Ideology aside, forgetting for a moment who is right or wrong, we should be very concerned that a company is dictating policy at a University. If the illegal act of making and distributing files on the Internet is of major social concern, it is the responsibility of the justice department.
Yet, there are no arrests, no fines. No statement saying "What you are doing is illegal and if you are caught, you will be punished." Granted, enforcing the law on a wide and free network is difficult, and we aren't quite sure how to do it effectively yet. However, something that effects all of our rights in a legal sense is being battled by advocates for corporate
interests (Napster Vs. RIAA, in this case). The people, on the other hand, have no advocates, even though it directly effects them.
If this trend of determining matters of legality on the Internet by companies instead of law makers, we will end up with a set of 'unwritten' laws developed by whomever has the most persuasive lawyers (read: money) and detach the citizenry from the lawmaking process altogether. The democratic process may be slow, and might not make sense all the time, but at least can
be accessed (in theory) by the people.
If a University can be forced to change it's policy by a company for fear of a lawsuit, regardless of the legality or ethics of
that policy, we could all be in big trouble.
I read through this thinking how many people say 'consumers like this', 'consumers do that'. Hey, I'm a consumer! Here is I shop for titles (games, usually. Apps I get online). I like the smell of the software company. The big giant displays. The annoying salesman who seems to think his favorite game is the one everyone should buy. The rows and rows of games I've never heard of. I see something that looks interesting. Pick up the box. Read the system requirements. Open up the front flap. Look at the screen shots. Read the game description, the reviews on the side. Shake the box. Does it sound like just a jewel case flopping around in there or is it there a manual. Put the game down. Do this for an hour or two and decide on a game. Sure, I know I could get reviews, screenshots etc. on the net, but its not the same thing. It has been pointed out a number of times: People will always go to brick and mortar shops because they like to get out, they like the physical contact with the product before they put their money down. Don't get me wrong, I want the boxes to be smaller, but I also want to be able to see what I'm getting. I don't shop for play station games in a brick and mortar, since it's just the jewel box, and usually, it is behind glass where I can't examine it, so you have to know exactly what you want before going into the store. I think the best way is to keep the boxes on the shelves. When you take it up, you get a shrink rapped disk/docs to take with you. Interstellar Donkey http://www.masscom.net/~deadfish/donkey.html
Re:This is exceptionally cool
on
Linux BIOS
·
· Score: 1
For the love of Pete! Lets all just hope Microsoft/Intel don't read that. Thats all I need to deal with: A win/tel interpratation of 'winbios' motherboards. "Well, we've taken the bios chipset away because that $5 extra is cutting into our profits. Don't worry, your Celeron will handle the processing just fine. You won't notice the difference!" Visit the ongoing adventures of interstellar donkey, every day, at http://www.mindspring.com/~dulles/donkey.html
Slashdot Mirror
Yet, there are no arrests, no fines. No statement saying "What you are doing is illegal and if you are caught, you will be punished." Granted, enforcing the law on a wide and free network is difficult, and we aren't quite sure how to do it effectively yet. However, something that effects all of our rights in a legal sense is being battled by advocates for corporate interests (Napster Vs. RIAA, in this case). The people, on the other hand, have no advocates, even though it directly effects them.
If this trend of determining matters of legality on the Internet by companies instead of law makers, we will end up with a set of 'unwritten' laws developed by whomever has the most persuasive lawyers (read: money) and detach the citizenry from the lawmaking process altogether. The democratic process may be slow, and might not make sense all the time, but at least can be accessed (in theory) by the people.
If a University can be forced to change it's policy by a company for fear of a lawsuit, regardless of the legality or ethics of that policy, we could all be in big trouble.
I read through this thinking how many people say 'consumers like this', 'consumers do that'. Hey, I'm a consumer! Here is I shop for titles (games, usually. Apps I get online). I like the smell of the software company. The big giant displays. The annoying salesman who seems to think his favorite game is the one everyone should buy. The rows and rows of games I've never heard of. I see something that looks interesting. Pick up the box. Read the system requirements. Open up the front flap. Look at the screen shots. Read the game description, the reviews on the side. Shake the box. Does it sound like just a jewel case flopping around in there or is it there a manual. Put the game down. Do this for an hour or two and decide on a game. Sure, I know I could get reviews, screenshots etc. on the net, but its not the same thing. It has been pointed out a number of times: People will always go to brick and mortar shops because they like to get out, they like the physical contact with the product before they put their money down. Don't get me wrong, I want the boxes to be smaller, but I also want to be able to see what I'm getting. I don't shop for play station games in a brick and mortar, since it's just the jewel box, and usually, it is behind glass where I can't examine it, so you have to know exactly what you want before going into the store. I think the best way is to keep the boxes on the shelves. When you take it up, you get a shrink rapped disk/docs to take with you. Interstellar Donkey
http://www.masscom.net/~deadfish/donkey.html
For the love of Pete! Lets all just hope Microsoft/Intel don't read that. Thats all I need to deal with: A win/tel interpratation of 'winbios' motherboards. "Well, we've taken the bios chipset away because that $5 extra is cutting into our profits. Don't worry, your Celeron will handle the processing just fine. You won't notice the difference!" Visit the ongoing adventures of interstellar donkey, every day, at http://www.mindspring.com/~dulles/donkey.html