I can't believe that hypocriteMichael Sims is posting an article about DVDs. He's being the greatest hypocrite ever!
From: Michael Sims <jellicle@inch.com> To: Seth Finklestein <sethf@sethf.com> Date: 02:25:55 Jan 04 1999 Subject: DVDs
Dear Seth,
I would never buy a DVD or even post an article on Slashdot about DVDs. DVDs are bad. I predict that within ten years, even Joe Sixpack will be watching DRM-free video on his Linux desktop (Windows will be dead by that time).
Hi. I'm Seth Finklestein, world-famous cybersecurity researcher. I'd like to tell you a story.
Years ago, I started a site called the Censorware Project. It was truly the most advanced site on the entire Internet. We were getting over 50 million hits per day and winning awards left and right. I won the EFF Pioneer Award for my superb work.
Then, Michael Sims pulled the plug.
I first learned about this horrible injustice when my wife awoke me to say, "Seth, your web site is down." Knowing that she was wrong, I got up and walked over to my Dell Dimension PC and tried to log in. Do you know what it said?
"The Censorware Project is now closed."
Michael Sims, you have done the world a great injustice by closing the Censorware Project, censoring the people I love who love to write about being censored. Well, you messed with the wrong crowd. In the coming weeks, I plan to start an Internet petition and possibly even an e-mail campaign to get you eliminated as a Slashdot "editor." No longer will we have to deal with your whiny rhetoric, your surreptitious downward moderation, and your editorializing of stories.
Beware the ides of March, Michael Sims. They could strike at any time.
In a world where there is so much evil that Michael Sims can earn gainful employment, there is clearly something awry. I propose the elimination of all patents that do not pass muster from a group of elite scientists. As a proud Englishman, the Office of Science and Trade (what you yanks would call the "Patent Office" when you're not driving to Wal-Mart to buy novelty fish to put in your SUVs and your ski lodges god damn I hate all you americans so much) requires that a "council of elders" inspect every patent before it is approved.
Once again, my country is infinitely superior to Michael Sims's country.
As a certified cybersecurity expert, I must warn you: Red Hat is garbage. For your sake, you should use a distribution that lets you compile everything from source, just like God (RMS) intended. That's why, in my opinion, Gentoo GNU/Linux is the best GNU/Linux ever created. Using any other GNU/Linux is unacceptable.
There's nothing good on TV. I stopped watching TV more than 12 years ago because of this fact. As a result, I propose that this bandwidth be used for Internet. As we all know, there is more value in just one web site than all the "American Idols" and "Survivor Amazon" clones put together.
Also, with Internet bandwidth coming down the pipes instead of those awful shows that I hate so much, I can fire up KaZaA Gold to legally download all the music, movies, and other audio-visual entertainment files that I am proudly boycotting. It's a good thing.
I'll try to accumulate some links not previously posted.
Posted about what, Michael?
William Safire comments.
He does? What is he commenting about?
The Register has an editorial;
An editorial, you say? My local paper has one too, but you don't see me obsessing over it.
see also The Guardian for more on the British perspective.
Good advice.
Associated Press story.
This sentence is a fragment; consider revising it.
Listen, Michael. I know you're excited about oppressing me, but you could at least take the time to write meaningful sentences. I've been doing that since before you were born.
Your logic seems based entirely around the fact that simply because you're not paying the actors, directors, caterers and stunt men directly you have no obligation to pay for services rendered.
None of that money comes from DVDs. The evil Motion Picture Association of America ensures that actors make less than three cents per DVD sold. Do you care if Keanu Reeves gets three fewer cents?
Caterers get far less than one cent per DVD sold. Are you sad because they're getting less money? I'm not.
Would you use the same logic to download and use commercial software distributed only on CD-ROM simply because you boycott the CD-ROM format and own no CD-Rom drive?
Who the hell buys software any more? As a paid subscriber of KaZaA Gold, I have unlimited access to more than 50,000 software titles. Thanks to KaZaA Gold, I have gotten rid of my archaic CD-ROM drive and replaced it with a delicious 320GB hard drive filled with all the movies I want.
You're benefiting from someone else's time and effort. Someone put a lot of time into writing that software and yet you'd use that product without rendering any compensation for service rendered.
If I like a piece of software, I might send a donation to the person who wrote it. However, I as the consumer get to determine how much software is worth.
IANAL but I know that argument would get laughed out of any courtroom.
I'm anal too, but I know my way around a courtroom. As a famous cybersecurity expert, I have had to defend myself many thousands of times.
If you feel that you must boycott DVD's, then why the hell are you not buying the movies on video cassette?
Video cassettes are an obsolete technology. I can't play them on my laptop, and I sure as heck am not going to invest in obsolete magnetic media.
Furthermore, videocassettes are often protected with evil Macrovision "copy protection" which causes seizures in children.
Its like saying you want to boycott Cadburys chocolate, but then proceeding to shoplift a few bars of it from the nearest store.
No, it's not. If you steal chocolate from a store, then the store has been deprived of chocolate and loses money. When I liberate movies from KaZaA Gold, I am making perfect, bit-for-bit digital copies but the original source stays intact. This means that suckers like you can still spend upwards of $15 to buy poorly copy-protected DVDs if you so desire, and the companies lose no money. Who's dumb now? Not me. You're dumb.
I don't try to deny that I haven't downloaded a DivX or two in my time.. but then I do own over 60 legitimately purchased DVD's, and I do know that I was breaking the law when I downloaded those DivX files.
No, you're a thief. By boycotting DVDs, I am standing up against authority. Every DivX movie that I download from KaZaA Gold is a dagger into the heart of oppression. Every movie you download is something that you don't feel like paying for. There's a big difference. I'm a hero; you're just lazy.
Please check my web site, www.sethf.com. I have posted untold thousands of words on the subject of Fair Use, and I am proud to say that I have untold gigabytes of movies that I have fairly and legally downloaded.
According to the law, which is cited on my web site, it is legal to download something if it causes no monetary harm to a company. For example, I'm boycotting DVDs, so I can't buy DVDs and I don't own a DVD player. Therefore, by downloading DVDs from KaZaA Gold, I am depriving the studios of no money whatsoever.
Honestly, I don't know why Michael Sims tolerates uneducated ignorami like yourself.
It's perfectly legal to post a DivX copy of a part of a DVD. That's called "Fair Use." If I feel that the material is good, and if I feel that DVDs are worth the price (hint: they're not) and if I feel like giving my money to Disney (hint: I don't) then I'll buy the disc.
In the meantime, I'll continue to use legitimate file-sharing services like KaZaA Gold and BitTorrent.
I "liberated" Down With Love off of KaZaA Gold yesterday, and I thought it was excellent. I'll let you download it if you sign up for KaZaA Gold using me (sethf@sethf.com) as a referrer.
I'd love to, except that I'm boycotting DVDs due to restrictions on their use. Please post a DivX version. Use BitTorrent to lessen the load on your web server, if necessary.
As a famous cybersecurity activist, I find it laughable that people still pirate movies using a camcorder. I downloaded a rip of "The Matrix Reloaded" using KaZaA Gold yesterday, and I was shocked by what I saw. People were laughing, talking, answering their mobile phones (or as you Americans call them, "celly phoneys") and otherwise disrupting the movie that I paid KaZaA Gold for the privilege of downloading. I wrote KaZaA Gold an angry e-mail, and I will resend it in 5 hours unless I get a full refund for the movie I downloaded.
You know those "Flexplay DVDs" that critics have been receiving? I think that a very smart hacker like myself should just rip them immediately before they expire. Then they can sell them to sites like KaZaA Gold, so that famous cybersecurity activists like me can download them.
Slashdot Mirror
I can't believe that hypocrite Michael Sims is posting an article about DVDs. He's being the greatest hypocrite ever!
Explain that, you filthy hypocrite bastard-ass!
Hi. I'm Seth Finklestein, world-famous cybersecurity researcher. I'd like to tell you a story.
Years ago, I started a site called the Censorware Project. It was truly the most advanced site on the entire Internet. We were getting over 50 million hits per day and winning awards left and right. I won the EFF Pioneer Award for my superb work.
Then, Michael Sims pulled the plug.
I first learned about this horrible injustice when my wife awoke me to say, "Seth, your web site is down." Knowing that she was wrong, I got up and walked over to my Dell Dimension PC and tried to log in. Do you know what it said?
"The Censorware Project is now closed."
Michael Sims, you have done the world a great injustice by closing the Censorware Project, censoring the people I love who love to write about being censored. Well, you messed with the wrong crowd. In the coming weeks, I plan to start an Internet petition and possibly even an e-mail campaign to get you eliminated as a Slashdot "editor." No longer will we have to deal with your whiny rhetoric, your surreptitious downward moderation, and your editorializing of stories.
Beware the ides of March, Michael Sims. They could strike at any time.
In a world where there is so much evil that Michael Sims can earn gainful employment, there is clearly something awry. I propose the elimination of all patents that do not pass muster from a group of elite scientists. As a proud Englishman, the Office of Science and Trade (what you yanks would call the "Patent Office" when you're not driving to Wal-Mart to buy novelty fish to put in your SUVs and your ski lodges god damn I hate all you americans so much) requires that a "council of elders" inspect every patent before it is approved.
Once again, my country is infinitely superior to Michael Sims's country.
As a certified cybersecurity expert, I must warn you: Red Hat is garbage. For your sake, you should use a distribution that lets you compile everything from source, just like God (RMS) intended. That's why, in my opinion, Gentoo GNU/Linux is the best GNU/Linux ever created. Using any other GNU/Linux is unacceptable.
...I use Internet Explorer. All those Mozilla-using hippies will pay for their sins, just like Michael Sims will pay for his! Ha ha ha ha ha!*
* That's the laugh from "Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000," one of my favorite movies of all time.
As a proud European, I am disgusted with the way you Yanks treat your mobile phones.
Once again, I am ashamed to even look at your awful country on a map.
There's nothing good on TV. I stopped watching TV more than 12 years ago because of this fact. As a result, I propose that this bandwidth be used for Internet. As we all know, there is more value in just one web site than all the "American Idols" and "Survivor Amazon" clones put together.
Also, with Internet bandwidth coming down the pipes instead of those awful shows that I hate so much, I can fire up KaZaA Gold to legally download all the music, movies, and other audio-visual entertainment files that I am proudly boycotting. It's a good thing.
The following are good reasons to boycott this product.
This gets a 2.1 on the Seth Finklestein scale of greatness. Boo.
Here's how the Seth Finklestein scale of greatness works.
So the Danger Sidekick is better than Windows 3.1, but not as good as iceberg lettuce.
And you get a 10 out of 10 on the Phil Evans scale of unnecessary embolding!
Who's Phil Evans?
I am boycotting these so-called "PDAs" until they provide the following features.
In the meantime, I'm sorry but this gets a 2.5 out of 10 on the Seth Finklestein scale of greatness.
Dear Slashdot,
I am boycotting this device until it plays Ogg Vorbis audio and XViD video. As a celebrated freedom fighter, I urge you to do the same.
Sincerely,
Seth Finklestein
I'll try to accumulate some links not previously posted.
Posted about what, Michael?
William Safire comments.
He does? What is he commenting about?
The Register has an editorial;
An editorial, you say? My local paper has one too, but you don't see me obsessing over it.
see also The Guardian for more on the British perspective.
Good advice.
Associated Press story.
This sentence is a fragment; consider revising it.
Listen, Michael. I know you're excited about oppressing me, but you could at least take the time to write meaningful sentences. I've been doing that since before you were born.
You'd argue black is white wouldn't you.
Absolutely not.
Hero my ass.. you are just nuts. Michael Sims is right.
I want you to retract that statement immediately. Michael Sims has never, ever been right, and he never will be!
Your logic seems based entirely around the fact that simply because you're not paying the actors, directors, caterers and stunt men directly you have no obligation to pay for services rendered.
None of that money comes from DVDs. The evil Motion Picture Association of America ensures that actors make less than three cents per DVD sold. Do you care if Keanu Reeves gets three fewer cents?
Caterers get far less than one cent per DVD sold. Are you sad because they're getting less money? I'm not.
Would you use the same logic to download and use commercial software distributed only on CD-ROM simply because you boycott the CD-ROM format and own no CD-Rom drive?
Who the hell buys software any more? As a paid subscriber of KaZaA Gold, I have unlimited access to more than 50,000 software titles. Thanks to KaZaA Gold, I have gotten rid of my archaic CD-ROM drive and replaced it with a delicious 320GB hard drive filled with all the movies I want.
You're benefiting from someone else's time and effort. Someone put a lot of time into writing that software and yet you'd use that product without rendering any compensation for service rendered.
If I like a piece of software, I might send a donation to the person who wrote it. However, I as the consumer get to determine how much software is worth.
IANAL but I know that argument would get laughed out of any courtroom.
I'm anal too, but I know my way around a courtroom. As a famous cybersecurity expert, I have had to defend myself many thousands of times.
If you feel that you must boycott DVD's, then why the hell are you not buying the movies on video cassette?
Video cassettes are an obsolete technology. I can't play them on my laptop, and I sure as heck am not going to invest in obsolete magnetic media.
Furthermore, videocassettes are often protected with evil Macrovision "copy protection" which causes seizures in children.
Its like saying you want to boycott Cadburys chocolate, but then proceeding to shoplift a few bars of it from the nearest store.
No, it's not. If you steal chocolate from a store, then the store has been deprived of chocolate and loses money. When I liberate movies from KaZaA Gold, I am making perfect, bit-for-bit digital copies but the original source stays intact. This means that suckers like you can still spend upwards of $15 to buy poorly copy-protected DVDs if you so desire, and the companies lose no money. Who's dumb now? Not me. You're dumb.
I don't try to deny that I haven't downloaded a DivX or two in my time.. but then I do own over 60 legitimately purchased DVD's, and I do know that I was breaking the law when I downloaded those DivX files.
No, you're a thief. By boycotting DVDs, I am standing up against authority. Every DivX movie that I download from KaZaA Gold is a dagger into the heart of oppression. Every movie you download is something that you don't feel like paying for. There's a big difference. I'm a hero; you're just lazy.
Dear Seth Finklestein-
Please boldface my name when you write it. Only I may refer to myself in non-bold text.
You are not a famous cybersecurity activist.
Yes, I am.
You are a pear shaped looser who lives in your mom's basement.
"Pear-shaped" is hyphenated. "Loser" is spelled with one 'o'. And it's not a basement, but rather a poolhouse.
You have no hope of ever getting laid, unless you plan on shelling out some money.
Not true.
Please check my web site, www.sethf.com. I have posted untold thousands of words on the subject of Fair Use, and I am proud to say that I have untold gigabytes of movies that I have fairly and legally downloaded.
According to the law, which is cited on my web site, it is legal to download something if it causes no monetary harm to a company. For example, I'm boycotting DVDs, so I can't buy DVDs and I don't own a DVD player. Therefore, by downloading DVDs from KaZaA Gold, I am depriving the studios of no money whatsoever.
Honestly, I don't know why Michael Sims tolerates uneducated ignorami like yourself.
Read my web site and ask that question again.
Honestly. Some people wouldn't know a famous cybersecurity activist if they bumped into one on the street.
Please donate to my cause, but don't use PayPal. Instead, I would prefer that you anonymously deposit coins into my souvenir plastic cup.
It's perfectly legal to post a DivX copy of a part of a DVD. That's called "Fair Use." If I feel that the material is good, and if I feel that DVDs are worth the price (hint: they're not) and if I feel like giving my money to Disney (hint: I don't) then I'll buy the disc.
In the meantime, I'll continue to use legitimate file-sharing services like KaZaA Gold and BitTorrent.
I "liberated" Down With Love off of KaZaA Gold yesterday, and I thought it was excellent. I'll let you download it if you sign up for KaZaA Gold using me (sethf@sethf.com) as a referrer.
I'd love to, except that I'm boycotting DVDs due to restrictions on their use. Please post a DivX version. Use BitTorrent to lessen the load on your web server, if necessary.
Thank you. Please do my bidding now.
As a famous cybersecurity activist, I find it laughable that people still pirate movies using a camcorder. I downloaded a rip of "The Matrix Reloaded" using KaZaA Gold yesterday, and I was shocked by what I saw. People were laughing, talking, answering their mobile phones (or as you Americans call them, "celly phoneys") and otherwise disrupting the movie that I paid KaZaA Gold for the privilege of downloading. I wrote KaZaA Gold an angry e-mail, and I will resend it in 5 hours unless I get a full refund for the movie I downloaded.
You know those "Flexplay DVDs" that critics have been receiving? I think that a very smart hacker like myself should just rip them immediately before they expire. Then they can sell them to sites like KaZaA Gold, so that famous cybersecurity activists like me can download them.
Thank you.
The term "Compact Disc" is trademarked, so its owner (Philips) can insist that "Compact Discs" must conform to its standard.
The term "web site" is generic. There is no "legal requirement" for what constitutes a web site.
I win, you lose.
who would be friends with a Paranoid?
These friends, right over here.
And I'm not a "Kid." You are. I'm a man.