sell copies for a profit over the internet, (or give them away for that matter). But the RIAA should have no right to dictate that a music CD won't play in a computer. They should have no right to require me to buy a crippled device. They should have no right impose damaging restrictions on the consumer electronics industry.

But then, that's being reasonable.

My nominaton goes to British Telecomunications plc

[anonymous coword]

Stupid wankers wont upgrade exchanges for ADSL! Including my town! If it wasnt for telewest I think I would of gone beserk!

muhaaaaa!

[servo303]

All your RIAA belongs are to villan.

For those who post without reading the article

[ninewands]

The nominations are:

BBC Watchdog: 'for a report on the important issue of spam that was more intent on vilifying ISP's than educating consumers'

The Home Office: 'for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)'

Oftel: 'for (amongst a host of other things) failing to ensure expedient local loop unbundling by BT which has hindered both competition in the telco sector and the development of Broadband Britain'

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): 'for supporting "right to hack" proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse'

Telecommunications analysts: 'for their substantial contribution to the meltdown in the telecommunications and Internet sector'

That really is a nasty group of suspects, but we might want to add:

John Poindexter: 'for attempting to destroy world-wide privacy.'

The United States Congress (both houses): 'for (among too many other offenses to list in detail) passing the PATRIOT Act and other privacy-invading and security-compromising legislation that will be completely ineffective in stopping terrorism.'

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[WPIDalamar]

I'd have to go ahead and vote for Congress. They passed the PATRIOT act AND the DMCA, and refuse to do anything about ICANN.

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[ppanon]

The United States Congress (both houses):

A pox on both your houses!

Hmmm. I hope you don't have to be dying for that quote to be appropriate

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[nomadic]

That really is a nasty group of suspects, but we might want to add:

Uhh, some of them are, some of them aren't. For example, they nominated:

BBC Watchdog: 'for a report on the important issue of spam that was more intent on vilifying ISP's than educating consumers'

The awards are given by an ISP association, so the nominations are going to be skewed like that. Keep in mind these aren't Internet villains in general, but groups that the British ISP industry perceives as hostile to them. Which, when you think about it, isn't really worth a Slashdot front page story...

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[Klaruz]

Maybe if we're lucky congress would win and this will get some press. Maybe then congress will realize they're destroying one of the largest industries in the country so they can pander to the puny entertainment industry. Along with that whole taking away freedom thing. A wake up call like that award could maybe help a bit.

Then again, maybe not...

It's gonna suck in a decade or two when the entire computer industry has moved to a a free country and talking about moving out of the US to get a job will get me thrown in jail as a terrorist.

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[Dave2 Wickham]

Bear in mind that the watchdog "article" was basically:
"I let my daughter click on this link in some spam which said she'd won a PS2. It went to a porn site. [blah blah blah] ISPs should do more to stop this, they aren't doing anything!!!"
"I think it's the ISPs fault. They ought to stop spam. I'm sure they have some foolproof way to get rid of it, but of course they have no need to. It probably makes them money"
And stuff like that. When watching it I thought... "IDIOTS!!!"

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[Anonymous Coward]

show us one fucking US site that has any kind of internet hero or villian (it may be sponsored but some of these nominations make a whole lotta sense). go on - just show us one.........

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd have to go ahead and vote for Congress. They passed [snip]
You already did vote for congress, and thats how these issues got passed in the first place. Perhaps we should nominate the American public instead...

Re:For those who post without reading the article

[Anonymous Coward]

hmmm ok let me multiple my self 20 million times and have a chance to fix some things like the South and Republicans and maybe just maybe things could be a little bit better

good

[fozzy(pro)]

The RIAA is not anyone's friend. I can see them being anti-piracy, but they go overboard. Why not break into other computers to fight piracy. Why not congest internet with broken songs so peopel try over and over to t a working song. The RIAA is dumb in its tactics nd those tactics will not work.

an idea whose time has come?

[fermion]

First, the RIAA member companies as businesses have the right to charge for and protect product as they wish, within the limitations of the law. The association has been convicted of price fixing, and may be in violation of certain laws by labeling non-CD plastic disc products as CD's. They are also probably moraly wrong in their desire to hack. However, as is the case with most anti-terror legislation, we in the U.S. have been made so afraid by the rhetoric of our politician, reality shows, and newspapers that we are willing to give up any rights if we are allowed to hide behind our bricked in subdivisions and drive our SUVs. As such, giving the right to hack to the RIAA may be a small price to pay if we are allowed to continue to listen to Britney Spears, who likely would not exist without the RIAA.

However, ultimately, the success of a business depends on it's customers. If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods. If we go out, find other music, and purchase those non-RIAA CDs, we support an alternate model that depends on quality and personal customer service, not mass appeal and copy protection. There is no way to legislate the RIAA from destroying the right of fair use anymore than there was a way to legislate Wal-Mart from destroying main street. In both cases, the presence of customers determines success.

Re:an idea whose time has come?

[moncyb]

Britney Spears, who likely would not exist without the RIAA.

You overestimate the terrori^WRIAA. Britney Spears' label is Zomba, who is not a member of the RIAA.

If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods.

RIAA gets money from plenty of other places than just CDs. If you buy blank music CDs or any CD burner, they get a "royalty." If you listen to the radio, they get royalties from a compulsory license. If you buy from a store that plays music, the RIAA also gets your money from a compulsory license. Look at how the system is set up. Compulsory licenses or "royalites" on digital media always get funneled through the RIAA. This needs to change too.

I Would Like to Nominate...

[E-Rock-23]

...the MPAA for the same award. They're just as guilty as thier friends in the RIAA. In fact, I think it should be a co-nomination. Given this co-nomination, they should also get a new name: The EMCAA - Evil Media Corporations Association of America.

An idea for the trophy: I've seen novelty gift catalogs that have what's called the "Horse's Ass" award, and the trophy is exactly that: The backside of a horse. For wanting to hack our machines and launch DoS attacks against us, they deserve nothing less.

Could they also be awarded...

[rzbx]

Villian of Progress Award!

Take away the copyright idea, seriously. Now kick out all the millionaire's (or get them to take on the task of creating this new system). Create new companies (or convert old ones) that can be mediators between the public and the artists. These companies would help the artist produce, CD's and merchandise, and work on setting up concerts and shows, etc. (Isn't this sort of what the music companies now do?) I guarantee CD's would both fall in price dramatically, but at the same time sales of CD's would far exceed what it is today. (I think people have been saying this for a long time now) Sure, many would trade mp3's, ogg's, CD's. (Just as they already do) Yet the only artists this new system would hurt are the extremely rich ones. Imagine that, more equality among artists, wider selection of music, and simply more music.

This award.

[thelinuxking]

Do we really need an award to let them know this? Stop encouraging them!
This must be the first award anyone has ever given them...

A Memo from the RIAA

[Anonymous Coward]

To: Slashdotters Around the World
From: Internet Villain of the Millinium...I mean the RIAA
Re: Notice of our Award

While we appreciate the interest of users of any of our products, we would like to ask the Slashdot community to stop posting on this subject. Failure to comply will result in us hacking into your computers and shutting you all down!

Thank you and have a Merry Christmas.

RIAA

[Anonymous Coward]

Soon as I saw the story on the front page I knew what awaited inside. Hundreds of posts from zitty geeks trying to be punker-than-thou by coming up with ever-more-obscure namedropping to make up for their lack of real style (or to pretend that they are actually old enough to have been involved). Drop the pretension kiddos. We all know that your Blink 182 CD is older than your copy of Bollocks.

I love how a whole new level of conformity has been created by the average bozo's efforts at individuality. It might almost work if your personal definition of individuality didn't depend so heavily on how you present yourself to others. I mean, what's the sense of being into bullshit like [insert pseudo-non-mainstream hobby here] if you can't talk about it to make yourself superior to your peers?

Kinda sounds like the Linux crowd, huh? "I'm so ALTERNATIVE by patching my kernel every day while you brainwashed Windows sheep meander in unenlightened tedium." Funny to think that if you had back all the time you spent tweaking and patching (for no good reason other than to say you have the latest version), you wouldn't know what to do with the workstation on your desk.

*sigh*

excuse the rant. caffiene has yet to be digested.

Damn!

[sean23007]

I was hoping to yet that award, but I don't think I'm nearly as villainous as the RIAA... I was hoping everyone would forget about them and notice those movies on Kazaa that say they are Harry Potter but are really porno or all those files that say they are GTA3 or MS office but are really Mechwarrior 4. I think you all know how villainous I am, but even I don't compare to the blasted RIAA.

--average internet script kiddie

If it were only that simple

[geekoid]

". If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods. "

It has been my experience that many independant/small artists get there first "distribution"(usually self made) from small 'used' music stores. If we didn't buy Used stuff from them, they wouldn't be able to support themselves as a Business, and then there would be even fewer outlets for independent/small artists to become 'known'.
OTOH it has also been my experience that artist who complain about the riaa's methods would happily accept a contract with them. If the people creating the content won't bite the bullet and use alternative means so they don't get screwed, how can the consumers be expected to boycott?
the only way to fix this is to create a music production/distibution company that doesn't enforce the draconian methods on the artists the current music companies do, and to entice signings by giving a higher percentage of sales, and not lovking them into more then 2 or 3 records per contract.
Of course that means:
a)low to no signing bonus
b)musicians will have to actual have a track record of sales before they become rich.
c)Huge start up capital.

I consider both a and b to be good for music and consumers, but not to enticing to the big name musicians.

*Bold added by me

Re:If it were only that simple

[Jonny Ringo]

I don't know what kind of music you listen to but you may want to check out ninjatunes. They are not on the RIAA's list and put out some of the best music I have ever heard. Really fun if you like jazz, electronic, trip hop, and underground hip hop.

Its probably a good idea for us to support these labels than the ones in the RIAA.

The REAL villain of the year...

[_bug_]

anyone who posted a link to goatse.cx

Re:The REAL villain of the year...

[lukew]

I think in this case the award should go to the evil, wretched son of a bitch who stretched his anus to ghastly lengths for the entertainment of the Internet community.

Shoot people? YOU are silly

[Anonymous Coward]

Back that one up. The police shoot when weapons are/may be involved. And that is STILL too much authority.

Don 't worry...

[The-Perl-CD-Bookshel]

No one can hack the Gibson!

2002

[rjamestaylor]

Maybe 2002 will be remembered as the year that the RIAA began to unravel. This year the RIAA has been exposed as a self-profiting organization--not caring for the artist or the consumer but for the pockets of the "radio execs." Maybe 2002 will be the year that the heretofore unknown consortium became a household byword. This is Not Good becuase the RIAA stands as an unpopular middleman between two parties that want each other: artists and their public. Common everyday folk in America began to understand in 2002 that the RIAA doesn't represent the ARTIST but the RECORDING STUDIO and RECORD LABEL. What happens when two parties are attracted together (say a lovely teenage girl and a handsome teenage boy) but are restricted in contact by a third party (say a domineering dad)? At first the girl may appreciate the protection of her dad, but the desire will grow so that the daughter and boyfriend will seek a channel of communication without the father's interference.

Maybe in 2003 the girl and boy begin sneaking around to date behind the father's back (via limited direct distributions direct from the artist's website?). How long until the couple are enagaged (using the Internet to directly market the music?)? The question is, will the father walk the daughter down the aisle or will the couple elope?

In 2002, the public began to dislike the RIAA. I predict wedding bells by 2006.

Re:2002

[SuperDuG]

Well here's what really gets me about the MPAA and RIAA. This is an industry of complete capitalistic control (lets face it entertainment has a whole lotta money), but even more strange is that in this "dog-eat-dog" society that these groups are able to get along.

I think what everyone needs to remember is a rather funny quote "remember even your closest friend will sell you out for the price of a extra value meal". They'll go to battle destroy each other, and the bottom feeders are looking to pick up what pieces fall. Many people are still there to make great albums or movies, but in the wake of Britney Spears and NSync along with "The Hot Chick" and "Analyze That" these aren't things that will "make history" or even be remembered in 3 years, but look at Lord of The Rings or quite a few bands out there today Incubus, Foo Fighters, and many more.

People will get tired of the bullshit, and when that time comes, change will come. The MPAA and RIAA are fueled by lack of alternative entertainment, as is true for even the computer world. But as has been proven in the past, you can only be king of the hill for so long before you get knocked off.

Good Post BTW

The award goes to whom, agian?

[UberQwerty]

Maybe you mean Hillary Rosen, the evil dictator of the RIAA. Of course, you could just be misspelling Hillary Rodham, the maiden name of Hillary Rodham Clintan, former first lady and senator of NY, who has nothing to do with this post. Is that it?

Re:The award goes to whom, agian?

[numark]

Likewise, you could also be misspelling Clinton. :)

Re:The award goes to whom, agian?

[azcoffeehabit]

RIGHT! that Hillary Rosen!!

Who else would be accepting the award then the Queen of RIAA?

Maybe the RIAA should be informed?

[Anonymous Coward]

Amy Weiss
Senior VP, Communications
Recording Industry Association of America
1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW
#300 Washington, DC 20036

I am sure she will love to hear about her organization's public image.

Re:Maybe the RIAA should be informed?

[Anonymous Coward]

hey, wow!! coooool!!! you posted someone's address on slashdot. u r 4n 31337 d0000d!!!!!111 fight the power!!!!!

award of ...

[istar]

.. stupidity should be granted to them as well. Does anyone else think they were also the ones behind the 'mp3 lossy format's will make you go deaf!' speech?

Anyways, three cheers for the RIAA getting a stick up their ass. What goes around comes around.

And merry christmas everyone!

A Humble Suggestion

[Badgerman]

Why isn't Slashdot doing this? Let's have a Slashdot villain of the year contest.

Yeah, we can joke. We KNOW one of the nominees will be CowboyNeil. But in all seriousness, perhaps this is another way Slashdot can do some good. Have people suggest villains, send the reasons why, and the most popular and best-explained ones go up.

Sure, it may seem silly, but today, on the net, a little spectacle and some humor can break down barriers and make a point.

Re:A Humble Suggestion

[freestyle-fiend]

How about the Republican party of the US, the Democrat party of the US and their 'donors'.

Music Sales down 13%

[The Analog Kid]

from last year, the blame P2P Networks. Yet P2P is just a small problem in there larger scheme of things. Ofcourse they will never admit to that.

Re:Music Sales down 13%

[istar]

actually their sales were at their peak and came to a steady drive after that, they claimed the 13% decrease was 'revenue not yet earned but possible'. So the P2P increase sales even, but they should not blame file sharing because their sudden peak in sales levels back out, still way up top from what it started.

Re:Music Sales down 13%

[Anonymous Coward]

Reasons for this:

1. MONEY, I want more of yours, not less
2. You stop buying stuff from me, must be a problem with you
3. if I think a technology is evil, so will you

Let's see

[Anonymous Coward]

Read an article over at The Register, wait a day, then parrot it on Slashdot, mmmmm mighty tasty news.

Moderators need schooling

[Anonymous Coward]

A glaring spelling error in the title of an article... To expect excellence, or at least a ninth grade reading level, is considered offtopic. Uh huh.

During the dot-com boom all the techies dropped out of high school to get dot-com jobs. Now that they're out of work, they sit at home moderating all day to pass the time, modding down anyone who makes them feel as dumb as they really are.

Re:Moderators need schooling

[Anonymous Coward]

You're right, it should not have been moderated as "off-topic". It should have been moderated as "-1, Troll".

There are far too many self-righteous assholes here who feel the need to nitpick the shit out of everything simply because they have no worthwhile content to add to the discussion. If you fall into this category, simply DON'T POST!

Re:Moderators need schooling

[Anonymous Coward]

Nitpick basic English? Go back and graduate high school.

Re:Moderators need schooling

[carlos_benj]

And what of those who pick the nits of other nitpickers (and those of us even farther down/up the picking order who pick their nits)?

Re:Moderators need schooling

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop picking nits or we won't have any moderators left. (They're nitwits you see.)

Re:Moderators need schooling

[Anonymous Coward]

What are editors supposed to do?

USA last time I checked

[Anonymous Coward]

Did Slashdot move to England?

Re:USA last time I checked

[Lasalas]

The internet is a global presence, coward

MAVAV mothers against videogame addiction and viol

[DooBall]

I find their report card particulary absurd

www.mavav.org

MAVAV is dedicated to educating parents in today's fastest increasing threat and danger to our child's health and way of life:
Videogame Addiction and Violence and Underground Videogame Cultures

Today videogame addiction is becoming an ever increasing problem, comparable now, even to alcohol and drug abuse. While videogame companies continue to market violence aimed at vulnerable children and young teens. And the newest absurdity, underground videogame cultures which takes gaming to another level, tainted with online "clans", singling out of people, hatred, racism, and sexism.

it's wrong on both sides of the sea

[Anonymous Coward]

"Villian" is wrong even in the UK. The ispaawards.org.uk web site even spells it "Villain."

How about the moderators promote a modicum level of high school English for a change?

That link is for the moderators. You obviously need the extra help.

VOTE NOW!! TROLL AWARDS 2002!! VOTE NOW!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Cast your vote for:

A) BEST NEW TROLL

1) Ass-Gas-Istan
2) Ekrout
3) Pinkerton Floyd
4) Subject Line Troll
5) RecipeTroll

B) BEST TROLL OF ALL TIME

1) Carp Flounderson
2) TollTroll
3) cyborg_monkey
4) Valdinator
5) l33t j03

C) TROLL LIFETIME ACHEIVEMENT AWARD

1) sllort
2) Carp Flounderson
3) negativekarmanow(tm)
4) Cock Cockwood
5) TrollAxor

All votes MUST BE IN by midnight on 12/31/2002 !!

In other news:

[Valar]

Bill Gates, for the tenth year in a row, has received the 'super villian of the year award.' Congrats.

RALSKY

[JeanBaptiste]

and any other spammer.

In Soviet Russia

[Anonymous Coward]

people saying "In Soviet Russia" are hauled to a prison camp, impaled, disemboweled, immolated, dissolved in hydrocholoric acid, crushed in a trash compacter, dragged two hundered kilometres behind a train in Siberia in the middle of winter with no clothes on, savaged by lions who haven't eaten for fourty days, forced to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity, (WARNING: some people may find the graphic nature of the following sentence be offensive) and finally fed to the RIAA's lawyers.

And they *liked* it too.

Bah!

[Anonymous Coward]

Im off to download a CD that I don't even like just to piss them off.

Re:MAVAV mothers against videogame addiction and v

[Anonymous Coward]

i looked up the mavav.org domain and found the following:

mavav.org:

Organization:
MAVAV
David Yoo
172 E. 7th
New York, NY 10009
US
Phone: 646-245-8414
Email: contact@mavav.org

so then i searched for this information to see what else came up and i found the same person owns dooball.net. dooball is the poster of the parent comment and is obviously advertising his own site. mavav is not a real organization

dooball.net:

Organization:
DooBall.NET
David Yoo
172 E. 7th
New York, NY 10009
US
Phone: 646-245-8414
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evil_of_RIAA evil_of_MPAA

[phorm]

I think the RIAA is more evil simply because of how much their product sucks, and they don't care. I may not like the MPAA, or a lot of what they do, but at least they can still give out a quality product (LOT2 is worth the money, for example)... whereas you may pay the RIAA for a CD full of crap just to get a little goodness. 2003 is looking like the movie companies are going to bring out a lot of goodness, to bad some people piss them off by not paying for it.

They're both evil though... but the sludge of the RIAA tends to float at a lower level... :-)

Original articles spelled it correctly

[billstewart]

The articles that the Slashdot article referenced all spelled it correctly.

Re:Original articles spelled it correctly

[Night Goat]

Yeah, I know, it was a joke.

Maybe....

[DarcSeed]

... this would be a good chance for the RIAA to announce their sponsorship from VillainSupply.com?

I would have thought they would have made it to VS's customer of the month selection by now, but maybe this nomination is just what they need to announce their evility to the world!

Rats, I meant:

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, Rocky! Watch me download a tune of the 'net.

Awww Bullwinkle, that trick never works!

Nuthin' in mp3. Presto!

(click) RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!

No doubt about it, Rock. MS audio stinks.

I couldn't agree with this more.

[Dolemite_the_Wiz]

The actions of the RIAA over the past few years is a prime example of how people and companies are not changing and adapting to the information age from an Industrial Age mentality.

If the RIAA doesn't get with the program, they will be swept under the proverbial carpet of change and they won't be able to do a thing about it.

the limits of the law

[theonetruekeebler]

First, the RIAA member companies as businesses have the right to charge for and protect product as they wish, within the limitations of the law

And there's a substantial part of the problem: With the money they are spending in Washington, they decide what those laws will be.

They own the ones who rule you; in other words, nothing they do is illegal, or to put a finer point on it, by the time they're ready to do it, it will be legal for them to do it. It's as easy for them to change a law is it is for you to pick up a dagger.

And the nominees are....

[Anonymous Coward]

• Billy Gates
• Al Gore
• Lars Ulrich

Re:Nominations for the goatse redirect of the year

[Rhubarb Crumble]

The unsuspecting google goatse trick! [google.com]

I never figured out what these were about, until I tried looking at it (the link not the page) in IE...

(In mozilla, they show up in the status bar as "http://www.google.com/BLAH_BLAH_BLAH...http://goa tse.cx", - it always shows the last bit of the URL. One more reason why mozilla rocks! Thanks for listening.)

They've got the wrong award choice!

[Randolpho]

I say we take away The Biggest Douche in the Universe award away from John Edward and give it to the RIAA.

Re:They've got the wrong award choice!

[Randolpho]

*cough*

I swear to God, I hit preview, and it looked right! How did those two "away"s get in there? What's up with the Italicization?

Tune in next week to find out!

Sadly the nomination resulted in an indictment

[gelfling]

But on the upside when RIAA came to the podium to accept it's award it was struck with 200 trillion tons of flaming shit sent down from heaven.

Funny!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is one of the very very few instances where it works. Way to go!

Re:evil_of_RIAA evil_of_MPAA

[Ozymandias_KoK]

However, neither organization puts OUT a product per se. Individual members do that, and has nothing to do with the larger organization really.

Congress...

[Viceice]

Congress... The oppersite of Progress.

*With regards with the genius who came up with that.

Last Post!

[alpg]

Hardware met Software on the road to Changtse. Software said: "You
are the Yin and I am the Yang. If we travel together we will become famous
and earn vast sums of money." And so the pair set forth together, thinking
to conquer the world.
Presently, they met Firmware, who was dressed in tattered rags, and
hobbled along propped on a thorny stick. Firmware said to them: "The Tao
lies beyond Yin and Yang. It is silent and still as a pool of water. It does
not seek fame, therefore nobody knows its presence. It does not seeks fortune,
for it is complete within itself. It exists beyond space and time."
Software and Hardware, ashamed, returned to their homes.
-- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

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