Downhillbattle.org Bounty For P2P Gaim Plug-in

thecombatwombat writes "Music activism site Downhillbattle.org has started a fund to pay a bounty on a peer-to-peer plugin for Gaim. With new laws threatening peer-to-peer, Downhill Battle thinks this is the future. Regardless, it's an interesting funding of open source."

Comments

Strange, I was just looking into this today

[complexmath]

and ran across Grouper. Only for Windows, but it does almost exactly what these folks want.

Re:Gaim is excellent

[pyite]

There is no controversy. Technology is not illegal. Uses of it are. People like etree make such a mockery of the RIAA's claims that filesharing is only used for evil that it's not even funny. Perhaps the RIAA is pissed off that so many bands are content with giving their music away for absolutely free.

Re:Simpler than Waste

[sH4RD]

I (being the project admin) know where WASTE is going, and it's going to be a lot simpler for those users who want it to be. 1.0 was obviously quite unfinished when originally released by Nullsoft. When we hit 2.0 it will be much more like a 1.0 in terms of features and stability. One of our goals is to create a second interface which is simpler. The installer is already a lot more user friendly, and setup is getting smoother (read: less buggy and confusing due to errors - and firewalls/routers tend to work a lot better now, my new DSL router setup without a hitch, zero-configuration no less) all the time. I am afraid these folks have written off WASTE before it's truely "done". A GAIM plugin is not logical to me. Integration of two technologies always kills off both technologies in my experience.

Get Rid of the Problem While Creating Solutions

[acaben]

I have a feeling the guys at Downhill Battle may well break the $500 mark now that they've gotten slashdotted. Congrats to them and all that they're doing.

However, I wanted to point out a way you can help the fight that's not just defensive, but offensive. Let's go after the people in congress who make this sort of thing necessary. Head on over to IPac and sign the petition. Donate. Help elect representatives and senators that understand our issues, and will fight on our side, not the side of the RIAA and MPAA.

You Can Make Filesharing Legal

[MichaelCrawford]

It is within your power to make the sharing of files - any file - completely legal. While the Constitution permits Congress to enact copyright laws, it doesn't actually require it to do so. Copyright is not a constitutional right like free speech is.

In Change the Law I discuss the constitutional basis of copyright law in the US, and suggests a number of steps you can take to bring about much needed copyright reform. The steps range from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.

There are over sixty million people using p2p networks in the US. That's more than voted for George Bush in 2000. That's enough people to bring about change, if you can work together effectively.

My article has been read by over six hundred thousand people so far but I'd like to see all sixty million American p2p users read it by the time of the 2006 midterm elections. I'd like to see copyright reform become a hotbutton issue in the next election.

If you're sad that Kerry lost November 2nd, consider that Kerry voted for the DMCA. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are on the side of the RIAA and MPAA. They're on the side of the big-money donors after all. That needs to change.

There are very few elected officials who feel that the DMCA is any sort of problem. They think it's the solution. Our elected officials view people who share files as the problem.

If you feel as I do that more people need to read my article, you can help by linking to it from your website, weblog or from message boards.