High horse my ass! I've bought every Blizzard game except Starcraft, have preordered Diablo2 and the expansion pack, and when the Bnetd thing happened I was considering buying Starcraft just because I liked the company. I'm quite sure that being able to run my own D2 realm (which I believe is either already a feature or a planned feature for bnetd) would resurrect my interest in Diablo 2.
People who think piracy is the issue here are buying into the Vivendi propaganda. Blizzard makes good games! Whether or not bnetd makes piracy easier, there are plenty of people who would scramble to buy any Blizzard product. The fact that "they might not want somebody rewriting said service" is true, but sueing people is not a respectable way of doing business. AT&T doesnt want anybody finding out a new way of making long distance phone calls.
I've always been a good customer to Blizzard, and a loyal fan. But I simply will not support a company that goes around sueing little guys, and I hope that the rest of the Slashdot community has the integrity to do the same.
The problem here is that 90% of software piracy is done by non-commercial users trying to learn/understand/experiment with the software. While I agree that Adobe deserves compensation for their product, there are many cases of non-commercial piracy where no harm is done. My sixteen year old cousin uses pirated Adobe software because he wants to be an expert with the software by the time he enters the job market. Is he harming Adobe by using their software illegally? I doubt it. Can he afford 5 x $100+ for Adobe products. Certainly not.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that a 15 person company using pirated copies of Photoshop is harmful, and perhaps even deserves some form of punishment
step away from the freakin computer man! go play some everquest, do something! just get a life!
1 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:26PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
2 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:22PM (Score:2)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
3 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:14PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
4 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:07PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
5 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:58PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
6 Re:I can only conclude posted on Thursday May 30, @01:52PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
7 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:46PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
8 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:43PM (Score:2 Replies: 3)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
9 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:38PM (Score:1 Replies: 4)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
10 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:34PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
11 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:26PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
12 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:24PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
13 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:14PM (Score:2 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
14 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:07PM (Score:1 Replies: 4)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
15 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:00PM (Score:0 Replies: 8)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
But I do want an easy way to inflict a large burden on those who send it to me repeatedly, especially if they continue to do so after I request that they stop.
The problem right now with SPAM is that the SPAMMERS are preying on morons who think that SPAM works. These poor home-based business owners really think that SPAM companies are going to send their adverts to 5 million real people, as opposed to 1 million dead addresses, 1 million duplicate addresses, 1 million domain-name registrants (or ex-registrants), and 2 million people who will instantly trash the message. Maybe the best course of action is a crackdown on fraud laws?
I just had to cancel my email address of 5 years due to being overspammed. I was deleting mail that I needed because I was deleting blocks of 10, 20, 30 at a time. And now I will lose contact with old friends for a while. I would really like to be able to make some of those cocksucker spammers pay for it.
Anyone who cant respect Eminem's music on *some* level is an intellectual midget. He writes music that, whether or not you actually like it or enjoy listening to it, does have merit and validity. Not only does he write a great pop song ("My Name Is") but he manages to squeeze some great socio-political commentary in there - even if that commentary is somewhat juvenile. He's also managed to challenge the status quo by offending so many while convincing the majority that he should in fact have the right to offend us! (I think a lot of Eminem's stuff is offensive, but I also think that the shock factor is very valuable to American culture).
Actually I don't know the details but apparently the Wright brothers tried to legislate all their competitors out of business, and were in fact somewhat successful. A good friend of mine is an aviation buff and anytime we talk about IP he brings up the horrendous damage that the Wright bros did to the field of aviation by stifling all the competition.
Although that doesnt say anything about how much effort it took them to get there, or whether or not they just stumbled on to their ideas...
It's tough to explain... just how central comics were for years to a culture of brainy, nerdy, alienated pre-Net teenage boys.
Are you fucking kidding? Comic books were cool for everyone when they were kids. It's really fucking weak that you people try to say that everything you like is "for nerds only". Or that only nerds understand comic books. Every kid liked comics when he was growing up, nerd or not. -dbc
I suspect that there is such a clause in the filming permit
That's pretty unlikely - they also removed the World Trade Center (they definitely removed it from the commercials, I dont know about the actual movie). That fact could have a significant impact on this case.
I'd like to get into HCI professionally but I have no credentials. Can anyone point out a good place to start? Even if it's just a few books? What kind of degree do you need, and what are the best schools?
I like to use "Ralph Poohead". Or when they offer a free trial issue with an opt-out subscription to follow, I send it to Wrigley Field in Chicago and use the name "Teebone Schmidt".
This is also true of Antique stores. A lot of that stuff has been stolen several times! And those bastards just buy it like it's no big deal. So I *never* buy stuff from Antique stores anymore.
That was sarcasm by the way. Guess what? There is a lot of stolen stuff out there. No one cares. Cry me a f*ckin river. -dbc
So if the Better Business Bureau case gets thrown out of court, will the people who settled be able to countersue? I mean, at some point a judge is going to get pissed at this jerk. Does that mean that all those who already settled are just screwed with no chance of getting their settlements back?
This is really no big deal. The internal gravitational model is quite probably learned, possibly during infancy or childhood. This is no different than wearing prism glasses that make you see everything upside down except that the adjustment time is longer. As alnapp said, growing up with a non-Earth gravitational model would likely cause difficulties playing ball here on Earth.
What the fuck is going on here??? Robo, CmdrTaco, and Hemos are just a bunch of dirty whores. Any self-respecting Slashdot reader should be ashamed to even click on those links, much less read the f*cking articles.
Actually I think this is valid - a good friend of mine knows someone who actually bought an X10 cam! So yes, there are people who not only click the links in SPAM but actually buy the products!
If I were Blizzard, here's what I would have done: "Hi this is Blah Blah Blah from Blizzard, apparently people are using Bnetd to play pirated versions of Warcraft III. Is there any way that you guys could remove WC3 support from Bnetd? - I would hate this to have to be a legal issue. Tell you what, I'll give a free copy of WC3 for the dev team if you get it done quickly."
While I can't predict what their response would have been, I'm guessing it would have been better than the current shithole that Blizzard has dug itself into...
It seems to me that the main problem here is that Blizzard brought the DMCA into it. If they had taken some other angle, maybe even politely asked the developers to remove Warcraft III support (I realize that might not be realistic but it probably would have been better than the PR nightmare Blizzard is dealing with now). By taking the "cease & desist first, ask questions later" approach, they come off looking like a megacorp. trying to screw everybody.
The problem with SPAM is partly due to the definition of "opt-in". Many spammers will claim that whatever list they bought/stole/harvested was an "opt-in" list and that you had to do something to sign up on that list. And the spammer is probably innocent until proven guilty - how can we prove that we never opted-in?
Make all the jerkoff "musicians" get real jobs - they can flip burgers like everybody else! And all the manpower/money that goes into forcing crap down our throats can be diverted into something that's actually productive!
Slashdot Mirror
High horse my ass! I've bought every Blizzard game except Starcraft, have preordered Diablo2 and the expansion pack, and when the Bnetd thing happened I was considering buying Starcraft just because I liked the company. I'm quite sure that being able to run my own D2 realm (which I believe is either already a feature or a planned feature for bnetd) would resurrect my interest in Diablo 2.
People who think piracy is the issue here are buying into the Vivendi propaganda. Blizzard makes good games! Whether or not bnetd makes piracy easier, there are plenty of people who would scramble to buy any Blizzard product. The fact that "they might not want somebody rewriting said service" is true, but sueing people is not a respectable way of doing business. AT&T doesnt want anybody finding out a new way of making long distance phone calls.
I've always been a good customer to Blizzard, and a loyal fan. But I simply will not support a company that goes around sueing little guys, and I hope that the rest of the Slashdot community has the integrity to do the same.
-dbc
The guy from WotC stated on the message board that they only take ownership of the top three, all the rest are owned by their respective creators.
-dbc
If you did not pay for cable television and you installed additional cable and/or hardware to get it to your TV, it's theft.
This is true. Also, if you watch a tv show and don't watch the ads, it's theft.
that was sarcasm.
-dbc
The problem here is that 90% of software piracy is done by non-commercial users trying to learn/understand/experiment with the software. While I agree that Adobe deserves compensation for their product, there are many cases of non-commercial piracy where no harm is done. My sixteen year old cousin uses pirated Adobe software because he wants to be an expert with the software by the time he enters the job market. Is he harming Adobe by using their software illegally? I doubt it. Can he afford 5 x $100+ for Adobe products. Certainly not.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that a 15 person company using pirated copies of Photoshop is harmful, and perhaps even deserves some form of punishment
-dbc
step away from the freakin computer man! go play some everquest, do something! just get a life!
1 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:26PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
2 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:22PM (Score:2)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
3 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:14PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
4 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @02:07PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
5 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:58PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
6 Re:I can only conclude posted on Thursday May 30, @01:52PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
7 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:46PM (Score:1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
8 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:43PM (Score:2 Replies: 3)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
9 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:38PM (Score:1 Replies: 4)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
10 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:34PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
11 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:26PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
12 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:24PM (Score:1 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
13 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:14PM (Score:2 Replies: 1)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
14 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:07PM (Score:1 Replies: 4)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
15 Re:I can't see this ever working in the US posted on Thursday May 30, @01:00PM (Score:0 Replies: 8)
attached to EU to Require Opt-In for Commercial Email
But I do want an easy way to inflict a large burden on those who send it to me repeatedly, especially if they continue to do so after I request that they stop.
The problem right now with SPAM is that the SPAMMERS are preying on morons who think that SPAM works. These poor home-based business owners really think that SPAM companies are going to send their adverts to 5 million real people, as opposed to 1 million dead addresses, 1 million duplicate addresses, 1 million domain-name registrants (or ex-registrants), and 2 million people who will instantly trash the message. Maybe the best course of action is a crackdown on fraud laws?
I just had to cancel my email address of 5 years due to being overspammed. I was deleting mail that I needed because I was deleting blocks of 10, 20, 30 at a time. And now I will lose contact with old friends for a while. I would really like to be able to make some of those cocksucker spammers pay for it.
-dbc
Anyone who cant respect Eminem's music on *some* level is an intellectual midget. He writes music that, whether or not you actually like it or enjoy listening to it, does have merit and validity. Not only does he write a great pop song ("My Name Is") but he manages to squeeze some great socio-political commentary in there - even if that commentary is somewhat juvenile. He's also managed to challenge the status quo by offending so many while convincing the majority that he should in fact have the right to offend us! (I think a lot of Eminem's stuff is offensive, but I also think that the shock factor is very valuable to American culture).
-dbc
Actually I don't know the details but apparently the Wright brothers tried to legislate all their competitors out of business, and were in fact somewhat successful. A good friend of mine is an aviation buff and anytime we talk about IP he brings up the horrendous damage that the Wright bros did to the field of aviation by stifling all the competition.
Although that doesnt say anything about how much effort it took them to get there, or whether or not they just stumbled on to their ideas...
-dbc
It's tough to explain... just how central comics were for years to a culture of brainy, nerdy, alienated pre-Net teenage boys.
Are you fucking kidding? Comic books were cool for everyone when they were kids. It's really fucking weak that you people try to say that everything you like is "for nerds only". Or that only nerds understand comic books. Every kid liked comics when he was growing up, nerd or not.
-dbc
I suspect that there is such a clause in the filming permit
That's pretty unlikely - they also removed the World Trade Center (they definitely removed it from the commercials, I dont know about the actual movie). That fact could have a significant impact on this case.
-dbc
So how does this apply to Gator, Morpheus, and RealPlayer? Those programs are not just malicious they're also obnoxious!
dbc
I'd like to get into HCI professionally but I have no credentials. Can anyone point out a good place to start? Even if it's just a few books? What kind of degree do you need, and what are the best schools?
-dbc
I like to use "Ralph Poohead". Or when they offer a free trial issue with an opt-out subscription to follow, I send it to Wrigley Field in Chicago and use the name "Teebone Schmidt".
This is also true of Antique stores. A lot of that stuff has been stolen several times! And those bastards just buy it like it's no big deal. So I *never* buy stuff from Antique stores anymore.
That was sarcasm by the way. Guess what? There is a lot of stolen stuff out there. No one cares. Cry me a f*ckin river.
-dbc
So if the Better Business Bureau case gets thrown out of court, will the people who settled be able to countersue? I mean, at some point a judge is going to get pissed at this jerk. Does that mean that all those who already settled are just screwed with no chance of getting their settlements back?
dbc
Those aren't bugs, those are features
This is really no big deal. The internal gravitational model is quite probably learned, possibly during infancy or childhood. This is no different than wearing prism glasses that make you see everything upside down except that the adjustment time is longer. As alnapp said, growing up with a non-Earth gravitational model would likely cause difficulties playing ball here on Earth.
-dbc
What the fuck is going on here??? Robo, CmdrTaco, and Hemos are just a bunch of dirty whores. Any self-respecting Slashdot reader should be ashamed to even click on those links, much less read the f*cking articles.
-dbc
Actually I think this is valid - a good friend of mine knows someone who actually bought an X10 cam! So yes, there are people who not only click the links in SPAM but actually buy the products!
-dbc
If I were Blizzard, here's what I would have done:
"Hi this is Blah Blah Blah from Blizzard, apparently people are using Bnetd to play pirated versions of Warcraft III. Is there any way that you guys could remove WC3 support from Bnetd? - I would hate this to have to be a legal issue. Tell you what, I'll give a free copy of WC3 for the dev team if you get it done quickly."
While I can't predict what their response would have been, I'm guessing it would have been better than the current shithole that Blizzard has dug itself into...
-dbc
It seems to me that the main problem here is that Blizzard brought the DMCA into it. If they had taken some other angle, maybe even politely asked the developers to remove Warcraft III support (I realize that might not be realistic but it probably would have been better than the PR nightmare Blizzard is dealing with now). By taking the "cease & desist first, ask questions later" approach, they come off looking like a megacorp. trying to screw everybody.
-dbc
How is this illegal? Is it illegal to tape radio shows and trade them with friends? Is it illegal to record TV shows and trade them?
And why dont the stations just release their own versions with the ads in them? Wouldnt that solve all the problems?
dbc
The problem with SPAM is partly due to the definition of "opt-in". Many spammers will claim that whatever list they bought/stole/harvested was an "opt-in" list and that you had to do something to sign up on that list. And the spammer is probably innocent until proven guilty - how can we prove that we never opted-in?
-dbc
Please refer to my previous post, where I suggest that musicians should have to get real jobs and actually do something productive
-dbc
Make all the jerkoff "musicians" get real jobs - they can flip burgers like everybody else! And all the manpower/money that goes into forcing crap down our throats can be diverted into something that's actually productive!
umm... we were talking about mp3s right?