Aboriginal Archive Uses New DRM

ianare writes "An application that gives fresh new meaning to 'digital rights management' has been pioneered by Aboriginal Australians. It relies on a user's profile to control access to a multimedia archive. The need to create profiles based on a user's name, age, sex and standing within their community comes from traditions over what can and cannot be viewed. For example, men cannot view women's rituals, and people from one community cannot view material from another without first seeking permission. Images of the deceased cannot be viewed by their families. These requirements threw up issues surrounding how the material could be archived, as it was not only about preserving the information into a database in a traditional sense, but also about how people would access it depending on their gender, their relationship to other people, and where they were situated."

Comments

Re:21st Century, bitches.

[urcreepyneighbor]

I'd use the term "holier than thou" to describe your attitude, but I fear that the phrase alludes to what you likely term as superstition. Wrap it up in a ceremony while you're at it. Maybe include a sacrifice, too?

Let's invade an enemy country, kidnap some virgins, and sacrifice them to the Sky God, okay?! After we're done and we've been arrested by The White Man, we can scream "racism" and blame the American hegemony!

"STFU you intolerant, elitist, arrogant asshead" I'd consider that a compliment, actually. Thanks. :)

while certainly applicable, just seems a bit too harsh. Reality is a bitch.

The last thing the primitives need is to have their dead/dying culture kept alive on life support.

The young need textbooks, not textiles.

Re:21st Century, bitches.

[urcreepyneighbor]

Look, you're singing to the choir. We can't even get rid of the sillier forms of supernaturalism, you think we have a chance against Christianity?

We've got to start somewhere - might as well be with the fringe, "native" religions.