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Verizon Changes FiOS AUP, -1, Offtopic
RasputinAXP writes "Verizon has changed their FiOS AUP effective yesterday, and added an interesting new clause to their specific examples that we're all familiar with: 'it is a violation of the Agreement and this AUP to ... post off-topic information on message boards, chat rooms or social networking sites.' At this point, every FiOS-based Slashdot user is breaking the new AUP."
I think it was a cool game. Clever plot, movie-like experience that took your breath away and huge explosions. It was sad that there wasn't more of those sneaky sniper missions however.
Multiplayer is cool with it's leveling and perks, which actually matter quite a lot. Your characters abilities are totally different based on your perks. Co-op play is also great fun.
What do you think?
funny picture
My experience with Windows ME wasn't exactly a good one. As soon as I installed a second hard drive, it would bluescreen at boot. XP was better back then (when it was first released).
anyways, guys, i wanted to tell you about this new band i'm listen to. it's called gently liv###
[NO CARRIER]
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Go Fu*NO CARRIER
Anyone seen any cows recently? I always love when they go 'Moo'.
Discuss.
bah.
(b) transmit uninvited communications, data or information, or engage in other similar activities, including without limitation, "spamming", "flaming" or denial of service attacks;
You people at Verizon are a bunch of asswipes.
This may be overbroad wording in response to spam comments or the like (remember the Christmas store junk that kept getting posted here over the last few weeks?). The wording is broad, but that may very well be to make sure that they can reasonably catch it all and respond.
Sorry if that's too ontopic. I guess I could help that out by copy and pasting some hot fanfic but a quick google search doesn't show any Steven Chu/Terry Tao slash.
do i even need to bring up the constitution here? free speech anyone?
Wouldn't that rule out a whole lot of ISPs and governments?
But the problem here is the constant Windows vs. Linux fighting. We've spend all this time fighting and completely forgot to laught at how stupid Mac OS X users are.
I used to watch a lot more baseball than I do now. Of course, back then I lived in a different neighbourhood, and there was a totally awesome Thai place right around the corner that used to make these really good basil rolls.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
"[I]t is a violation of the Agreement and this AUP to[...] (b) transmit uninvited communications, data or information"
They don't even say "unwanted" or some such term. According to the letter of their AUP, discovering an old friend's email address (or Facebook page... whatever people use these days) and sending the friend a message "may lead to termination of your Service". They could replace their entire AUP with an at-will statement and it would be no less unconscionable.
Of course, cutting off anyone who sends yet another "e-card" might actually be justified, and according to AUP 2.b, they could do it. :)
Obviously, it's not likely they will enforce the AUP in an egregiously Draconian manner, but I for one would prefer having the outlandish bits *implied* rather than expressly stated. It just looks cleaner. On the other hand, they didn't quite go completely Pythonesque on us:
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Because being a Linux fanboy was too mainstream.
Best Slashdot Co
Because now Veri$on will be able to disconnect anybody for any reason under the pretext of breaking a rule. Quite convenient. Same with government and the thousands of laws.
Not every law is applied to everybody, but when anybody becomes inconvenient, there are enough laws to take them out of the picture.
The more numerous the laws, the more corrupted the state.
Classic case of the "open container" law (here in USia) - it gives Verizon an ace in the hole, if they ever need to cut your service for (say) "overuse" - they can sniff your traffic or get an "anonymous" person to complain, and whack your account.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Leave Britney alone
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
If they actually tried to enforce this wouldn't this just get shot down it court? I was somewhat under the impression that legal agreements i.e. terms of service etc. could not in any way restrict a persons constitutional rights?
Watch out, the Verizon Internet Police will put a stop to your trolling efforts!
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
I'm going straight to hell!
If you are a Verizon customer, you are already here.
Have gnu, will travel.
Seriously though - how are they going to enforce this without reading the information I'm sending over the net. Shouldn't that be Illegal?
Honestly, they don't care as long as you pay and nobody complains. This is just another case where if they get complaints from someone, they can terminate you for ToS violation. In reality, not much has changed - have you read some of them? There's usually enough insane terms to terminate anyone, any time anyway. This is just adding one more possible excuse to put on the termination notice.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I wuold suspect the medssage board admin just need to complain about you to verizon... and all the implies.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Awwww ... look ... somebody who doesn't think their traffic is already being monitored ... how cute.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
what it is
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
That shows up as the first on-topic post... too bad it was cut short. Is that the "Don't rub our noses in our shit," clause of their new AUP?
SIG: HUP
Yes.
Wait...
Crap!
How DARE you break the terms of your agreement! Have we stooped so low? What next? Downloading of Movies, Music, etc?
I suspect this is just the next level of ISPs' disallowing spamming. They probably aren't planning to actively enforce it, but if it were to come to their attention that one of their accounts is being used to post 100's of more or less subtle marketing messages a day to forums, they reserve the right to cut the account off.
That said I actually have no idea, just a guess.
Mod points: Guaranteed to remove your sense of humor.
Side effects may include gullibility and temporary retardation
Hopefully the most of the normal troll spam by bots on Slashdot are on FiOS.
Say, why aren't the posting here?
I couldn't find any more examples, but would like more here.
So they can say "no black customers", right? (No.)
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
Way I'm seeing it, there is no true off-topic in this particular article.
If you discuss Verizon's anti-off-topic-ness, you're on topic, but if you start discussing what kind of cheese you like in your macaroni or something, by being OFF-TOPIC, you're ON-TOPIC. If that makes any sense.
A wise man once said, "Where is my other quotation mark?
IANAL. I don't even play one on TV. However, your "constitutional rights" are a list of things that the government may not do to you. While there might be some legal angle based on Verizon's status as a common carrier, public utility, etc., generally speaking a private company has no obligation to enable your freedom of speech. Think about it... does a newspaper have to print your letter to the editor? No. Same deal here.
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
Cormorants are often disturbed by instantiated flailing humbled. Flail, flail, with the dying of the crepuscule. "Undoubtedly," Miriale remarked, "for if it were not so, how would anyone surrender their sllllllll?"
Stay on topic, Red Five, stay on topic. Almost there...
I'm not bound by their rules. Without their guidance and enforced good morals, I'm going to harm all of you by calling you douches to hurt your feelings. Hopefully, the massive amount of hurt feelings from this post will cause a ripple effect across the continent, resulting in the biggest Internet flamewar of our era. We should all be thanking Verizon for taking a stand against assholes like me.
This just proves once again privatization is better than gov't. See corporations are even better at censorship than governments are. You don't need messy strong men to silence viewpoints, you just need to have absolute power over the dominant medium of the day.
In my experience online, particularly with internet forums featuring heavy political debate (or more accurately put, "argumentation"), rules like "no off-topic posting" can easily be twisted or broadened to accompany the biases of the moderators or the majority opinion to stifle dissent.
How? For example, someone who has a completely opposite opinion of the majority may often have a completely opposing ideology and thus their opposition may be seen as "trolling." I'll use examples from the supposed "both sides" (yes, this is a gross simplification of political ideologies but bear with me), i.e., the left and the right on the political spectrum. It is frequently seen as off-topic trolling to the left when they are discussing what the proper amount of taxation should be and a libertarian or conservative come in railing against ALL taxation on principle, since the tone of discussion itself was not the validity of taxation but "just the right" amount. Of course, to many libertarians and conservatives, there is no "right amount," but it's seen as disruption and trolling all the same.
Similarly for the right, when the left criticize religiously-based policies it is often seen as rambling on about un-American stuff, and since they are talking about AMERICA! they really ought go someplace else (usually Cuba) to discuss that sort of thing. And then they're banned.
I've seen the same thing with "don't be rude" rules. Tell someone that a particular belief they have is racist, and on some forums you will get punished for insulting, nevermind the fact that some wackjobs people out there proudly call themselves racists (and if you intend to have free, open discussion, you'll have to remain neutral to both sides and favor neither) and nevermind the fact that by some definitions their views can be considered racist. For example (trying to remain unbiased towards "both" sides of the fence here, again), you can sometimes be punished for claiming that someone is a racist for affirmative action, or can be punished for saying that someone is racist for supporting Israel's status as an officially Jewish state. Of course, just being contradictory enough times, particularly towards deeply-established social norms and views is seen as disruptive and can also get you kicked from forums for "being a jerk."
This is similar to how the media marginalizes minority viewpoints in politics, by not televising them, referring to them as "spoilers" as if the votes really belong to the Big Two, treating them as sideshow attractions, and generally holding them in contempt--this applies to the Libertarians AND the left-wing parties such as the Green Party.
Conformity rules everywhere, even in places that supposedly pride themselves on having open discussion and unbiased moderation. Consensus will eventually appear and if a voice is too contradictory they'll be seen not as a contributing member but as a disruptive element. The only solution I can see for truly "free" discussion online (and I am not implying that all forums should have "free" discussion, simply ones that aim to) is to require members to have a bit of backbone and a lot of leeway on what is appropriate.
Wait - they're trying to ban porn?
Good luck with that, guys.
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
The short answer to your question?: Han shot first.
"The plural of anecdote is not data" -- Bruce Schneier
I'm on Verizon and cannot join the discussion, you insensitive clods!
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Verizon uses the Japanese definition of obscene and sexually explicit, so very few kinds of porn are actually in violation of the AUP.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
Pictures of Verizon Executives in compromising positions is automatically a violation of the AUP.
Coding Blog
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris consequat velit ut turpis lobortis tempor nec at metus. Donec rutrum egestas justo, non viverra tortor rutrum ac. Nam a magna id magna placerat dignissim non eget purus. Morbi ut velit erat, nec dapibus nisi. Nunc in libero arcu. Maecenas ut erat eu tortor dapibus rutrum in sit amet magna. Phasellus ultrices porta congue. Fusce nec quam diam, ut bibendum orci. Sed vulputate vestibulum egestas. Aliquam a ipsum id massa cursus interdum eu nec dolor. Nullam viverra ullamcorper nisl, vitae ultrices diam facilisis eleifend. Vivamus mauris justo, sagittis a varius vitae, viverra at turpis. Nulla facilisi. Ut egestas justo vitae massa iaculis convallis. Donec et nulla a erat aliquet dignissim. In turpis nibh, rhoncus nec sollicitudin vitae, convallis et lacus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec semper, orci sit amet rutrum cursus, arcu libero ultrices massa, mattis hendrerit velit justo id risus. Sed eu mattis enim. //hehe
What Verizon (Comcast, and others) are going to learn the hard way is the liability that comes along with this. IANAL, but, from experience I understand that if you specifically say something is prohibited, but then do not enforce prohibition of it and someone causes harm to another where it would have been precluded had you enforced the prohibition of said activity, guess who's liable. :)
Two old Greek guys and three Romans are sitting at a bakery drinking coffee and eating kabobs when Socrates and Plato walk by discussing the nature of "The State".
The first old Greek guys comments to Socrates "You know I once read a book that said a soverign rules by divine mandate."
Socrates smacks him across the face and pisses in his coffee. "YOu have been modded -1 Offtopic.
His second friend gets up intent on beating the remaining piss out of Socrates but Plato does a "Solar Flare Tsunami" blast to his face.
The three remaining Romans go to Plato and ask, "Why did you do such horrible things when they mearly wanted to comment on "The State" and join your discussion?"
Socrates whispered in reply, "We were talking about the state of Mrs. Plato's assets, not the government and off-topic discussion must BE PUNISHED!"
Which at that point Socrates and Plato performed the fusion dance and obliterated Atlantis just to show how serious they were about moderating off-topic discussion when a passing Spartan kicked them both off a cliff stating, "This Is Not SPARTA!"
Fin
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
Slashdot -1, Offtopic moderation to be changed to: -1 Offtopic (disconnect author from internet)
Frankly, Verizon has gotten it wrong though. They should be disconnecting trolls... OTOH.. maybe they are trolls :)
From UUnet.. historical biggest spam haven ever... to 2009 keeping a clean ship, don't even think of posting an off-topic web page...
Any anti-verizon web pages, or postings are by definition off-topic (even if Verizon is the subject of the discussion).
-- for me to bitch and moan about how Verizon FiOS lines cover all the streets around my apartment complex, but, due to a Verizon f*ck up on the property years ago (which caused a couple thousand in damage to a drain and structures around it) that my apartment complex *will not* allow Verizon on the property to bring the FiOS lines to the various apartment buildings.
I say, screw them!
How many memories does it take to install Windows 95 to my motherboard?
The game.
'Nuf said?
Well there's plenty of AUP's that already block SPAM. Why didn't they just say "even subtle spam is still considered spam."
Come join my new social network at www.verizon.net/aupsucks/socialnetworking/
------------------
couldn't help m'self
Where's that cap to the Decanter of Endless water???
I have demonstrated absolute irrefutable proof of 4 simultaneous 24 hour days with in a single rotation of Earth. No other man or god can claim such Truth manifestation. The academic brainwashed mind is corrupt and can't comprehend Cubic magnificence. Word teachers are the most evil humans. Religious academia represses the human mind of the Cubic Truth - not utterable. Educators and teachers, ignorant of the Time Cube Principle, are evil liars and unfit to live in Earth's Garden of Eden.
Fucking Verizon wants to take away my off topic midget porn?
What if a guy just wants to sit at home, and jerk off looking at a midget chick get fucked by a horse, huh? Is there really something wrong with that? Not to say that I'd want to. I'm more into the look of girls from the Robert Palmer music videos. But hey, to each his own, right?
Motherfuckers.
Or more precisely, in the infamous words of the late great George Carlin...
"shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits."
Tits? really? Not boobies, honkers, headlights, gazoongas, fun bubbles, fun bags, honkers, hooters, jugs, or melons.
Go ahead, add your titty words in response. :)
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
Well, if they're reading all the information being sent over the Internet, then clearly Verizon is responsible for allowing distribution of online child porn and any other illegal material. I mean, they wouldn't seek common carrier protection from any responsibility while breaking the rules that common carriers have to follow, would they?
I am officially gone from
Sorry to piss on your misplaced outrage, but there's no story here - nor is it censorship.
You know the rules, and so do I.
If you can read this, it means that I bothered to log in.
Verizon killed my tree when installing their FIOS lines outside my house. That caused my dog to go nuts because that's the tree he peed on. He eventually died of bladder failure.
Verizon owes me another dog.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Ya know when a person gets a new car or buys a new house, the dealer or broker takes a loan out in that person's name for the full price. so if i'm a dealer, then i get a fat check from the bank for like $30,000 to $50,000 to $200k for a house. You know that a "Verizon 2 Year Service Agreement" is the same thing? That they get a check for nearly $2,000 when you sign up for fios? Is this True? Then the day they terminate the agreement, they charge you an early termination fee? So that they can pay their accounting guys to tie up the loose ends?
Red October....standing by....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
It's all about The Last Starfighter, old trailer parks and and aliens that look like lizards.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Except that they don't respond to complaints at all:
Repeated complaints to Verizon and to his [a troll on Wikipedia] family members have been completely unsuccessful at curbing his abuse. Due to collateral damage resulting from his vandalism, large numbers of Verizon customers have been unable to edit Wikipedia.
Source
$ make available
Which will explain the sudden surge in Verizon's Now Hiring page, no doubt. See? Wholesale invasion of privacy is good for the economy.
After all, recognizing flames, spam, offtopic, etc. can't be automated, otherwise Slashdot's moderation system would only have one option: Like. /. into facebook. Please exercise your anti-corporate rage appropriately.)
(Yes I just connected Verizon with the devolution of
give this article an award for most offtopic messages. also, I just watched that "christian side hug" video... cool beans
Part 2., item (k):
By a mere visit to a porn site — or whatever site is deemed to be "inciting bigotry" — the site's material gets "transmitted" from the site to your computer. Ergo, you can not even visit such sites... E-mailing someone a picture of your butt or a note, that you hate green-skinned Martians, is also against the policy...
Here is the transcript of my "Live Chat" with a Verizon support person — "Drew" gets clearly confused and, to avoid the tough questions above even his manager's pay-grade tries to redirect me to a "local Verizon business office":
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
FRIST!
(I'm not a Verizon customer...)
Rgds
Damon
http://m.earth.org.uk/
Don't worry about it. Just slap another shrimp on the barbie, smear it with vegemite, and pull out a big knife.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
[Censored by FiOS AUP]
Has anyone noticed that movies about vampires get a lot of attention these days?
sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
People read those things?
you may not store any material or use Verizon's systems or servers in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including under US copyright law.
Storing items protected by the DMCA is not against the law. Copying illegally DRM protected items is. I think they got that one confused.
I think you misread it (emphasis added). An "infringement" is AFAIK anything illegal under IP law. But IANAL, TINLA, YMMV, etc.
$ make available
what exactly is a "rick roll?"
sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
Court would not shoot this down. Not only is FiOS not required to post your free speech, but it is actually a luxury option for doing so. If you can prove that FiOS is the only option for online access, then *maybe* you'd have something. Instead, you got nothin.
... and just maybe: on-topic is off topic ?!?
There's no logical disconnect here. What you're missing is the intent. They want to be able to bar you from their service when you do things to attract their attention. They recognize there are legal issues to doing so. Therefore, the rules are abigious enough to keep them out of court.
Quite logical, really.
The biggest disconnect I see here is your comparing a basis of government to a list of excuses for terminating a contract.
Woo hoo!
Best Slashdot Co
Verizon is not Congress. I hope that helps clear up some of your confusion... or was that an off topic joke mixed in with a serious post?
The second part of your post I agree with. Rules like that are unclear, not to mention a really bad business decision to actually enforce.
Ahh, they're just getting confused. They mean to mark it +1 Offtopic, but due to a bug on Slashdot, the polarity of the neutron flow got reversed.
I thought Verizon dropped it a while ago. Is it any good? Do they use outsource NSP like Giganews?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
OHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.
KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of our reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William bishop of London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop of Worcester, William bishop of Coventry, Benedict bishop of Rochester, Master Pandulf subdeacon and member of the papal household, Brother Aymeric master of the knighthood of the Temple in England, William Marshal earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert de Roppeley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and other loyal subjects:
+ (1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears from the fact that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter the freedom of the Church's elections - a right reckoned to be of the greatest necessity and importance to it - and caused this to be confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to be observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.
TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs:
(2) If any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands directly of the Crown, for military service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a `relief', the heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of `relief'. That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay £100 for the entire earl's barony, the heir or heirs of a knight l00s. at most for the entire knight's `fee', and any man that owes less shall pay less, in accordance with the ancient usage of `fees'
(3) But if the heir of such a person is under age and a ward, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without `relief' or fine.
(4) The guardian of the land of an heir who is under age shall take from it only reasonable revenues, customary dues, and feudal services. He shall do this without destruction or damage to men or property. If we have given the guardianship of the land to a sheriff, or to any person answerable to us for the revenues, and he commits destruction or damage, we will exact compensation from him, and the land shall be entrusted to two worthy and prudent men of the same `fee', who shall be answerable to us for the revenues, or to the person to whom we have assigned them. If we have given or sold to anyone the guardianship of such land, and he causes destruction or damage, he shall lose the guardianship of it, and it shall be handed over to two worthy and prudent men of the same `fee', who shall be similarly answerable to us.
(5) For so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land, he shall maintain the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds, mills, and everything else pertaining to it, from the revenues of the land itself. When the heir comes of age, he shall restore the whole land to him, stocked with plough teams and such implements of husbandry as t
Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
The price you paid for that airline ticket has nothing to do with what commodities traders in Taiwan had for breakfast. Geez, anyone could see that it's obviously related to football scores from last week.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
I like the part of the TOS that says you can't use it in North Korea, Syria, or other major/minor axis-of-evil participants. Good luck given the rollout has been so small that I can't use FIOS in San Francisco or Silicon Valley of all places.
At least I always credited myself : ) My name was Deathcow back in Diablo-1 days, (and thus explains the origins of my name here). For some reason I always enjoyed rounding up a group of people in the chatrooms to visit the "secret cow level". My name lent authenticity to my offers. Once I had a group of hardy adventurers I would lead them to the cows standing around in the field. I would give careful instructions to all of them about where to stand and then tell them to stay put while I opened the gateway. This will begin to test patience after a while. I would then begin to blame the individuals for items they are holding/etc.
They just sent me an update to my DSL terms of service, generously telling me that if I commit to two years of service and within that two years they stop offering DSL service in my neighborhood, I won't be charged an early termination fee! So, it's a good news/bad news kind of situation.
thank the gods i use comcast?
"(i) generate excessive amounts of email or other Internet traffic;"
So what exactly is an excessive amount of email or other Internet traffic?
has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like ?
movies about your mom get a lot of attention these days
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
On slashdot, that ain't flaming or spamming, that's preaching to the choir.
According to this AUP, Verizon still has leeway in including "preaching to the choir" as a possible violation of the Agreement even if it has not been specifically enumerated as one like flaming and spamming have been.
like Backdoor Sluts 9
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
go directly to hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgYTmjwDGY
But since I'm not on Verizon, I can post this without fear! HAHAHA!
Britney uses EMACS
No sig for the moment.
Netiquette finally has a death penalty.
We could have used this wayyy back, at the beginning of The September that never ended.
Now get offa my Internet, you AOL punks!
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Chances are someone got into a situation and this was added as a result. "It wasn't spam. Might have been off topic, but it wasn't spam." Pow, new regulation they can enforce. There's a guy somewhere who knows *exactly* why this was added.
Like Dr. Pepper has a warning to not aim at friends when opening, or McDonald's warning that hot coffee might be hot.
Don't say anything to Verizon, but it looks like Red Sox tickets are going up (again!!) I, for one, was a LOT happier when we were heart breaking losers... Ah, the good old days. I'm telling you, it was something to see, they would get so close every year, then cut out your heart, dash your brains in, and stomp on your mid-section--but, you could walk right up to the gate and get tickets any time you wanted. It was awesome, really. Now, it's a mess--nobody goes there anymore, it's too, too, oh >boo hoo hoo Did I mention Smelt night? Never mind, that's when I was a Yankees fan (youthful indiscretion, my church prayed for me and it's behind me now.)
your mom's in the AUP
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
{done in the voice of Sean Connery} Suck it, Verizon. Suck it long and suck it hard.
I've reached a point where I feel the need to express my disappointment with the man with three buttocks. The key point of the following exposition is that I assert that the portrayal of bullies in our culture is partially responsible for the man with three buttocks's actions. No joke. If the man with three buttocks had done its homework, it'd know that if Fate desired that it make a correct application of what it had read about demagogism it would have to indicate title and page number since the overbearing nitwit would otherwise never in all its existence find the correct place. But since Fate does not do this, many people are convinced that society should recognize that it uses good motives as a cover for evil ones. I can't comment on that, but I can say that some people feel that the practice of destroying our moral fiber is pernicious and selfish. Others aver that the "freedom" that the man with three buttocks is always so keen to talk about is a sheep's freedom to choose the patch of grass in which it will graze while growing wool and mutton for its owners. In the interest of clearing up the confusion I'll make the following observation: The man with three buttocks takes things out of context, twists them around, and then neglects to provide decent referencing so the reader can check up on it. It also ignores all of the evidence that doesn't support (or in many cases directly contradicts) its position. I am familiar with the man with three buttocks's goals, I understand how it operates, I have long recognized its tactics, and I know just about where the man with three buttocks now stands on the ladder to total power. I can therefore say that, indisputably, it is inherently reprehensible, venom-spouting, and invidious. Oh, and it also has a coldhearted mode of existence. It is my opinion, as well as that of the courts, dozens of professional organizations, and numerous religious leaders, that the man with three buttocks lives in a world of privileged emotion devoid of any connectable empirical dots, yes. But the man with three buttocks would have us believe that the ancient Egyptians used psychic powers to build the pyramids. Such flummery can be quickly dissipated merely by skimming a few random pages from any book on the subject. What do we owe the man with three buttocks? Nothing, absolutely nothing. If it claims otherwise, we have to stand firm and point out that someone just showed me a memo supposedly written by the man with three buttocks. The memo spells out its plans to lower scholastic standards. If this memo is authentic, it tells us that only the impartial and unimpassioned mind will even consider that the man with three buttocks's dupes are unified under a common goal. That goal is to abrogate some of our most fundamental freedoms. One wonders how the man with three buttocks can complain about peevish varmints given that its own ipse dixits also aim to cause this country to flounder on the shoals of self-interest, corruption, and chaos. The man with three buttocks wants nothing less than to plant the seeds of interventionism into the tabulae rasae of children's minds, hence its repeated, almost hypnotic, insistence on the importance of its lascivious canards. The man with three buttocks says that the majority of cankered monomaniacs are heroes, if not saints. Wow! Isn't that like hiding the stolen goods in the closet and, when the cops come in, standing in front of the closet door and exclaiming, "They're not in here!"? The best thing about the man with three buttocks is the way that it encourages us to help you reflect and reexamine your views on the man with three buttocks. No, wait; the man with three buttocks doesn't encourage that. On the contrary, it discourages us from admitting that like other obdurate toughies, it has a finely honed ability to drag men out of their beds in the dead of night and castrate them. Be patient; I won't ask you to take that on faith. Rather, I'll provide irrefragable proof that the man with three buttocks's idea of querulous, stuck-up jingoism is no political belief
Maybe it is wikipedia's fault that they added this.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
movies about your mom get a lot of attention these days
that's what she said!
"...Sleep comes like a drug in God's country Sad eyes, crooked crosses in God's country..."
Now they just need put in something about first posts, and we're set.
Which reminds me... firs... {checks message count}... aww, c'mon! I meant for everyone else!
UTF-8: There and Back Again
Wait... most of the trolls I've read have insinuated that Mac users are gay, not stupid... have I been misinformed... by the trolls? Or are those two pejoratives now considered interchangeable in modern vernacular?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
1. If you are on a term plan and Verizon ceases offering service to your location prior to the end of your term commitment, you will not have to pay an Early Termination Fee.
My only response was, "Well, duh! They really have to tell you this?" Think maybe they were having a bit of a problem collecting those Early Termination Fees from people they cut off against their will?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
the long answer involves quantum thermodynamics, about 73 pages of math, two ducks, a banana, 16 cheesburgers, the Hope diamond, Prague, the skull of George "Goober" Lindsey, and YOUR MOM
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
So, in my Terms of Use policy I can extend any other entities AUP? Assume for a second that I skip the obvious like "...reserve the right to fornicate with your hot wife". How about if I add a small charge like 5 cents, American, for every post you make payable by your ISP. Lean back and issue bills after six months or so. Would the ensuing litigation create bad or good case law for consumers?
While we are playing at annoying rhetorical questions, if two trains leave opposite coasts towards Chicago, which one will beat the Greyhound bus?
It's one thing to say if you break a forums rules by posting offtopic stuff you'll get disconnected. I don't agree with that, but ISPs have long been doing stuff like that.
You start acting in violation of the terms of a site, and that site complains to the ISP, they have two choices: Disconnect you, or hope that site doesn't entirely block them. So they reserve the right to disconnect you, although they usually only do it for big stuff. (I.e., if a user keeps committing click fraud at Google, and they really don't want Google to just block all their IPs)
However, this just asserts they can disconnect you from offtopic stuff even when that's not a violation of anyone's terms of service.
For example, I just went and read slashdot's terms of service, and I see absolutely nothing in there about offtopic posting. There is not the slightest rule on this site that posts be even vaguely relevant to the article at hand, or that replies to posts be even vaguely relevant to what they responded to.
Which means Verizon is taking a step well past the 'self-protection' we let them get away with, and asserting it is in charge of when it can disconnect people, even if the site they're on has no problem with their behavior.
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
Slashdot doesn't have a special case for posts like this, which should get moderator points added for being offtopic.
I liked it better when it was called Mine Kampf.
Gilligan Likes Maryann's Coconuts.
I am Spartacus.
Planning to be moderated ± 1: Bad Pun.
Just because your parents are reading your text messages doesn't mean you should complain about it.
Britteny isn't smart enough to use emacs she probably uses vi.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
October Sky standing by...
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
FTFA, it is clear that who ever wrote it does not know about American Constitutional Law, American Civil Liberties, and Class Action Lawsuits. One can clearly notice that no one signed their name to this writing; what kind of person does not sign their name to a document they have created? It's not the kind of person that you'd bring home to show Mom, and Dad to. I can see the ACLU thinking, "Ka-Ching", to this law suit. So it's going to boil down to how much are the punitive damages here? How about 3% of Verizon's Gross Sales for starters? But how much are an American's Civil Rights worth? By Verizon's past business practices, not much. I cannot help but wonder when the Federal Government will get tired of Suspected Criminal Gangs "Wip Sawing" Federal Regulations. Maybe this "To Big To Fail" crap can be quietly crib smothered. "Monopolistic Practices, i.e. Global Market" are getting to be a pain in my empty wallet.
Funny is dangerous to your karma. It gains no karma even with a +5, but is easily percieved as being a troll or flamebait.
From the link: "On the streets these days, a dime bag of kittens costs a pretty penny." ~ Oscar Wilde on Slashdot's "offtopic" moderation
Free Martian Whores!
Going against my better judgement and Ben Franklin's advice, but this bullshit is getting out of hand...
Look, I know it's fashionable to go with the thin, reedy, overly-nasal GOP line on this, but if you're an American, then the First Amendment DOES apply to you. It applies if you're a judge, a cop, a CEO or the school janitor. The Government doesn't get to do an end run around the Consitution by hiring out some company to do its dirty work for it.
*Waits for the pencil-necked, pasty-faced, can't-get-laid-in-his-Momma's-basement putz in the back of the room to get it out of his system.*
Yeah, I know. Strictly speaking, with the same sort of "Urkel-doesn't-get-it-so-he-ain't-ever-gonna-get-it" pickiness that makes all the grownups wanna send you to your room, the Constitution addresses the government. I know.
*Waits a little more.. and still more...*
Because, Junior, the Bill of Rights is more than just a string of damn code, that's why. It's an elaboration of the principles that we as Americans hold dear. It's a clumsy attempt to codify the way of life that we won for ourselves at Yorktown. It's not just the rules of the playground. It's our damn National DNA, that's why.
I know you probably weren't raised right, so you won't understand this, but It's WHO WE ARE. It was a radical idea in 1644 when John Milton wrote the "Areopagitica." It was a belief we all held in our bones by 1776.
We. Don't. Like. Censorship. We believe in the Marketplace of Ideas (Google it). We believe the cure for Bad Speech is More Speech.
Anyone who holds power, or so much as puts up a public bulletin board, it bound by it, not because some municipal code requires it, but because that's who we are. We as Americans detest censorship in all its forms, wherever it rears its head.
Verizon is wrong not because they are breaking some law, but because the action itself offends the sensibilities of the country that sustains it. We're all free men here. We're not afraid to hear dissenting opinions, and we for damn sure don't hide from them behind red tape and bureaucratic crap like "terms of service."
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
... responses in this thread look similar to most slashdot posts.
=P
There was this one fish i saw today on the internet somewhere, it looks like a robotfish, swims like a robotfish, and gulps like a dead fish. A fish that has been dead for a week, not a fresly cought spasm one. Anyway the fish was ugly. I don't like robotfish. Whats up with the palmtrees in concrete bins anyways? They're like everywhere where they once decided to pave the beach.
Hivemind harvest in progress..
"Oooh, scary! Somebody who's not our customer is going to continue not being our customer! We're trembling!"
You can post whatever the hell you want and still get modded +5 Funny!
Actually, Japanese adult movies are required to pixelizate the "private parts", unlike American or European movies.
Dilbert RSS feed
I don't know, I think she's one v short of vi.
Either give me abiguity or give me ambiguity!
This post was made in complete sincere seriousity; as such any attempts to derive humour are doomed to instant failure.
Fried
See section (f), above, and you can have some cake!
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
A few days ago my Sennheiser CX300 (in-ear headphones) broke and, due to a recommendation by a friend with respect to their longevity, I decided to buy myself the v-moda vibe (also in-ear headphones, even though they do sound like a sex toy). The price I paid was 43 EUR (~64 USD), S/H included.
The build quality of the vibe is fairly good, with pretty much everything but the cables being made of metal. The cables are the usual thin stranded wire, covered by what v-moda asserts to be kevlar, which is covered by a layer of clear plastic (which apparently is only the case if you buy it in the "Flashblack" color scheme). One improvement of the cables over the CX300's is that the surface is smoother, causing the vibe to generate fewer friction sounds. Unfortunately, the cable isn't any longer than the Sennheiser's, measuring only about 115 cm (~45.5 in) plug-to-earphone. Also, the plug is not angled, like most headphones', but straight, which might not be to everyone's taste.
You also get a faux leather carrying bag, a cable wrapping helper made from silicone and six silicone ear fittings (three sizes each in transparent and black) - all in all a rather decent set of extras.
The vibe is one of the few headphones with a plug that doesn't slip out of a unibody MBP's audio jack at the slightest touch. It generally forms very solid connections with the jacks you plug it into, which prevents accidental unplugging.
Sound-wise it tends to emphasize the bass and, slightly, the highs. In my opinion this means a downgrade in audio quality from the more balanced CX300 as I value clear mid-range frequencies but someone interested in an affordable open in-ear headphone with a solid bass could certainly give the vibe a try.
If I had to buy again, I'd probably go with the CX300, though - if I could still find one. Pretty much all retailers have switched over to the more expensive CX-300 II. Longevity might still make the vibe the better deal but only time will tell that.
PROS:
- good accessories package (especially the double set of fittings) - smooth, supposedly damage-resistant cables
- plug doesn't slip out of MBP audio jack
CONS:
- emphasize on bass (not a concern if you want that)
- cable could be a bit longer
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
Internet services are "enhanced" services, not common-carrier voice. And if you read the blurbs at the beginning of your phone book, you'll see that they've got an AUP that says you're not allowed to use your land-line phone for obscene or harassing phone calls either. (Or the Phone Police will go rip your phone out of the wall.)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
#1 Internet posts must be done under your real name, no handle, no nickname, no fake name. If you are found not using your real name you will be dropped.
#2 Opinions and insults are not allowed. If you don't make statements of facts that are not libelious or slanderous, you will be dropped. If you are found making an opinion or insult or anything not a fact that can be proven, you will be dropped.
#3 No trolling no cyber bullying, if you harass someone in this manner you will be dropped.
#4 No hate speech against any group, you will be dropped.
#5 Visits only to approved web sites, if you visit the wrong type of web sites as defined by our management, then you will be dropped.
#6 No porno, if you access porn of any type you will be dropped.
#7 Windows only, no Linux, Mac OSX, or non-Window OS will be allowed to use our Internet services. If you are found to use a non-Windows OS you will be dropped.
#8 You cannot use the Internet for pranks, jokes, humor, or anything of the funny nature or you will be dropped. Be serious or find another ISP.
#9 No proxy servers and other software and services that hide your IP address. We consider this criminal activity and you will be dropped.
#10 No P2P file sharing, as a result bandwidth will be capped to 19.2KBps, use of any more than that will be considered illegal download of copyrighted materials and you will be dropped. Also see rule 7 no Linux ISO downloads either as we consider it illegal use of P2P networks and don't see Linux as a valid OS to use with our Internet services.
P.S. Oh by the way, spammers, scammers, get rick quick Ponzi schemes, and other stuff is allowed, as long as you use your real name and don't violate any of the other rules.
P.P.S. Oh by the way we made a deal with the NSA/CIA/FBI etc to wirelessly wiretap your Internet connection and give up data on you to the government for suspicious activity like breaking rules 1 to 7 or others.
P.P.P.S. Oh by the way this is now federal law and approved by the UN so now all ISPs will adopt these code violations.
P.P.P.P.S. If you violate any of these rules/laws or we even perceive or think you did, you will be Banned from the Internet.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
I know that this is off topic, but ******* Connection Terminated ******
No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.
So i can get people cut off if they forward me useless chain emails? Cool.
Oh, and bunnies are pink..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
So, Obama's going to announce extending the War in Afghanistan. Discuss.
If Verizon were available in your area, it would've been Verizon DSL.
So, make that dial-up (satellite's just as bad on the AUP) and an aerial.
Or, shell out hundreds a month for a DS3.
THERE ARE THINGS MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO KNOW! HERE ARE A FEW!
"So did you hear the story about Gregg and Tolos? Anyway Tolos ... he's this Rottweiler, you see ..."
[details omitted]
"Alone at home, Gregg's excitement grew and grew... he grasped the cord and thrust the plug home! Soon he would be plugged IN... consequences be damned! As the drool of long-suppressed anticipation of THE FORBIDDEN ACT dripped from his lips, the electric shock from the amplifier chassis coursed through his brain like a million electric eels, annihilating the very substance of his grey matter, and even so he REACHED FOR THE GUITAR to COMMIT THE ULTIMATE SIN ... "
[In compliance with the Federal Communication Commissions' Good Neighbor Noise Reducation Ordinance of 1993, the remainder of this passage has been squelched.]
"And so there was the master tape for 'Back From Samoa', but there no longer, so where was it? Maybe I a..."
[transmission broken]
The constitution expresses the sentiment of our culture in the United States. I was merely mentioning that Verizon goes against that sentiment.
We have a winner. It's spidercoz. The rest of you, thanks for playing. We can all go home now.
"The plural of anecdote is not data" -- Bruce Schneier
For a second there I thought /. finally implemented the ability to moderate the stories themselves.
...watches you masturbate. Senator Larry Craig is jealous of ceiling cat and would like to steal his ceiling modification technology to watch baseball player Grady Sizemore.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
I'm surprised it wasn't used more often, but there's a better way with modems to prevent problems with +++ and NO CARRIER.
With proper settings, the serial line CD (Carrier Detect) is raised when the modem is connected, and lowered when it disconnects.
Also with proper settings, if the computer lowers the TR (Terminal Ready) serial line, the modem will hang up.
With this, you can do ATS2=255 or something like that to disable the +++ system. Then you can send any data you want, because the connection control is out-of-band.
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
and terms and conditions too...
Ask Me About... The 80's!
But 99% of usenet spam is offtopic posting...
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
I hardly know her!
As despicable as the Verizon AUP is, this is not a new change. Here is a link to a rant in 2006 about the FIOS TOS including a mention of offtopic posting. In other current news, Ban Ki-moon has been elected to replace Kofi Annan as the secretary-general of the UN...
While that would work, none of the post are worth wasting to mod points for.
They should turn off moderation for this article :)
(i) generate excessive amounts of email or other Internet traffic
That's the worst clause. So now you can be cut off for merely using your pipe to its maximum.
~in order to clear one's mind, think of something with no meaning, like a sound~
"To stop the terrorists."