Zero-Sum Economics

from the right-to-exclude dept

Fri, Jul 15th 2011 6:20am — Nina Paley

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: economics

79 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:30am

Queue "Yur comic r not funy" comments in 3...2...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AJ, 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:36am

Nice
I like it Nina! Should we send this over to the AA's? It would be funny, but I doubt it would make a difference....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:37am

Re:
don't forget "nina fails"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ima Fish (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:39am

"Why am I not rich?"

Because you forgot a step. Going to Congress to have laws passed forcing people to pay for your government granted monopolies.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:41am

Re:
No, this comic is incredibly funny. It's a mind blower. I mean, I was rolling around the office floor, trying not to hit the desk.

It's so funny, I forgot to laugh.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:44am

Re: Re:
also, Inb4 "omg these are the worst comics EVER!" and "BAWW IT'S NOT INSIGHTFUL IT'S JUST DUMB!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 6:49am

Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Question: Does a statement still count as irony if the person making it is not aware they are being ironic?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Greevar (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:01am

Re:
That was part of frame two.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
darryl, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:04am

Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
Then who does that person get their money off ?

Only someone without a clue would think that the only way you can make money is by denying others making money, and that the REAL way for people to make money is to ensure there are lots of other people making money (to spend !!)..

Nina, you just dont get it..

(again, you need to stick to something you are good at,,, whatever that is?)...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:05am

Re:
No... it's because they haven't asked congress for a bailout yet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
darryl, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:06am

Was it supposed to be funny ???
I'm glad you told us !!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:11am

Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
"Nina, you just dont get it.."

FUCK i missed that one, i'll have to add it to my "InB4" list
[ link to this | view in thread ]
darryl, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:12am

Charge Eunice with assault .....
how you make money is charge that round thing with assault, accasioning actual bodily harm !!!. For being kicked, then the auther of the 'article' for inciting violence.

BTW: it's under the subheading "economics" not 'humour'/'humor'...

So no one expects it to be funny, and Nina has lived up to that expectation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Major, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:14am

The sad thing...
Is that some (company,lawyer,artist) are already rich... so the final panel should read : "WHY AM I NOT RICHER ?!"

For those born with greed,
There will never be such thing
As enough money.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Old Fool (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:16am

I understand it...
Obviously Nina is too clever for most commentators. If you don't understand, at least have the courtesy to not try bringing Nina down to your level.

I can see exactly what she is getting at. Its not 'funny', but it is amusing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:21am

Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
it actually counts double then
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:22am

Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Ironic, perhaps.

This Ninatoon is about as lame as they come. She attempts to portray something that just isn't real. Nobody excludes anyone from making money. Well, yes, if they are stealing your patent products or re-using your copyrighted content, then yes. But any normal people or company with a product generally isn't excluded from making money.

It's more of the "preaching to the choir" stuff, trying to reinforce a negative stereotype of all things business, patents, and copyright. It's incredibly unrealistic, incredibly silly, and if this reflects Nina's view of things, indicates that she is very much disconnected from the real world.

It's the Tardian version of "better dead than red". Probably made on a computer filled with Chinese parts, just to add a little more irony to the game.

Yup, so funny, I forgot to laugh.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dark Helmet (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:24am

Re: Charge Eunice with assault .....
What the fuck is accasioning?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:24am

Re: Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
We should start compiling a list of "common troll mistakes", put it in a page and just refer them to the page at the beginning of every thread.

The first entry should be "Saying 'Mike Masnick, you are a tool' when Mike is not the author", because that one is just too common.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:25am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
"This Ninatoon is about as lame as they come."

woo! my prediction came true
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:25am

Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
by that, i mean that i knew someone was going to say that, and, well, they did, just as predicted
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ima Fish (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:28am

Re: Re:
Maybe it's just my philosophy background, but excluding everyone else from being paid is different from requiring everyone else to pay only you.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:33am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
You are right. The comic should be amended. You are not being excluded from doing business. There are just HUGE barriers to enter, if patents are involved, for example.

Take Android as an example: Micosoft has made more money out of Android than they made out of their own Phones just because of patents. THEY are leeching off a better product with their patents. And that's just wrong.

You could say "but Microsoft invented the things that Android is using to make money, so they should get a cut" That's just wrong: Microsoft themselves could not compete with Android by implementing their own smartphone OS, so why should they get a cut of the product someone made that is actually better?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:34am

Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
Wait, I'm lost. Did Darryl just get the point?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:36am

The Fourth Frame
http://www.trolltracker.org/2011/07/15/the-fourth-frame/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chuck (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:38am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Please, patenting DNA (erm, my grandmother's ass's cell's DNA is prior art) or copyrighting what 2 monkeys at typewriters can come up with is pathetic. Normal people aren't excluded from making money, unless it's in a field with a lobby group. Then, your product is bad for the people, is not safe enough, or will cause the world to end.

I'm not necessarily against businesses trying to profit, but basic economics state there is no profit to be made in any field, and companies are screwing the consumer too hard trying to prevent that from happening.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Major, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:43am

Re: The sad thing...
Here, that is the way i see it :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:43am

Re: Re: Charge Eunice with assault .....
ac-cas-ioning (Noun): "To Accasion" The unnatural combining of two otherwise harmless words (Occasion and Causing). Most commonly used when confirming ones stupidity. (See Troll)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:46am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
"She attempts to portray something that just isn't real."

- righthaven?
- people fighting against orphaned works going to public domain?

Just two quick examples off the top of my head.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:46am

Re: Nice
Why in the hell do you want to send this comics to Alcoholics Anonymous
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:47am

Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
Completely ignoring ironic intent and proceeding to explain to the author the very point the author was making in the first place is not normal... but on Darryl it is.

Darryl: not even once.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A.R.M. (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:48am

Unfortunately, those who are doing the kicking aren't those asking the question.

That's reserved to those who are kicked.

I'm curious, Nina: who in the world were you picturing as asking the question?

Now, had the last strip been a payout to Congress and governments of the world...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cowardly Anon, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:54am

No haiku? *pout*

Here's my stab at it....

Excluding others,
Should insure insane profits!
Why are we bankrupt?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:58am

Re:
IP-Maximist's haiku:

mine mine mine mine mine
mine mine mine mine mine mine mine
mine mine mine not yours
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 7:59am

Re: Re: Nice
**slow clap**
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nina Paley (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 8:03am

Re:
I'm curious, Nina: who in the world were you picturing as asking the question?

Every struggling artist/musician/photographer/writer who thinks copyright (which is only a right to exclude, not a right to get paid) will make them money.

And Lewis Hyde, who asserts over and over in Common As Air, "If there is no way to exclude, then there is no way to make money" (p. 55) Which may explain why that book, and his excellent older book The Gift, remain under restrictive copyrights, and why Hyde supports IP monopolies as long as they're "limited." Common As Air contains a lot of excellent history and philosophical inquiry, but its vision is muddied by that unquestioned, false assumption which is presented as an axiom.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cowardly Anon, 15 Jul 2011 @ 8:25am

Re: Re:
oooh, I like it.

Let's see....

mine mine mine not yours
dirty pirates steal what's mine
mine mine mine pay up
[ link to this | view in thread ]
CommonSense (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 8:30am

Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, talk about a troll fail..

"the REAL way for people to make money is to ensure there are lots of other people making money"

THAT was EXACTLY the point of this comic. And it's the entertainment industry with their gov't granted monopolies who are trying to stomp out the competition and keep others from making the money they wish to make, and you're right, they are clueless about how it really works.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
chris (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 8:42am

Re: Re: Re:
the disney version:

this is our content:
stolen fairly and squarely.
steal it and we'll sue.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chosen Reject (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:06am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
You know, Nina is the one who campaigns for free culture (which I wholeheartedly agree with). But you seem to be so far down the rabbit hole of copyrights that you think it's wrong to copy and/or alter others' works. But here you have a chance. Rather than just complaining about it, you could alter to make it funny, or alter it in whatever way you see fit so that it can be more to your liking.

Instead, you have such a strict idea of copyright in your mind that this thought probably never occurred to you. You'd rather complain about what someone else did than to alter the one or two small parts that you are complaining about so that it can be more to your liking.

In light of that, I propose that merely the idea of copyright has caused people to create less. Here we have an artist who wants you to alter her stuff, and yet you'd rather complain that she didn't do it perfectly. She isn't going to come after you for copyright infringement. Quite the opposite. And yet, since you've gotten the idea of copyright so ingrained into your psyche, you aren't going to create anything new and better.

Thanks for once again showing that copyright is a failed concept.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:07am

Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
There are no barriers to entry.

Was Google blocked from making Android?

Was Apply blocked from making whatever their iOS is now?

Microsoft doesn't have to compete if they created the tools used.

Nobody is blocking anyone from any normal legal business. They may have to come up with their own ways to do things, their own products, or license what they need from those who already created it. But there is no block, only in your mind.

Nina is still so peeved off about Sita, that she can't leave it alone years later.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:29am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Yeah! What a stupid artist. Artists are so stupid! No wonder they need so much protection, especially from themselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:31am

Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
In British parliament speak; "I refer the honourable gentleman to the question I asked a number of moments ago....."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:43am

Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Why would I want to "alter" a lame comic? What's the motivation? The artwork is fairly lame, the characters are unremarkable, and honestly, I wouldn't want to give Nina any satisfaction in seeing her work "spread".

You just don't get it - the copying isn't the "wrong", it's the lack of respect for the people who actually created the work. Forget the law, forget the courts, forget all of that stuff, it's also an issue of personal morality.

The problem really is that we live in a society right now with few morals. It's an entire generation bent on disrespecting others and pulling a piece and capping anyone that doesn't respect you.

What Nina and the other citizens of the Tardian universe don't understand is that not only are they pushing to change a law, they are pushing to lower moral standards. Once we stop respecting each other, we are in serious trouble. Once one side starts massively disrespecting others, the other side has no choice to join the battle.

The levels of disrespect in Techdirt postings is so high, it's often hard to see the truth hiding behind it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:01am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Isn't it immoral to legislate morals?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:04am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Interesting to see someone rant about lowered respect while making sweeping generalizations about entire generations. And to which generation are you referring? Are you insinuating that my two daughters (10 and 11) are gun-toting thugs just aching to pop a cap in someone?

Or, perhaps, you're referring to the 20-something generation? Well my niece would be more likely to cut on herself than someone else (being in the emo scene, alas) (/sarc, btw).

The 30-somethings? Well, sir, that�s me� and I�ll take personal offense that you are saying all of my mother�s work was a failure and in vain.

I'd love to know how the copyright law and culture are upholding this holy respect you seem to claim exists. Is it perhaps where an artist [sic, my opinion] was accused of pirating his own creation (I'm talking about 50 Cent, btw, in case I lost you) by his own label? Is it in the fans who tribute those they admire and respect... who are respected in return by those very artists... but are threatened and slapped around by corporate entities who own a piece of paper?

Where is this respect you claim should exist?

And you're right... the level of disrespect shown by self-important, holier-than-thou, opinionated ACs who make broad, sweeping generalizations that encompass entire generations is so high that there no longer is any truth.

But hey, why let anything weigh you down from your high-horse? Preach on, brother.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chosen Reject (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:17am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Wait, what respect is being lacked? Nobody is removing the credits from movies and music and books when they pirate. On the contrary, if it wasn't for the unions, there would be no credits in movies. I mean, how many times have you seen credits scroll by for software? Where are the credits on the design of a car? Where is the respect for the real creators. Sure, I see "� Microsoft" or "Honda" plastered on things, but I don't see any actual creators names being put on this stuff. You tell me, where is the respect?

As for your morals argument, copyright is immoral. Or are you of the opinion that it's moral to outlaw sharing works with others? Do you think it's immoral for people to take a work and alter it or spread it? If we're talking about taking credit where it's not due, that's not the purpose of copyright. That's where plagiarism comes into play. And as I've shown above, the only people who are successful at passing off the work of others as their own are the ones who are the biggest proponents of copyright.

The other day I read a book aloud to a group of kids at my daughters birthday party. Call me immoral if you want, but there's no way I'm going to pay for a public performance license for that. And screw the people who think they have a copyright on the song Happy Birthday. We sang it in front of dozens of people, but I'll never pay them for their performance royalty. Do you think I'm being immoral now?

Your misunderstanding of copyright's purpose astounds me. Copyright wasn't made for moral reasons. It wasn't made for reasons of respect. It was simply a tool to promote the progress. Yet every where we turn it has failed on that account. I want my 200+ years of progress back. Can you give it to us? Who's being the immoral one now?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nicedoggy, 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:23am

Re: Re: Re: Nice
The clap is bad, he should go see a doctor.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nicedoggy, 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:26am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Google no, because of fear of the "mutual destruction" but every manufacturer of Android handsets is getting threatning letters to pay up or else.

See Apple vs. Samsung also.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:30am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Nice
Yeah, but it's a slow case... he has time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
keiichi969 (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:33am

Re: Re: Re:
No no no, because the money has to be paid regardless. So if there is only one company to be paid, they get 100% of the money!

Isn't industry accounting great?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cowardly Anon, 15 Jul 2011 @ 10:38am

Re: Re: Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
He may have outlined the point, but I don't think he got it at all. In his weird troll logic he just further proved his point.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 11:05am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Tardian? Oh, from freetard, I get it. Way to keep to the moral high ground.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 11:19am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Gabriel, if you actually poke your head outside, you might see what I mean.

A generation (probably including your daighters, if they have internet access and like music) who cannot be bothered to respect the work of others.

Go walk down your street and check out the graffiti, the garbage missing the can, the cars driving by with too loud exhaust systems and even louder MP3 players. Go to the mall and see people pushing and shoving, fighting over parking spaces (and I mean actual fist fights), the amounts of shoplifting, and so on that goes on. Pay a visit to the washroom to check out the teens smoking a blunt and pissing on the toilet seats.

On your way home, don't cut anyone off, road rage could get you killed. Don't walk down the wrong street wearing the wrong disrespectful color... there is so much non-respect going on, it's almost painful.

What happens with culture is the same thing. We have entire generations who act like armed thugs, are vigilantes (thanks to anonymous and 4chan), and think that anything and everything is theirs without restriction.

So yeah, get your head out of the sand and go check out the real world. You might understand that a "little bit of piracy" is just another symptom of a very sick society.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 11:39am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Ok... so you are accusing me and my family of being immoral thugs just out to take what we want. Well, to that, I say go fuck yourself. You don't know me... you don't know mine.

You come on here blathering about a lack of respect in this world and don't even pause to look in the mirror. Maybe if you take a second to do so, you'll see yourself as part of the problem. After figuring that out, maybe you can tell me who the hell you are to make such judgmental accusations, oh ye hypocrite.

I do 'stick my head outside'... and it's quite clear from the sand. I go around armed in public to defend myself from a lot what's out there. But I don't go around screaming about how everyone is evil and out to get me. I give people a chance to prove that they're better than the negative that makes the news. I sure as hell don't accuse them of evil until they've individually proven they deserve it. Much like you yourself do now.

Take your broad, cynical generalizations and go preach them to a brick wall. Yes, there's some really bad stuff in the world. But not everything in the world is bad.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 11:39am

Updated
Great comic and definitely makes the point.

To correct for some of the trolls:

There's only one way to make money...

Exclude everyone else from making money without first paying you for the right to try and make money.

Why am I not Richer?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A.R.M. (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 12:27pm

Re: Re:
:)

Thanks for the reply and now, I'm laughing. Really. Context makes a big difference when I see the characters as Apple and Samsung.
:P

@Hyde... indeed. >:(
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joshua Bardwell (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 1:50pm

Re:
That was actually my exact thought.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The eejit (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 2:03pm

Re: Re:
I think someone has never read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Greevar (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 3:18pm

Re: Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
"Only someone without a clue would think that the only way you can make money is by denying others making money"

You just described the entire publishing industry. That is exactly what they do.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chargone (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 3:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
dunno if it's immoral or not, but it rarely works. certainly you can't legislate to enforce morals that the bulk of the population don't agree with, because you can't enforce the resulting law, so you just undermine the whole system.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chargone (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 3:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
the moral high ground is not so useful when the opposition posses orbital weapons platforms. :D
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chargone (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 3:42pm

Re: Re: Exclude everyone else, so they have no money to spend-- on your 'thing'.
while simultaneously missing that that WAS the point, yes :-S
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chargone (profile), 15 Jul 2011 @ 3:44pm

Re: Re: Charge Eunice with assault .....
probably supposed to be 'occasioning' ... which looks suspiciously like legal speak for ... who knows? 'causing this thing to happen once'? *shrugs*
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 5:13pm

Re: Re:
Copyright, no copyright. If you stink, no one will pay you. Though I'm willing to bet that if a record company or studio came to any one of the "struggling artists" who decry copyright and the AA's here, they'd sign whatever contract was put in front of them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2011 @ 9:42pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Nope, I am not accusing you of being an immoral thug, I don't know what you do specifically. However, I would say that if you look the other way when you see someone spraying graffiti down the block, or cut in line in front of everyone, or do any number of hundreds of stupidly rude things in your life, then you are contributing to the problem.

Do you pirate? Oh wait, "file share", because we can't even accept the moral reality that you are getting something for nothing, without permission. That whole pile of logic is incredibly disrespectful.

You don't have to be guilty of a crime to be disrespectful. You just have to be disrespectful. That you walk around armed is pretty already a solid step in that direction.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Mr Big Content, 16 Jul 2011 @ 5:21am

Of Course You Are Rich
Remember, you still have your Intellectual Property, which is of incalculable value, more so than mere money. For what does it profit a man (or a man of gender) to gain the whole world, if he loseth his Intellectual Property? After all, money doesn�t grow on trees. The money you get is small potatoes compared to the potential money you lose when someone copies your Intellectual Property. Why else would the statutory damages be set so high? So remember where your priorities lie: exterminating the scumbag pirates must come first!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2011 @ 7:16am

Re: I understand it...
She's not really clever, she is just delivering what the techdirt choir wants to see and hear. Her commentary is laughable mostly because she is still so upset about what has happened (and continues to happen) with her 3 or 4 year old movie that she can't move forward.

Basically, it's like Techdirt is her security blanket, a support group that keeps encouraging her to keep up the "good fight". But in the mean time, her talents (and she has some, that is for sure) are wasted on the proverbial peeing into the wind.

It's really too bad, I would love to see what she could do if (a) she came up with a fully original idea, and (b) actually put her efforts on it, rather than on some mindless replication of others past efforts.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2011 @ 10:58am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Forget the law, forget the courts, forget all of that stuff, it's also an issue of personal morality.

I'm reminded of the story of a man who took a few fish and loaves of bread and copied them to share them with a multitude of people. According to what you've written, he was an immoral thief for having done so.

If that's really what you think of Jesus, then I think it is you who actually has the "personal morality" problem.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2011 @ 9:22pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
So please, what exactly should I call the "we want it all free and happy and now" crowd?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2011 @ 9:41pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
What? Everybody free and happy? That would be terrible!
/s
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RadialSkid (profile), 17 Jul 2011 @ 2:12am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Go walk down your street and check out the graffiti,

Graffiti has been common in any urban area since at least Roman times.

the garbage missing the can

Of course, there was no litter prior to the current generation.

the cars driving by with too loud exhaust systems and even louder MP3 players.

Low-restriction exhausts were introdueced in the 1940s, and car radios are even older than that. Hardly the current generation.

Go to the mall and see people pushing and shoving, fighting over parking spaces (and I mean actual fist fights), the amounts of shoplifting, and so on that goes on.

Which would have just as easily happened in any open-air market in London in the 1600s.

Pay a visit to the washroom to check out the teens smoking a blunt and pissing on the toilet seats.

Marijuana is new, apparently. As is poor bathroom etiquette.

On your way home, don't cut anyone off, road rage could get you killed.

"Road rage" has existed as long as the automobile, which itself is not an invention of the current generation.

Don't walk down the wrong street wearing the wrong disrespectful color

Sounds a bit like the Edo period in Japan, no? Again, not the current generation.

Here it is, as bluntly as possible: You just sound like another short-sighted, under-informed elderly individual who pines for a rose-colored past that never existed anywhere but in his own mind. Just as people griped about declining moral standards when women starting showing their ankles 100 years ago. Time marches on, but people fundamentally don't change.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RadialSkid (profile), 17 Jul 2011 @ 2:18am

Re: Re: I understand it...
"Peeing into the wind" is not a proverb.

Carry on.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2011 @ 9:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Oh god, talk about not getting it. I suppose you are an apologist for all the guys in your 'hood.

No rose colored glasses, there are too many places in these here United States were you are no longer safe to walk after dark, where taking your girlfriend to a bar for a drink can lead to your death (attacked by guys who hit on her at the bar), or where you private property is suppose to be the "canvas" for graffiti "artists", most of whom failed basic penmanship, let alone know art.

Disrespect runs deep and wide. The ones who usually can't see it are the ones most guilty of it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nicedoggy, 18 Jul 2011 @ 1:02am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
When was the last time you did go out and cleaned your neighborhood or fixed broken signs?

I do it all the time, when you start doing those things you stop littering, also those other rude people good for nothing, thieves come help for some reason and they too don't litter and funny they bring coffee, tea and sandwiches for everyone without being asked to do so, more importantly nobody gets angry with others that litter.

I set the example and they followed for some reason, I never asked anybody to do anything, I never got mad with others that didn't help or littered.

And they do the same thing now, and that also created a new perspective about what the streets are. The people who go out and clean don't litter, the people who go out and help fix things probably will never help break them.

But you wouldn't understand something like this, you would get the part where everybody should go out, but you would try to compel others to do so and that is where things go wrong.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nicedoggy, 18 Jul 2011 @ 1:06am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
By the way anybody trying to claim ownership on the public space for himself and telling other that they are violating his right to do so is just crazy.

I don't need permission or blessing to share a song or video with anyone, I don't need permission to copy it or pass it along to whomever I wish to.

Just as I don't need your permission to sing, talk or walk.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 18 Jul 2011 @ 6:44am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
Nice attempt at back peddling, but no go. So far, I have read in your posts in this sub-thread, and the one in response to Radial Skid (in case you're lost: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110714/05102215089/zero-sum-economics.shtml#c1135) nothing but disrespect for anything that falls outside your own opinion of what is 'proper'. Again, I ask who the hell are you.

Radical Skid already pointed out that all the things you're attributing to the 'new generation' is ancient in some cases, so I'll let his stand. That point being (in case you suffer from a case of "oh god, talk about not getting it") is that there have ALWAYS been places where you cannot go safely for fear of gangs... gangs who think they own the street (sorry, but the Crips & Bloods, MS13, Latin Kings... they've been around longer than the last 10 years).

And, for the record, you did accuse me and mine of being immoral thieves and thugs...

"A generation (probably including your daighters, if they have internet access and like music) who cannot be bothered to respect the work of others." - you
Do you want to back pedal further and say I misinterpreted that?

And you know what? I did just download copies of the Harry Potter books after seeing the recent movie. Because I own all the originals and didn't feel justified in paying for additional copies to place on my Nook (that I didn't have when I got the books). I wanted to read them again, but now I use a Nook.

And how is me going around armed to defend myself disrespectful? If you come to me and put a gun in my face and demand my wallet, am I supposed to �respect� you and give up without a fight?

Perhaps you have a misinformed image of me that you think my pants are on the ground and my glock is tucked away under my gang-colored hoodie that I wear in 100+deg weather. I'm actually a 32yo, slightly over-weight, white man with a wife & two daughters who drives a Scion XB (with factory radio, for the record). I own two pistols in full compliance of my local laws, and I am properly licensed to carry them on my person (no, not both at the same time). I work in Learning & Development for a major insurance company, and was actually trying to join my local police force as a new career, but they stopped hiring due to budget reasons.
So... again... I say that if you choose to judge me personally with your cynical eye that can see nothing but doom & gloom, go fuck yourself. But go do it quietly where I don't have to even acknowledge you exist.

You blame entire groups of people based on the actions of a few and act defensive and �misinterpreted� when others point out that you yourself are the problem based on your own actions. Again, for the final time, go look in the mirror.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel Tane (profile), 18 Jul 2011 @ 6:52am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
You know... I almost missed this when I made my last post...

"Disrespect runs deep and wide. The ones who usually can't see it are the ones most guilty of it." - you
I couldn't have made my point about you more clearly.

But how about this one:
"�Respect� does not mean adherence to my personal standards. Only an egotistical fool believes that his personal standards are the ones against which all others should be measured." - me
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RadialSkid (profile), 18 Jul 2011 @ 10:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not just somethign to flatten your clothes with
there are too many places in these here United States were you are no longer safe to walk after dark

Such places existed in the United States 100 years ago, as well. My point is that it's not a probably only endemic to the current generation, as you're stating.
[ link to this | view in thread ]