[kwlug-disc] are you going to be a criminal?

[unsolicited]

Khalid Baheyeldin wrote, On 06/05/2010 10:41 PM:
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 10:27 PM, John Johnson <jvj at golden.net> wrote:
> 
>> At 21:23 2010-06-05, you wrote:
>>
>>> I was not stretching it.
>>>
>> I do agree with your point that consumers of digital media would be (and
>> are) unfairly impacted by measures intended to fight piracy, the black
>> market in illegal copies of content. The legal consumers become collateral
>> damage.
>>
> 
> That is the main point:
> 
> Imagine that because there is credit card fraud, users are made to give a
> DNA sample for every transaction. Does it happen for purchases that you do?
> No. Go after the criminals, and leave the law abiding citizens alone. Don't
> change the law to make it living hell for the citizens, and barely make a
> dent in on the criminals.

This goes down a road we don't want to go too far down, here, but, how 
do you find and apprehend the criminals when they camouflage 
themselves to look just like you and I? Why is it they barely make a dent?

Why is industry nefarious for seeking actual enforcement of current 
laws, and redress for the theft of their product? Especially when, 
nudge, nudge, wink, wink, many people know others who download, yet do 
nothing about it?

When was the last time you filed a police report claiming that someone 
was illegally downloading content? When was the last time we actually 
saw (criminal) charges to a home consumer, since their ISP could see 
that torrent traffic (after all, the ISPs manage such traffic)?

All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

What did you think would happen? That industry would just go, "Well, 
alright then!" And slink away.

What would you have them do?

They have product being stolen. Attempts to date to stop it have 
failed. So you blame them for attempting to acquire more tools and teeth?

I can appreciate their intent and desire. I don't like what they've 
proposed, nor how they've gone about things, but I can somewhat 
appreciate their predicament.

This is no different than the insurance industry: There are massive 
abuses of it every day, particularly Accident Benefits. It's cheaper 
for the companies to pay out than to deny a claim or fight it in 
court. As a result, we all pay more for insurance than we should. We, 
All us 'law abiding citizens' aren't being left alone. So, why don't 
companies enforce things, at any cost?

> Go after those who are selling copied games, copied DVDs, ...etc.

If that had been proven effective, to date, we wouldn't be where we 
are today, with the proposed legislation.

So, how would you fix the problem?

> Leave everyone else alone.

How does anyone determine whom 'everyone else' is? Especially when the 
very act of examining one of those 'everyone elses', to investigate, 
becomes an inherent attack on 'everyone else'. By what means do you 
discern who is not 'everyone else.'?


I decry their attitudes and methods. I don't like what's proposed. 
They cost too much. I'm not happy.

Got a better idea?

Propose it to your MP, et al.