I think the key is creativity. Show the absurdity of trying to ban a number. We need to rally to protect free speech. To help out, I even made a flag.
Re:This doesn't fit the Sony (console) business mo
on
PS2 As PC
·
· Score: 1
There have been multiple cases here where people claim that:
a) This would ruin the console business model.
and
b) That Linux would be too complicated for Grandma, etc.
These would both be true facts if Sony and AOL released a full-featured version of Linux, and I see no reason why they should.
Use Linux for its stability but custom design a simplified user interface to interact with grandma and little Billy. Look at the plans for the Linux-based Nokia Media Terminal for example.
Could hackers bypass the custom interface and do naughty things Sony doesn't want them to? (Like installing "free-as-in-beer" software?) Perhaps. But most people would be willing to pay for reasonably priced software that would extend the functionality of the device. I include myself in that number.
A simplified user interface. A strong Internet client (AOL/Netscape). A rock solid OS (Linux). I've been begging for a device like this for years.
If they attempted to ban the games outright, that's one thing. But regulating some games for adults only is perfectly legal.
This is no different than keeping pornography away from children. Ultimately, not everything that is good for adults is good for children. At the very least, parents should be able to choose what their children are exposed to.
As video games grow as a medium, don't be surprised when it begins to recieve the same kinds of scrutiny as other mediums: movies, magazines and television.
This gets into the hairy area as to what is acceptable for kids and what isn't. But I don't think an eight year old should be able to buy a copy of Hustler or go see Pulp Fiction unsupervised. The fact that some games may be inappropriate for children is a sign that the medium is progressing past being just for kids.
But to tell you the truth, I suspect the "adult" video games are some of the most juvenile in the arcade. Getting your jollies from buckets of blood is not the most sophisticated type of gaming, IMHO.
And people, remember... there are some corporations that recognize that fan sites and parody sites keep your fan base alive *way* past when you'd expect them to die. Not all corporations are evil.
Of course not all corporations are evil -- just Mattel. Do you honestly think the creators of the Satan-inspired CyberPatrol are going to pull the stick out of their ass just because some geeks that already hate them and never buy their products might hate them a little more?
Our only hope is that they learn of Hemos' stature in the doll-collecting world and realize that if he dumps his Barbies on the open market they will be faced with a flood of high-quality, slightly used Barbies -- completely destroying the domestic Barbie market.
Microsoft have a legitimate concern about software piracy. If someone installs Windows 98 on their computer and then sells the installation disk and opened box, then they have a legitimate claim to piracy. Auctions of opened boxes are suspect unless the seller can prove in some manner that no copies have been made, perhaps by some sort of sworn statement.
Their are two basic problem with this approach. First is that it presumes guilt. The second is that if I am willing to pirate M$ software, I am cetainly willing to lie about it, too.
By changing the feedback ratings, eBay is effectively changing the user content on their web site. By doing this - even ONCE - without a user request to do so, they forfeit any claims that they may make in the future that they are only common carriers, and that they do not control or modify content. It also sets a precedent on eBay where comments themselves are edited or deleted, if this is not occurring already. Thus, they may make themselves liable.
If they had simply removed the comments, that would be true. But by editing the comments to eliminate negative feedback against Microsoft, they have created a different situation.
This isn't censorship; this is impersonation. I leave negative feedback. It gets changed to neutral with my name still attached. This is much worse than just pulling the posts. If someone pushes the issue in court, it is pretty indefensible.
The deep-linking ruling allows Web sites to link to content deep within other companies' Web sites. For instance I could directly link to a trailer for Mission Impossible 2 from my fan page (not that I have one) bypassing the advertising and other goodies the studio wants me to see. The issue being decided was whether content providers who hold copyrights to material had the right to control the path consumers use to access that material by forcing them to look at advertising, etc.
The issue in the DeCSS case is not that the mirror sites don't want the links. It's that the DVD-CCA and the MPAA want to restrict the ability of 2600 et al. to link to specific information. This is more of a free speech issue than a copyright issue.
I agree with the StarOffice/MS Office analysis, which is why I brought up StarPortal. Although this may not be the perfect solution for large-scale enterprise yet, it is a great step in the right direction and it is free (in price).
The Linux market has grown at an astonomical rate, and a convergence of MS mistakes and Linux milestones should ensure that the market grows even more.
1) MS is getting investigted by the European Union The EU patiently waited for the U.S. antitrust action to be compeleted before launching it's own investigation of Microsoft's anti-competitive practices. The big trouble for MS is that they are targeting Windows 2000. An injunction preventing them from distributing it in Europe would be really bad for MS, even on a temporary basis.
2) Corel Buying Borland Corel has made some interesting partnerships, and they appear to be banking on Linux's success. As they release more and more commercial applications for Linux, it becomes easier and easier to wean companies off of MS.
3) MS Tries to Combat Piracy This has to be one of the most misguided ideas to ever come out of Redmond. New copies of Office 2000 will force you to register with Microsoft.
In a classic example of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, MS risks forcing people who like their software free as in "no money" to go looking elsewhere for their products. MS is able to dominate the office-suite market becasue they are the de-facto standard. If they start driving people at home to use other software, it puts that market dominance at risk.
If I have StarOffice at home because I didn't want to pay $500 for MS Office, I am much more likely to push for StarOffice (or StarPortal) at work. If MS was smart, they would leave the common home piracy alone, recognizing that maintaining market dominance is more important that trying to squeeze an extra few hundred bucks out of day-to-day home users.
All of these are Good Things(TM) for the Linux community. More and more users, developers and major companies are seeing Linux as a way to get out from under Microsoft's thumb. Now if Adobe would port the rest of their software library to Linux, I could eliminate my Win32 partition altogether.
You don't have to trust VA Linux. And maybe you shouldn't. They are a vendor, an important part of the very market that Slashdot covers. So by all means treat them with a little suspicion. But let's face facts. They are not, say, LinuxOne, or Microsoft. They have been a very above-board and up-front with the community, and their record thus far has been beyond reproach.
Could they suddenly turn rogue and try to unduly influence Slashdot's content? Perhaps. But that's why we have Rob and Co. You don't have to trust VA Linux, you just have to trust the editors. They are still in charge of the site.
Even if their carefully worded contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on, if VA Linux tried to compromise the integrity of Slashdot, I have full faith that Rob and Jeff would walk, probably saying a lot of nasty things on the way out. At that point, owning Slashdot would be a lot like owning a used piece of toilet paper.
So I'm counting on a few things.
First, I count on the integrity of the editors. Second, I count on the integrity of VA Linux. They've always been an asset to the community and I think they will continue to be in the future. Third, I count on the intelligence of VA Linux. Even if they are weasels (and I don't think they are), if they piss off the editors by interfering with the site's integrity, I think the editors would walk, and Slashdot without CmdrTaco and Hemos is like a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich without peanut-butter and jelly. To protect their investment, VA Linux must keep Rob & Co. happy, and to keep them happy they need to keep their hands off the site.
HipNerd
Watch out for the monkey gap!
on
AI Monkey Robot
·
· Score: 1
Once again while America was napping our foreign competitors have seized the lead in exciting new technologies.
The Japanese, who already lead the world in robotic dog technology, are now prepared to lock-up yet another species of mammillia in a flood of patents and trade secrets.
Pretty soon soon the market will be flooded with cheaply made imported robotic primates. How will the domestic robotic-monkey manufacturer be able to compete with the overwhelming tide of inferior, but inexpensive, cyber-chimps, oragutans and lemurs?
This is all the result of ignoring my repeated warnings re:NAFTA, the yakuza, the Church of the SubGenius and certain elements of freemasonry.
JFK died to preserve our rights to quality digital simians at affordable prices made right here in the US of A! And how do we repay him? We're so self-absorbed we don't notice our precious robotic-animal heritage being stolen from us. It took a British orginization, the BBC, to call it to our attention.
If we don't do anything about this, soon the international mega-cartels will control our mechanical-mammal destiny, and we can't afford to let that happen.
That is why I am announcing the creation of the open-sourced CyberWombat, which I will be releasing under the GPL. Since I know nothing about robotics, programming (or Wombats for that matter), I will need a little help. Any takers?
The episode where Homer needs bypass surgery and can't afford anyone but Dr. Rivera. Lisa & Bart run in the room.
Lisa: Dad, we're scared you might die! Homer: Don't worry Lisa, only bad people die. Lisa: Well, what about Abraham Lincoln? Homer: [Thinking] Uh...he gave poison milk to school-children. Marge: Homer!
Just for the record, I meant free as in "open sourced," not free as in "costs no money."
I talked with some government officials who downloaded their software and others who felt that paying for it was worthwhile to gain access to support. Both points of view have some validity.
Here's an artcle from Government Technology Magazine about how states and local governments (read cities) are using open-source software like Linux and Apache to run Web severs, file servers, etc.
The article also touches on some of the obstacles government agencies face trying to purchase "free" software. As a bonus, you get a few comments from Slashdot's resident Apache expert Jim Jagielski.
Hipnerd
In the spirit full disclosure, I should probably mention that I wrote the article.
I agree with your analysis of the law. But as Microsoft has proved in the past, law and personal ethics are two entirely seperate things.
It may be legal to do this to Microsoft, and even enjoyable to watch them squirm. But in your heart, can you honestly say that it is right? It is a program they developed to promote their business.
It is a good deal on it's own merits, particularly for computer neophytes. Using this loophole is basically taking $400 from Microsoft. What do they get from the deal? Nothing. Leave the law and your views of Microsoft out of it.
Is it right to take money like this then fail to honor your part of the bargain?
I have to admit that I am leaning towards running out and buying $401 worth of something at Best Buy and sticking it to the man.
But in more honest moments, I suspect that I am using my pent up hostility toward Microsoft to cover up the fact that I would be stealing.
"But wait!" you cry. "This is Microsoft's fault. They are the ones that left the loophole in their contract."
That's like blaming the kid who's bike you stole because he didn't lock it up. It certainly doesn't make your actions any more noble.
Microsoft is easy to hate sometimes. But I'm trying not to become just like them -- willing to make a buck anyway possible at the expense of others.
We know how these programs are supposed to work. Even if the ISP service costs about the same, you get a deferred, interest-free loan on a low-cost PC. It has allowed many people (my sister included) to get a PC when otherwise they may not have been able to. This in a Good ThingTM. I would hate to see these programs cancelled due to abuse.
You do not have a Constitutional right to freedom from taxation. Right to free speech? Check. Protection from unreasonable searches? Check. Right to not be taxed? Not in there.
We need taxes. Sad but true. Nobody likes them, and few people like the government. But taxes are necessary. Especially sales taxes, which help fund local and state governments.
Local governments depend on sales taxes for 36 percent of their annual budget. They use that money to do practical, everyday things like:
* Pay for teachers salaries * Put police on the roads * Or, for those who hate the police, they put firemen on the roads. * Hey, let's be honest, they build the roads and other necessary infrastructure with that money * Put on your local Peach Cobbler festival
When people talk about government excesses and waste, they are seldom talking about local governments, they are talking about the Feds. It's okay to hate the federal government. That's almost the national pastime.
I would like to add that the taxation bill discussed here is no a good idea. It is poorly thought out.
The money would be collected by the federal government and used to to fund grants for teacher salaries exclusively. What if you need money for road improvements or more police? You're out of luck.
Also, I think that it is too early to tax the net. While we will need to do it eventually, e-commerce is not a large enough piece of the retail pie to make taxing it necessary yet. I'd vote to let it grow more before we take the drastic step of implementing taxes.
As noted by many others, the e-mail tax proposal is either a hoax, and/or technically impossible and/or an offhanded remark made by some U.N. official which he promptly regretted leaving his lips.
But, there is a legitimate possibility of a tax being levied on the Internet and that is a sales tax. Senator Fritz Hollings has introduced legislation that would levy a national sales tax of 5 percent on every interstate sale. While this covers mail-order catalogs and telephone sales, there is no doubt that its main focus is e-commerce.
The bill would take the money generated by the national tax and fund grants to pay teachers' salaries. It flies in the face of Rep. Chris Cox's Internet Tax Freedon Act, which called for a three-year moritorium on taxation of the Internet.
A side note While nobody likes new taxes, they may eventually be neccessary. The primary beneficiary of sales taxes are state and local governments, not the big, bad feds everyone loves to hate. Sales taxes represent more than 36 percent of the budget of state and local governments.
That pays for things like schools, police and firefighters. We have to have those services. If the economy moves more and more to the e-commerce model, local governments will either tax this new economy or die.
But, that being said, I think we are a while off before taxation becomes neccessary. While e-commerce is growing at an incredible rate, it is still a small part of the total economy, and we don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
We do not have an absolute right to a tax-free Internet. Intellectual freedom? Yes. Academic freedom? Yes. Freedom from taxation? It is up to us to look at the situation and use our heads. No one likes new taxes, but we all like things like roads, schools and the ability to walk on the streets late at night.
Salon recieved letters from about three or four of the supposedly "fake" fan sites and it turned out that they were real.
Now I suppose that there still could be some master conspiracy going on, but unless anyone has any proof of such a conspiracy, I choose to believe the filmmakers and the webmasters.
There is no hard evidence that the fan base was faked, just Salon's suppositions and many allusions to the Divx controversy.
And unlike the Divx fiasco, there actually is something worthy of creating a fan site in "The Blair Witch Project", which I thouroughly enjoyed.
Slashdot Mirror
I think the key is creativity. Show the absurdity of trying to ban a number. We need to rally to protect free speech. To help out, I even made a flag .
a) This would ruin the console business model.
and
b) That Linux would be too complicated for Grandma, etc.
These would both be true facts if Sony and AOL released a full-featured version of Linux, and I see no reason why they should.
Use Linux for its stability but custom design a simplified user interface to interact with grandma and little Billy. Look at the plans for the Linux-based Nokia Media Terminal for example.
Could hackers bypass the custom interface and do naughty things Sony doesn't want them to? (Like installing "free-as-in-beer" software?) Perhaps. But most people would be willing to pay for reasonably priced software that would extend the functionality of the device. I include myself in that number.
A simplified user interface. A strong Internet client (AOL/Netscape). A rock solid OS (Linux). I've been begging for a device like this for years.
Hipnerd
This is no different than keeping pornography away from children. Ultimately, not everything that is good for adults is good for children. At the very least, parents should be able to choose what their children are exposed to.
As video games grow as a medium, don't be surprised when it begins to recieve the same kinds of scrutiny as other mediums: movies, magazines and television.
This gets into the hairy area as to what is acceptable for kids and what isn't. But I don't think an eight year old should be able to buy a copy of Hustler or go see Pulp Fiction unsupervised. The fact that some games may be inappropriate for children is a sign that the medium is progressing past being just for kids.
But to tell you the truth, I suspect the "adult" video games are some of the most juvenile in the arcade. Getting your jollies from buckets of blood is not the most sophisticated type of gaming, IMHO.
HipNerd
Of course not all corporations are evil -- just Mattel. Do you honestly think the creators of the Satan-inspired CyberPatrol are going to pull the stick out of their ass just because some geeks that already hate them and never buy their products might hate them a little more?
Our only hope is that they learn of Hemos' stature in the doll-collecting world and realize that if he dumps his Barbies on the open market they will be faced with a flood of high-quality, slightly used Barbies -- completely destroying the domestic Barbie market.
HipNerd
Their are two basic problem with this approach. First is that it presumes guilt. The second is that if I am willing to pirate M$ software, I am cetainly willing to lie about it, too.
By changing the feedback ratings, eBay is effectively changing the user content on their web site. By doing this - even ONCE - without a user request to do so, they forfeit any claims that they may make in the future that they are only common carriers, and that they do not control or modify content. It also sets a precedent on eBay where comments themselves are edited or deleted, if this is not occurring already. Thus, they may make themselves liable.
If they had simply removed the comments, that would be true. But by editing the comments to eliminate negative feedback against Microsoft, they have created a different situation.
This isn't censorship; this is impersonation. I leave negative feedback. It gets changed to neutral with my name still attached. This is much worse than just pulling the posts. If someone pushes the issue in court, it is pretty indefensible.
HipNerd
Free at last! Free at last! Lord Almighty, I'm Free at last! HipNerd
The issue in the DeCSS case is not that the mirror sites don't want the links. It's that the DVD-CCA and the MPAA want to restrict the ability of 2600 et al. to link to specific information. This is more of a free speech issue than a copyright issue.
Just my $.02.
HipNerd
Wordperfect needs a little more tweaking on the stability side as far as I'm concerned. Maybe it should be called Wordalmostperfect. ;-)
HipNerd
I agree with the StarOffice/MS Office analysis, which is why I brought up StarPortal. Although this may not be the perfect solution for large-scale enterprise yet, it is a great step in the right direction and it is free (in price).
HipNerd
1) MS is getting investigted by the European Union
The EU patiently waited for the U.S. antitrust action to be compeleted before launching it's own investigation of Microsoft's anti-competitive practices. The big trouble for MS is that they are targeting Windows 2000. An injunction preventing them from distributing it in Europe would be really bad for MS, even on a temporary basis.
2) Corel Buying Borland
Corel has made some interesting partnerships, and they appear to be banking on Linux's success. As they release more and more commercial applications for Linux, it becomes easier and easier to wean companies off of MS.
3) MS Tries to Combat Piracy
This has to be one of the most misguided ideas to ever come out of Redmond. New copies of Office 2000 will force you to register with Microsoft.
In a classic example of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, MS risks forcing people who like their software free as in "no money" to go looking elsewhere for their products. MS is able to dominate the office-suite market becasue they are the de-facto standard. If they start driving people at home to use other software, it puts that market dominance at risk.
If I have StarOffice at home because I didn't want to pay $500 for MS Office, I am much more likely to push for StarOffice (or StarPortal) at work. If MS was smart, they would leave the common home piracy alone, recognizing that maintaining market dominance is more important that trying to squeeze an extra few hundred bucks out of day-to-day home users.
All of these are Good Things(TM) for the Linux community. More and more users, developers and major companies are seeing Linux as a way to get out from under Microsoft's thumb. Now if Adobe would port the rest of their software library to Linux, I could eliminate my Win32 partition altogether.
HipNerd
You don't have to trust VA Linux. And maybe you shouldn't. They are a vendor, an important part of the very market that Slashdot covers. So by all means treat them with a little suspicion. But let's face facts. They are not, say, LinuxOne, or Microsoft. They have been a very above-board and up-front with the community, and their record thus far has been beyond reproach.
Could they suddenly turn rogue and try to unduly influence Slashdot's content? Perhaps. But that's why we have Rob and Co. You don't have to trust VA Linux, you just have to trust the editors. They are still in charge of the site.
Even if their carefully worded contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on, if VA Linux tried to compromise the integrity of Slashdot, I have full faith that Rob and Jeff would walk, probably saying a lot of nasty things on the way out. At that point, owning Slashdot would be a lot like owning a used piece of toilet paper.
So I'm counting on a few things.
First, I count on the integrity of the editors. Second, I count on the integrity of VA Linux. They've always been an asset to the community and I think they will continue to be in the future. Third, I count on the intelligence of VA Linux. Even if they are weasels (and I don't think they are), if they piss off the editors by interfering with the site's integrity, I think the editors would walk, and Slashdot without CmdrTaco and Hemos is like a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich without peanut-butter and jelly. To protect their investment, VA Linux must keep Rob & Co. happy, and to keep them happy they need to keep their hands off the site.
HipNerd
Once again while America was napping our foreign competitors have seized the lead in exciting new technologies.
The Japanese, who already lead the world in robotic dog technology, are now prepared to lock-up yet another species of mammillia in a flood of patents and trade secrets.
Pretty soon soon the market will be flooded with cheaply made imported robotic primates. How will the domestic robotic-monkey manufacturer be able to compete with the overwhelming tide of inferior, but inexpensive, cyber-chimps, oragutans and lemurs?
This is all the result of ignoring my repeated warnings re:NAFTA, the yakuza, the Church of the SubGenius and certain elements of freemasonry.
JFK died to preserve our rights to quality digital simians at affordable prices made right here in the US of A! And how do we repay him? We're so self-absorbed we don't notice our precious robotic-animal heritage being stolen from us. It took a British orginization, the BBC, to call it to our attention.
If we don't do anything about this, soon the international mega-cartels will control our mechanical-mammal destiny, and we can't afford to let that happen.
That is why I am announcing the creation of the open-sourced CyberWombat, which I will be releasing under the GPL. Since I know nothing about robotics, programming (or Wombats for that matter), I will need a little help. Any takers?
HipNerd
The episode where Homer needs bypass surgery and can't afford anyone but Dr. Rivera. Lisa & Bart run in the room.
Lisa: Dad, we're scared you might die!
Homer: Don't worry Lisa, only bad people die.
Lisa: Well, what about Abraham Lincoln?
Homer: [Thinking] Uh...he gave poison milk to school-children.
Marge: Homer!
HipNerd
Just for the record, I meant free as in "open sourced," not free as in "costs no money."
I talked with some government officials who downloaded their software and others who felt that paying for it was worthwhile to gain access to support. Both points of view have some validity.
Hipnerd
The article also touches on some of the obstacles government agencies face trying to purchase "free" software. As a bonus, you get a few comments from Slashdot's resident Apache expert Jim Jagielski.
Hipnerd
In the spirit full disclosure, I should probably mention that I wrote the article.
I agree with your analysis of the law. But as Microsoft has proved in the past, law and personal ethics are two entirely seperate things.
It may be legal to do this to Microsoft, and even enjoyable to watch them squirm. But in your heart, can you honestly say that it is right? It is a program they developed to promote their business.
It is a good deal on it's own merits, particularly for computer neophytes. Using this loophole is basically taking $400 from Microsoft. What do they get from the deal? Nothing. Leave the law and your views of Microsoft out of it.
Is it right to take money like this then fail to honor your part of the bargain?
Hipnerd
I have to admit that I am leaning towards running out and buying $401 worth of something at Best Buy and sticking it to the man.
But in more honest moments, I suspect that I am using my pent up hostility toward Microsoft to cover up the fact that I would be stealing.
"But wait!" you cry. "This is Microsoft's fault. They are the ones that left the loophole in their contract."
That's like blaming the kid who's bike you stole because he didn't lock it up. It certainly doesn't make your actions any more noble.
Microsoft is easy to hate sometimes. But I'm trying not to become just like them -- willing to make a buck anyway possible at the expense of others.
We know how these programs are supposed to work. Even if the ISP service costs about the same, you get a deferred, interest-free loan on a low-cost PC. It has allowed many people (my sister included) to get a PC when otherwise they may not have been able to. This in a Good ThingTM. I would hate to see these programs cancelled due to abuse.
HipNerd
You do not have a Constitutional right to freedom from taxation. Right to free speech? Check. Protection from unreasonable searches? Check. Right to not be taxed? Not in there.
We need taxes. Sad but true. Nobody likes them, and few people like the government. But taxes are necessary. Especially sales taxes, which help fund local and state governments.
Local governments depend on sales taxes for 36 percent of their annual budget. They use that money to do practical, everyday things like:
* Pay for teachers salaries
* Put police on the roads
* Or, for those who hate the police, they put firemen on the roads.
* Hey, let's be honest, they build the roads and other necessary infrastructure with that money
* Put on your local Peach Cobbler festival
When people talk about government excesses and waste, they are seldom talking about local governments, they are talking about the Feds. It's okay to hate the federal government. That's almost the national pastime.
I would like to add that the taxation bill discussed here is no a good idea. It is poorly thought out.
The money would be collected by the federal government and used to to fund grants for teacher salaries exclusively. What if you need money for road improvements or more police? You're out of luck.
Also, I think that it is too early to tax the net. While we will need to do it eventually, e-commerce is not a large enough piece of the retail pie to make taxing it necessary yet. I'd vote to let it grow more before we take the drastic step of implementing taxes.
Just my $.02.
HipNerd
But, there is a legitimate possibility of a tax being levied on the Internet and that is a sales tax. Senator Fritz Hollings has introduced legislation that would levy a national sales tax of 5 percent on every interstate sale. While this covers mail-order catalogs and telephone sales, there is no doubt that its main focus is e-commerce.
You can read the text of the bill here.
The bill would take the money generated by the national tax and fund grants to pay teachers' salaries. It flies in the face of Rep. Chris Cox's Internet Tax Freedon Act, which called for a three-year moritorium on taxation of the Internet.
A side note
While nobody likes new taxes, they may eventually be neccessary. The primary beneficiary of sales taxes are state and local governments, not the big, bad feds everyone loves to hate. Sales taxes represent more than 36 percent of the budget of state and local governments.
That pays for things like schools, police and firefighters. We have to have those services. If the economy moves more and more to the e-commerce model, local governments will either tax this new economy or die.
But, that being said, I think we are a while off before taxation becomes neccessary. While e-commerce is growing at an incredible rate, it is still a small part of the total economy, and we don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
We do not have an absolute right to a tax-free Internet. Intellectual freedom? Yes. Academic freedom? Yes. Freedom from taxation? It is up to us to look at the situation and use our heads. No one likes new taxes, but we all like things like roads, schools and the ability to walk on the streets late at night.
HipNerd
Just for a point of clairification:
Salon recieved letters from about three or four of the supposedly "fake" fan sites and it turned out that they were real.
Now I suppose that there still could be some master conspiracy going on, but unless anyone has any proof of such a conspiracy, I choose to believe the filmmakers and the webmasters.
There is no hard evidence that the fan base was faked, just Salon's suppositions and many allusions to the Divx controversy.
And unlike the Divx fiasco, there actually is something worthy of creating a fan site in "The Blair Witch Project", which I thouroughly enjoyed.
HipNerd