Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

from the the-week-of-anonymous dept

Sun, Oct 23rd 2011 12:00pm — Mike Masnick

We keep hearing stories about how evil anonymous comments are on news sites and how they should be banned. This week alone, a proposal popped up in the UK that would effectively wipe out anonymity, if implemented. And yet... the top three vote-getters this week for "most insightful" all came from anonymous commenters. I'll include all three to start us off. The first two, oddly, both came from commenters who were both listed as "Anonymous" rather than our default "Anonymous Coward." I guess they're not so cowardly. The winning Anonymous comment came on the story about Louisiana outlawing the use of cash for secondhand sales. This commenter explained why:

In other words, the police want to make sure that every single citizen is always doing something illegal at all times, so that they always have probable cause. Welcome to the police state.

Coming in second was an Anonymous comment on the story of the Australian financial firm that sent the police and threatened to bill a guy who alerted them to a basic, but massive, security flaw in their accounts system. This commenter had a simple request:

Is there an online clearinghouse or list where organizations with a "Shoot the Messenger" policy regarding security breaches are recorded? I would certainly be interested in such a list or website, as I have no interest in giving any support to retailers who are so backwards in their thinking.

That would be useful. The third place Anonymous comment came from an Anonymous Coward on that same story, and was a response to someone who suggested that the guy "illegally accessed" others' accounts. That didn't make much sense:

Illegally? It's illegal to change the number in a URL and hit enter? That's insane. If their website gives you confidential information just by changing the URL that's not a case of someone 'illegally accessing other people's accounts' that's a case of the company illegally allowing access to other people's accounts. At some point the responsibility must lie with the company hosting the information and I think that point comes with gross negligence as in this case.

Since, technically, I guess the above comment counts as editor's choice (since we normally only show the top two vote getters), we'll just add a single other editor's choice for insightful... and that would be Chris Rhodes' comment concerning the TSA searching vehicles in Tennessee:

The Progression

"Well, if you don't like it, don't fly!"
"Well, if you don't like it, don't take the train!"
"Well, if you don't like it, don't ride the bus!"
"Well, if you don't like it, don't drive your car!"

Next up:

"Well, if you don't like it, don't walk in public!"

And on that note, let's jump over to the funny side of the ledger and see if we can cheer things up a bit. Coming in first was the non-registered (effectively anonymous) user AJ, responding to the story of the woman suing an airline for turbulence, by quoting one of everyone's favorite movies:

Well.. After pulling the transcripts of the departure tapes, I think I've found where the confusion started....

"Roger Murdock: Flight 2-0-9'er, you are cleared for take-off.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: L.A. departure frequency, 123 point 9'er.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Victor Basta: Request vector, over.
Captain Oveur: What?
Tower voice: Flight 2-0-9'er cleared for vector 324.
Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.
Captain Oveur: Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?
Tower voice: Tower's radio clearance, over!
Captain Oveur: That's Clarence Oveur. Over.
Tower voice: Over.
Captain Oveur: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: Roger, over!
Roger Murdock: What?
Captain Oveur: Huh?
Victor Basta: Who? "

Coming in second... was another Anonymous Coward. This time responding to the story of Warner Bros. buying the rights to a story that began as a Reddit comment. That story, called Rome, Sweet Rome, is about a modern US Marine infantry battalion going back in time to face the Roman Empire:

Well when all you have is a modern US Marine infantry battalion, all of your problems look like the Roman Empire.

For editor's choice, we've got yet another Anonymous Coward commenting on the confusion over SoundExchange telling indie musician Zoe Keating that Universal Music was claiming her music as Universal's:

This is why we need PROTECT IP to protect the good people like Universal Music from freetards like Zoe Keating.

And, finally, my last editor's choice for funny is xenomancer's attempt to add a bit of poetry to the comments in response to a copyright troll's legal briefing by lawyer James White. I present to you, xenomancer's opus: Lowering My Standards:

Ahem...

You freeloading freetards!
You astroturfing shilltards!
You Masnick-clone pirate scum!
You uninformed dinosaur bum!

Perhaps everyone should take
Sweet extra seconds to make
Their derisions come through in rhyme
That way when mocked
Or otherwise shocked
We can have some fun wasting time

Some come here to argue and prove polar points
While some here are willing to sway
I came to this site after cracking my joints
So I could consume 30 seconds today

With words most clever I would otherwise endeavor
To give you a poem with tact
But like James White, I'd rather spread shite
Than do anything with worthwhile impact

(at least that's the case this morning)

Hopefully that sets the bar for comments this coming week...

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18 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 23 Oct 2011 @ 1:06pm

Lawyers ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Artists need to get paid. That's why everyone needs to stop ripping them off with piracy.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Oct 2011 @ 1:24pm

Re:
It's super important that artists know everything there is to know about copyright and the law but just make sure that lawyers and judges don't have to know anything about the arts. It's super important.
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Tiger (profile), 23 Oct 2011 @ 6:30pm

Re:
And we should pay the artists by paying the guys that are fronting the artists' protection fees? Media monsters? Via horrendous offers of cable and wireless combined with Media's delirium, whose tools and services are complete nonsense? Verstandan!

Seems lawyers can't loose can they? Everyone else? Business as usual.

Diggity dig the poetry!
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Oct 2011 @ 9:01pm

Re: Re:
It is not pay, it is as a finite amount it is an infinite loop of "pay".

You pay once, you pay twice, you pay thrice and you keep paying and when you can't pay you are a criminal.
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toyotabedzrock (profile), 23 Oct 2011 @ 9:12pm

Walking Without Molestation Already Illegal In NYC
They Already Outlaw Walking Without Police Molestation In NYC
http://gothamist.com/2011/06/01/nypd_shatters_stop_and_frisk_record.php
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 23 Oct 2011 @ 11:01pm

When you disrespect democracy you don't get the numbers to make it stick.

That is what democracy is for to create a consensus on issues, to give the rules of the land the power to be enforced, you can't do that with a minority, not even if you are a dictator and live in a police state, ask Gadaphi.

The law is irrelevant when people don't want to follow it.
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AJ (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 3:53am

"Coming in first was the non-registered (effectively anonymous) user AJ"

I wouldn't exactly say "non-registered"... lazy perhaps :)
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Catherine jennifer Morale/Fusco, 24 Oct 2011 @ 4:49am

"Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
sOOO ARE YOU SAYIN' THAT WE SHOULD BE CCOUNTABLE FOR OUR COMMENTS BY LEAVING OUR USERNAME I FORGOT TO SIGN MINE I AM 'jentilpet" EVERYWHERE ON ALL THE SITES WORTH HAVING NOT MANY I HATE MODERATORSLIKENED TO COMMUNISTS! IF YOU'RE NOT KISSING UP TO THEIR IDEA'S THEY'LL NOT PRINT YOUR OPINIONS BUT THIS SITE-?? "HAS" "IN"SIGHT I LOVE "TECH-DIRT! IT'S CLEVER,FUNNY ONE NUST BE INTELLEGENT TO BE FUNNY TECH-DIRT IS CLEVER.. STIMULATING-- JUST WHAT I NEEDED & WILL CONTINUE TO NEED..I ONLY HOPE MY STORY[RE:MY MOTHER'S BOOK} DIDN'T LAND IN THE "STUPID" CATAGORY AS IT WAS AN INPORTANT URGENT ISSUE {SALON.COM] DID A COLUMN ON "COPYRIGHT LAWS" AND STEALING- RE:PRODUCERS & THE EVIL THEY'RE CAPABLE OF SO RE:THE MANY THEIVES IN THE LITERARY WORLD WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE COWARDS WAY OUT FOR LACK OF TALENT OR THE COMMENTS MADE BY THE -MELTDOWN OF MENTALITY IN OUR SOCIETY THOSE WHO LEAVE INSANE [COMMA]-INSIPID COMMENTS..ACTUALLY THINKING IF THEY SHOW A "USERNAME" THEY'LL BE EXPOSED? THAT DESERVES A "WHAT?" RIGHT? ARE THEY STILL PARANOID?..OOOOHHH WE'LL FIND THEM? WHAT THEY DO NOT KNOW IS ..NOBODY CARES SINCE COWARDS COME IN MANY DEGREES,MY TAKE ON A "COWARD" ARE THOSE WHO THINK SPEAKING OUT BE IT FOR MORALITY OR FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE SAY..A LAWYER REFUSES TO HANDLE A CASE WHY? "BECAUSE THEY'RE FRIENDS W/ THE PERSON YOU WANNA SUE!!"NOT ONLY UNPROFESSIONAL BUT IMMORAL..I HAVE A LIST OF {OTHERS} I CALL THESE LAWYERS,& THOSE WHO DEFEND INJUSTICE FOR LACK OF THE-{PREVERBEAL]"BACKBONE" FRIENDS WHO HAVE COWARDS FOR FRIENDS WHO BENIFIT FROM OTHER CPWARDLY FRIENDS OR THE EVERYDAY HYPOCRITE[S] THESE STORIES ARE REALLY FUNNY THANK YOU..FOR YOUR QUICK EASY MEMBERSHIP --NO CLOAK & DAGGER PASSWORDS OHH YOUR PASSWORD DIDN'T MATCH YOUR USERNAME OR..YOUR..AHH,YA KNOW?WTF?
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Catherine jennifer fusco, 24 Oct 2011 @ 4:56am

Cowards,Hypocrites & the Unoccupied Mentality
Now what? I don't remember the password I used.as I returned to Techdirt again so now what I gonna LOOSE MY COMMENTS?
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 6:06am

Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
darryl is that you?
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:12am

Re:
Looks like someone failed their Caps Lock and Performance checks again.
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MonkeyFracasJr (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 8:41am

Re: "Caps Lock and Performance Checks"
Um, and English composition. That hurt my head to read and it wasn't because of the shouting.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 10:28am

Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
Holy rant batman
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Digitari, 24 Oct 2011 @ 2:51pm

Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
dammit, now I have to bleach my eyes, AGAIN!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Digitari, 24 Oct 2011 @ 2:51pm

Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
dammit, now I have to bleach my eyes, AGAIN!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 5:17pm

Re: Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
I believe it's a parody.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 8:30pm

Re: "Cowards" Hypocrites" & The Unoccupied Mentality"
I now know how that Secret Service Agent who had to monitor Fox felt....

Can't. Deal. With. The. Blathering.
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Crazycrash, 25 Oct 2011 @ 9:30am

TSA- STormtroopers for 2011
This bears a remarkable parallel to Germany 1933. Censor the media, controll movements of the people, practice class warfare. Hmmm - is the US on the road to totalitarianism?
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