Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

from the the-things-we-say dept

Sun, Apr 22nd 2018 12:00pm — Leigh Beadon

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is an anonymous commenter with a response to the Goldman Sachs analyst asking whether curing patients is a sustainable business model:

If curing patients is not a sustainable business model then perhaps health care should not be a for profit endeavor.
Obviously, treating the symptoms will be much more profitable than curing the disease, however - what kind of an asshole verbalizes such revolting thoughts. Everyone has dumbass ideas, but most refrain from embarrassing themselves with same.

In second place, we've got a comment from That Anonymous Coward in the discussion about his own recent Twitter suspension:

The easiest solution is to make people use the tools they have been given.
Dislike a word? Filter it.
Think that users a tool? Block them.
Reporting shouldn't be a weapon, it should be more like 911 when something serious is happening... not because McD's is out of fscking nuggets.
Because everyone has a different level of comfort its impossible to have a single approach, and in trying to do it you just piss both sides off a bit more each time.

For editor's choice on the insightful side, we've got a comment about the MPAA's quiet shutdown of its legal movie search engine. We noted that to succeed the company must innovate, and Personanongrata spelled out in more detail why they feel like they don't have to:

Au contraire, MPAA can continue to hire lobbyists to shape the "law" in the industries favor while using the states security agencies (eg FBI, DHS) and courts to investigate industry related violations of the "law" at tax-payer expense.
MPAA can also retain swarms of attorneys to harass/intimidate/litigate.

Next, we've got an anonymous upgrade to our suggestion that pre-1972 sound recordings need to be unified under federal copyright law:

Or how about we just put them in the public domain now? If someone hasn't made money in 46 years or more, the next 46 years are unlikely to be much more profitable.

Over on the funny side, our first place comment comes from Roger Strong in response to our post about a copyright troll accusing Google, Popehat and BoingBoing of "black hat SEO":

This guy doesn't care about his reputation. What he's desperate for is attention and relevance. Before trying to trash him via SEO, remember the old saying:
"If only our tongues were made of glass. How much more careful we would be when we speak."
John F. Kennedy

In second place, we've got Capt ICE Enforcer with another response to the MPAA's search engine shutdown:

Not good
Great. Now I need to find a pirate site to show me where all the legal content is...

For editor's choice on the funny side, we start out with Pixelation applying some Apple branding to the company's leaked memo warning employees not to leak stuff:

Oh, the iRONY.

And finally, we've got an anonymous comment about the New Hampshire first amendment ruling that said it's okay to call a patent troll a patent troll:

Reminds me of the Brit who was haled into magistrate's court for calling a noblewoman "pig". The magistrate fined him.
"So that means I can't call a duchess "pig"?" he asked.
"No, you can't," the magistrate explained.
"But can I call a pig "duchess"?
"Yes."
So he strolled out of the courtroom, nodding to the plaintiff and saying "Good day, duchess."

That's all for this week, folks!

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35 Comments

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Ehud Gavron (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 12:41pm

Apocryphal stories
We all love stories about the little guy standing up to the system, the David vs Goliath, etc.

There was no British guy... hauled into court... duchess... pig... etc.

E
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- Leigh Beadon (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 1:55pm
  
  Re: Apocryphal stories
  I kinda thought that went without saying...
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ECA (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 1:48pm

Curing patients.....
I always wondered why the USA had some of the WORST cases of Cancer, Arthritis, and other things, that Many other countries DONT..

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/01/05/america_s_poor_vs_the_rest_of_the_world.html

htt ps://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2016-annual-report/comparison-with-other-nations
(v ery big article..)

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/12/how-do-americans-stand-out-from-the-rest-o f-the-world/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/36536-top-health-problems-america/

Good luck living here..
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This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 3:14pm

Wait, what? An anonymous commenter actually got an award? It just wasn't the Techdirt staff jacking off the same handful of people that get accolades just because they have a name with a full profile? I'm astonished!
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 3:15pm
  
  Re:
  You seem upset.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - TripMN (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 3:33pm
    
    Re: Re:
    He's never won before... and thinks he was robbed...
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    - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
      
      Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2018 @ 9:22am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Oh, MISSED "TripMN" or "Trip W" as began, now
      14 TOTAL comments, 3 per year, but only because RE-ACTIVATED LATELY, 7 comments in 2018! After ZOMBIE 2 year, 10 month! Begun Jan 31st, 2014.
      
      ODD, huh?
      
      Nope, at Techdirt, it's normal! Fanboys don't notice.
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      - Stephen T. Stone (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 9:38am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        It is only odd to you. Everyone else does not care.
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        Ehud Gavron (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 9:47am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        You don't speak for "everyone else".
        
        Never have. Never will.
        
        I agree in principle though. Two of us agree. You've got a few billion people on this planet and five up on the ISS to go.
        
        E
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        Thad, 23 Apr 2018 @ 10:11am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        ...do you not understand how figures of speech work?
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        Ehud Gavron (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 10:39am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        >...do you not understand...
        
        Are you unable to express yourself other than by asking me about me?
        
        Tell me about yourself.
        
        Please elucidate.
        
        E
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        Thad, 23 Apr 2018 @ 11:22am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I was going to say "You didn't answer my question," but come to think of it, yeah, you did.
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        Ehud Gavron (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 11:52am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Thank you for discussing me.
        
        Oh... didn't answer your question," but come to think of it, yeah, me did?
        
        E
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      - Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2018 @ 9:52am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Oh, MISSED "TripMN" or "Trip W" as began, now
        You literally have no idea how normal people interact with internet accounts.
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      - TripMN (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 9:58am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Oh, MISSED "TripMN" or "Trip W" as began, now
        Only because I'm not always signed in. The cookie goes stale and auto-signin stops working... and I'm too lazy to re-login.
        
        Of course if you go look for TripMN (not logged in to my user) you will find out I have a lot more comments where I just type in my name instead of signing in... but as I said, I'm a tad bit lazy.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2018 @ 10:28am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Oh, MISSED "TripMN" or "Trip W" as began, now
        It could also be a case of people noticing your obsession, and reactivating their old accounts just to drive you mad.
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        That One Guy (profile), 23 Apr 2018 @ 10:53am
        
        Such a missed opportunity
        If I had an old account I'd be tempted to do exactly that just to watch them flip out again(which never gets old). Sadly I went straight from AC to TOG, so I lack an account to 'resurrect'.
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 5:01pm
  
  Re:
  Looks like someone’s a failed comedian. Have fun being a bitter twisted parody of a human for the rest of your life.
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  - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 5:34pm
    
    Re: Re:
    And I hope you have fun with your "community" that's made up of the 8 or so people that the staff have decided actually matter while the thoughts and opinions everyone else, name & profile or otherwise, is deemed unimportant, a troll, or both.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 5:53pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      This is just literally false.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 6:10pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Oh I’m having fun watching you cry like a bitch. If that’s your best comeback, I can see why you failed as a comedian and as a human being.
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    - Stephen T. Stone (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 6:13pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      If you think profiles matter that much, make your own so your words will have more importance.
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    - Leigh Beadon (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 6:21pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Please feel free to compile a list of other blogs that even *allow* anonymous comments. I'll wait.
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      - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
        
        Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:04pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Please feel free to compile a list of other websites that would take the supposed personal experiences of a commenter at face value, write a whole article about it, and have the gall to actually publish it as a news piece. Go ahead, I'll wait.
        
        https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180419/17513039676/how-twitter-suspended-account-one-our-co mmenters-offending-himself.shtml
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:17pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Is this supposed to be some sort of gotcha? Because it's not.
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        Stephen T. Stone (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:27pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Deflection from the original point is not an argument. And again: If you believe having an account here increases the importance of your voice, make an account of your own.
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        Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2018 @ 1:06am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        It won't work. The last time average_joe tried that stunt he bitched and moaned about the hassle.
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:51pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Your tears are delicious. Don’t stop.
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 9:01pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        You really need some love in your life, huh?
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      - Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2018 @ 5:48am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        The ubiquitous lockout of anonymous commenters probably has much more to do with spambot abuse than censorship of thought (though spambots have been known to get through just about every obstacle ever put in their way)
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- Leigh Beadon (profile), 22 Apr 2018 @ 5:51pm
  
  Re:
  Apparently you don't read this very often. There are anonymous winners and editor's choices more weeks than not, and many weeks where anonymous winners outnumber those with accounts.
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  - Thad, 23 Apr 2018 @ 11:29am
    
    Re: Re:
    
    There are anonymous winners and editor's choices more weeks than not,
    
    Such as this week, when 3 of the 8 winners were anonymous commenters.
    
    But it's not like he had any way of knowing that. I mean, it's not like he could have read the article he was commenting on or some crazy thing like that.
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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:33pm

For Some Reason ...
... I cannot post a link to https://dropsafe.crypticide.com/article/1312
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- Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 22 Apr 2018 @ 7:35pm
  
  Re: For Some Reason ...
  Odd, it worked that time. My original comments on this article were held for moderation, but I see they have been approved now.
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2018 @ 9:19pm
  
  Re: For Some Reason ...
  read it..
  waiting for the ramifications..
  Legit or not...NOW we dont go there..
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