Punishment is not revenge. The point of class actions is to deter future bad behavior. I don't care if a class action suit makes the lawyer a hundred million dollars and I get nothing. If it stops the behavior in the future it's done its job.
1. Congress, and the US, have an interest in not clogging courts.
The whole point of not clogging courts is so that people can have access to them. If you deny them access outright, what's the point of having a court system?
If you have an issue with the law, talk to your Congresscritter.
When money speaks louder than words, what good is that going to do? Why would my congressman piss off his numerous corporate donors and represent me instead?
Even though it is security theater, society has norms that state when people deem to be right and wrong
Is it too much to ask that those norms be at least partially based on reason?
Wearing a shirt that has that message is wrong because it breaks those societal courtesies
In any sane society complaining about a tshirt would be wrong because it breaks social courtesies.
Putting someone's grandma in a state of unease for something that is already not exactly the most fun doesn't sit well in my book.
Persecuting people for the contents of their tshirt puts me at unease. Take the paranoid racist grandma off the flight and leave the nice man with the tshirt alone.
He probably saw it for what it was, but decided he didn't want one the passengers beating the shit out of this guy mid-air because they felt threatened.
Then he should have removed the people he felt were risks of violence and not the victim.
What's become apparent from the course of American politics is that limiting government power is not enough. Government power has been augmented by corporate power for which there are no checks and no representation by the people. The protections against government power written into the Constitution are insufficient when government and corporate power have merged.
If you're expressing concern over the content of someone's t-shirt, you are the one who should be removed. No exceptions. That kind of behavior should never be tolerated.
Let me restate for emphasis: If you are panicking over the content of someone's t-shirt, you are far more dangerous than the t-shirt wearer.
This system works as long as you put somewhat reasonable and responsible people in the cockpit.
Someone who would eject a passenger because of his t-shirt is neither reasonable nor responsible. Delta owes their customers compensation for their lodging and transportation at a minimum, and they should throw in some free tickets for their wasted time.
Let's see... Surveillance cameras on every corner, no freedom of speech, no right to self defense, no protection against self-incrimination(encryption keys), and it's the very reason the term "nanny state" was invented. What's not to love?
I'm not saying the UK is worse than my country, but you clearly have serious problems. I don't see how anyone can consider the UK "free".
You also get news that is written more by real journalists and less by corporate bullies with political agendas (yes, I'm talking about Fox)...
It's not just Fox. Every news source in the country is pro-corporate. The difference between Fox and MS-NBC is as illusory as the difference between Obama and Romney.
Just what we need... yet another ant-science post.
Did you read the peer-reviewed paper linked in the article? They gave antibiotics to one group of inbred (genetically identical) mice, and witheld them from a control group of mice. The mice given antibiotics early in life had increased fat mass, altered GI bacteria populations, and alterations in genes that control lipid metabolism.
That's not caused by failing to eat well and exercise. These were the same strain of mice raised in the same conditions. Tell me, since you're so sure this can't be true, how do *you* interpret this data?
Apparently peak uranium is expected to hit in 2035. We're already producing less than we can use. The only inexhaustible energy source is going to be hydrogen fusion.
That's kind of the point. When Windows 95 came out, average people used the command line all the time. Now that Windows 8 is coming out, average people use the desktop all the time. Microsoft wants to do to the desktop what it did to the CLI.
Most people aren't that smart. They probably got the crack from a friend or download a cracked version.
Right, they just go to The Pirate Bay and pick out the top rated hit for their search. It comes pre-cracked, or at the least it's been tested to be crackable. Releasing a patch can't possibly interefere with this typical piracy scenario.
We really need to see the typical day to day variation in their sales before we can say with any confidence that these patches had any effect on sales whatsoever.
I don't think you can blame them for not being impressed with 90% piracy and the best alternative is Steam selling your game for a couple bucks.
That's what PC game publishers have been dealing with for decades. They've made it work so far.
I find it hard to believe that there is a causal relationship there. Releasing patches that block cracks should have no effect on the piracy rate because pirates can always get the non-fixed version. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here this seems like a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc. I'd be interested in seeing how their purchase and download rates vary on days when they haven't released patches.
As for your second paragraph, a 20% purchase rate is 4 times better than a 5% purchase rate.
Remember, getting to zero piracy isn't the goal. Maximizing profits is the goal. You can achieve zero piracy pretty easily by never releasing anything.
That's OK. We have three decades of gaming to choose from. If they stop making games today, I'll have plenty of games to play for the rest of my life.
The only loser in the deal is the gaming industry. If they want my money, they have to make games on acceptable terms. Otherwise I don't need them at all.
If they publish something I'm interested in buying, I certainly would. Does Ubisoft have any turn based RPGs or space sim shooter games in the works?
I'd even be interested in a new Rainbow Six game if they brought back the ultra-tactical combat of the original.
Child of Eden is the only recent Ubisoft game I can think of that interested me in any way whatsoever. And that only came out on consoles. So it's not exactly a big sacrifice to boycott Ubisoft over their DRM.
Actually, a piracy rate of around 95% sounds about right for PC gaming going all the way back to the 5150, and the 8-bit home computers that came before it. PC gaming has survived for 30 years with piracy rates of 90% or more, it should survive for another 30.
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Class actions are less about justice but revenge.
Punishment is not revenge. The point of class actions is to deter future bad behavior. I don't care if a class action suit makes the lawyer a hundred million dollars and I get nothing. If it stops the behavior in the future it's done its job.
1. Congress, and the US, have an interest in not clogging courts.
The whole point of not clogging courts is so that people can have access to them. If you deny them access outright, what's the point of having a court system?
If you have an issue with the law, talk to your Congresscritter.
When money speaks louder than words, what good is that going to do? Why would my congressman piss off his numerous corporate donors and represent me instead?
Even though it is security theater, society has norms that state when people deem to be right and wrong
Is it too much to ask that those norms be at least partially based on reason?
Wearing a shirt that has that message is wrong because it breaks those societal courtesies
In any sane society complaining about a tshirt would be wrong because it breaks social courtesies.
Putting someone's grandma in a state of unease for something that is already not exactly the most fun doesn't sit well in my book.
Persecuting people for the contents of their tshirt puts me at unease. Take the paranoid racist grandma off the flight and leave the nice man with the tshirt alone.
He probably saw it for what it was, but decided he didn't want one the passengers beating the shit out of this guy mid-air because they felt threatened.
Then he should have removed the people he felt were risks of violence and not the victim.
What's become apparent from the course of American politics is that limiting government power is not enough. Government power has been augmented by corporate power for which there are no checks and no representation by the people. The protections against government power written into the Constitution are insufficient when government and corporate power have merged.
If you're expressing concern over the content of someone's t-shirt, you are the one who should be removed. No exceptions. That kind of behavior should never be tolerated.
Let me restate for emphasis: If you are panicking over the content of someone's t-shirt, you are far more dangerous than the t-shirt wearer.
This system works as long as you put somewhat reasonable and responsible people in the cockpit.
Someone who would eject a passenger because of his t-shirt is neither reasonable nor responsible. Delta owes their customers compensation for their lodging and transportation at a minimum, and they should throw in some free tickets for their wasted time.
Oh, and fire the idiot pilot.
Let's see... Surveillance cameras on every corner, no freedom of speech, no right to self defense, no protection against self-incrimination(encryption keys), and it's the very reason the term "nanny state" was invented. What's not to love?
I'm not saying the UK is worse than my country, but you clearly have serious problems. I don't see how anyone can consider the UK "free".
You also get news that is written more by real journalists and less by corporate bullies with political agendas (yes, I'm talking about Fox)...
It's not just Fox. Every news source in the country is pro-corporate. The difference between Fox and MS-NBC is as illusory as the difference between Obama and Romney.
So your suggestion is to piss off your best customers and encourage them to skip the Day 1 rush?
We are talking about Apple here. Apple doesn't cater to their customers. Apple's customers will take what Apple gives them and be thankful.
Is there an easier way to pirate than going to the pirate bay?
Who do modding tools benefit?
Only the PC gamers.
Presumably, your game designers would benefit from good modding tools as well.
Does developing modding tools cost me?
Yes.
If you've provided your game designers with good tools to design their game, this cost is already sunk.
Just what we need... yet another ant-science post.
Did you read the peer-reviewed paper linked in the article? They gave antibiotics to one group of inbred (genetically identical) mice, and witheld them from a control group of mice. The mice given antibiotics early in life had increased fat mass, altered GI bacteria populations, and alterations in genes that control lipid metabolism.
That's not caused by failing to eat well and exercise. These were the same strain of mice raised in the same conditions. Tell me, since you're so sure this can't be true, how do *you* interpret this data?
The plural of "anecdote" is not "data". And for that matter, neither is the singular.
Apparently peak uranium is expected to hit in 2035. We're already producing less than we can use. The only inexhaustible energy source is going to be hydrogen fusion.
It's going to take centuries before we mine the mantle, so that's about right. And relativity is no barrier to generational ships.
That's kind of the point. When Windows 95 came out, average people used the command line all the time. Now that Windows 8 is coming out, average people use the desktop all the time. Microsoft wants to do to the desktop what it did to the CLI.
The reason for the start page is to make the desktop look scary. Average users don't want to drop to the command line for any reason
If Microsoft has their way, soon it will be "drop to the desktop".
Most people aren't that smart. They probably got the crack from a friend or download a cracked version.
Right, they just go to The Pirate Bay and pick out the top rated hit for their search. It comes pre-cracked, or at the least it's been tested to be crackable. Releasing a patch can't possibly interefere with this typical piracy scenario.
We really need to see the typical day to day variation in their sales before we can say with any confidence that these patches had any effect on sales whatsoever.
I don't think you can blame them for not being impressed with 90% piracy and the best alternative is Steam selling your game for a couple bucks.
That's what PC game publishers have been dealing with for decades. They've made it work so far.
At home you have wifi, don't you?
Not only does that mean you don't really need data coverage
What? The point of having a data plan on a mobile device is to replace the wifi at home?
you can make and receive phonecalls seamlessly via wifi calling.
This is an excellent point and should not be diminished by its proximity to the statement above.
I find it hard to believe that there is a causal relationship there. Releasing patches that block cracks should have no effect on the piracy rate because pirates can always get the non-fixed version. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here this seems like a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc. I'd be interested in seeing how their purchase and download rates vary on days when they haven't released patches.
As for your second paragraph, a 20% purchase rate is 4 times better than a 5% purchase rate.
Remember, getting to zero piracy isn't the goal. Maximizing profits is the goal. You can achieve zero piracy pretty easily by never releasing anything.
Unless emulators are going to disappear from the face of the planet, young people will always have access to the classics.
That's OK. We have three decades of gaming to choose from. If they stop making games today, I'll have plenty of games to play for the rest of my life.
The only loser in the deal is the gaming industry. If they want my money, they have to make games on acceptable terms. Otherwise I don't need them at all.
If they publish something I'm interested in buying, I certainly would. Does Ubisoft have any turn based RPGs or space sim shooter games in the works?
I'd even be interested in a new Rainbow Six game if they brought back the ultra-tactical combat of the original.
Child of Eden is the only recent Ubisoft game I can think of that interested me in any way whatsoever. And that only came out on consoles. So it's not exactly a big sacrifice to boycott Ubisoft over their DRM.
Actually, a piracy rate of around 95% sounds about right for PC gaming going all the way back to the 5150, and the 8-bit home computers that came before it. PC gaming has survived for 30 years with piracy rates of 90% or more, it should survive for another 30.