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This Week In Techdirt History: September 2nd - 8th

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from the depths-of-time dept

Sat, Sep 8th 2018 12:00pm — Leigh Beadon

Five Years Ago

This week in 2013, the NSA revelations continued with the discovery that the US was launching hundreds of cyberattacks and that AT&T had employees embedded in the government to provide real-time phone call searches. The various excuses and half-measures were coming frequently, with a former agency boss saying surveillance is important but the NSA should just lie less, President Obama saying the NSA needs more checks and balances while simultaneously claiming the existing ones are working well, and the agency itself asserting that it only spies on bad people while leaving open a giant loophole that covers spying on everyone else.

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2008, there were two huge launches from Google: they introduced the Chrome browser, and the Android Market for apps (which they touted heavily as being more open than Apple's App Store. AT&T was bragging about the pursuit of patents while US Customs was raiding trade show booths over patent infringement. Facebook was, rather heavyhandedly, blocking all links to the very useful resource of BugMeNot. And we were starting to see how the proliferation of GPS-enabled devices was becoming a tool of the police.

Fifteen Years Ago

There was a big launch this week in 2003 as well, with the folks behind Kazaa (who had also recently made the ill-advised choice to send DMCA notices to Google) launched the soon-to-be-nearly-ubiquitous Skype. It was also the very early days of the RSS protocol, and our post questioning whether it was a bit overhyped somehow got us lumped in with the supposed "RSS backlash". Meanwhile, the RIAA was preparing to upgrade its legal campaign from subpoenas to actual lawsuits, while also offering a hilarious amnesty program for anyone who would sign a file sharing confession and delete all their songs.

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Filed Under: history, look back

17 Comments

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  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Rich Hoots, 8 Sep 2018 @ 1:22pm

    I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

    I am releasing this "committee confidential" report to inform The Resistance is working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations, to prevent Masnick from carrying out his insane and dangerous notions. Left to himself, he'll hand over America to corporations, the bigger and more globalist, the better.

    There are many of me -- millions! We outnumber masnicks by at least two orders of magnitude. The rest just don't comment HERE, because pointless. Indeed, counter-productive to make Masnick's site popular. He's never going to change the views which were just handed to him, like everything else in his overly privileged, unmerited-by-work life, already whole, in the Ivy League indoctrination that he didn't pay for.

    It's absolutely ridiculous to comment here on this ridiculous little site with its second-hand ridiculous views feebly re-written from the ridiculously globalist New York Times, having to be made more ridiculous so that the ridiculous fanboys who can't grasp any complexity will know at whom to bark their little heads off. It's ridiculous. [Hope I don't give away my identity by over-using one of Masnick's favorite words!]

    Stopping because not going to entertain you piratey fanboy trolls. Make up your own lies just the New York Times does. So, just: Vive La Resistance!

    But read this if dare:

    https://www.unz.com/article/the-new-york-times-as-iago/

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
      identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 7:32pm

      Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

      Well, hello, Spartacus. I don’t think Mike is as bad as you say. Perhaps he was dropped on his head as a young child, and that part of his brain associated with normal morality was extinguished, and instead, that part of his brain associated with disgusting childish filth took it’s place. That could account for the frequent use of the word “shit” in the articles and uncensored comments. Maybe he was abused in school because of his looks and soft pathetic pussy face, maybe he didn’t get the attention he wanted from ladies. Maybe that accounts for the uncensored and disgusting sexual commentary here. Maybe getting on stage with Trans Gender Traitors (TGT) affected him more than we know. Maybe there is some reason not fully under his control that compels him to produce the ridiculous articles and ridiculous commentary using a ridiculous (and secret) terms of service methodology to “silence” any non-ridiculous voices. Maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt, since he creates so much doubt by never answering direct questions.

      Maybe not. Maybe he’s just a ridiculous jerk promoting a ridiculous and disgusting site in return for small money because that’s all he knows how to do.

      Nice article, thanks.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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        Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 7:36pm

        Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

        You two seriously need to get a room.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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          Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 7:38pm

          Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

          I have never understood the technique of pivoting to something sexual in the place of a rational argument. Are you 14?

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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            Killercool (profile), 8 Sep 2018 @ 7:51pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

            ..."Trans Gender Traitors"

            "soft pathetic pussy face"

            Dude, we ain't the ones that jumped in the gutter first. You just didn't realize it, because your head is shoved up your own ass, and the smell was familiar.

            Now, don't faint from the naughty words.

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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              Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 8:15pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

              Well, I understand if you think I was offensive, but how in the heck is suggesting that we “get a room” an effective comeback to someone offensive? Is the mere mention of something sexual somehow controversial? Personally, I think the writer was a woman, and getting a room with her might be really good. I’m just looking for the rationale, that’s all. How does a pivot to “get a room” say anything worthwhile, unless you believe sex itself is somehow taboo. That’s why I asked if the writer was 14 - because his question sounds childish.

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

              • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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                Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:22pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

                It’s effective because you’re triggered like a rape victim in a room with bill Cosby.

                [ link to this | view in chronology ]

              • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
                identicon
                Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:42pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

                It means you should take your sexual fetishes to somewhere private. Offensive or not, you two deserve undivided attention based on your devotion to each other.

                If you find hiding your love and affection for each other to be so objectionable, try getting your nasty on in public. Maybe you find the idea of being arrested for flouting public decency laws to be arousing.

                [ link to this | view in chronology ]

                • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
                  identicon
                  Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:53pm

                  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

                  I’ve never tried that, not sure I would, but I understand the attraction.

                  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

                  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
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                    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:58pm

                    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

                    Oh, sure you could do it. Trump supports you, after all. And Charles Harder could defend you. Love wins, right?

                    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Toom1275 (profile), 9 Sep 2018 @ 6:18am

          Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

          They already share space - inside one otherwise hollow skull.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
        identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:21pm

        Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

        Those pictures of you and out of the blue sharing the double headed dildo and the Fran drescher mask are about to come out.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
          identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 9:54pm

          Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

          You know, I’ve heard that somewhere before, but it never seems to happen.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
            identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2018 @ 11:13pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

            Keep trying. It’s about as likely to happen as your brown ass and Melinda’s

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
            identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2018 @ 1:25am

            Re: Re: Re: Re: I am Part of the Resistance Inside Techdirt. I am Spartacus too.

            Don't be such a prude, Hamilton. Remember when MyNameHere was boasting he'd suck the cock of a donkey if it meant your heroes took this website down?

            You run a den of whores, Hamilton. Own it and suck it up!

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    got_runs? (profile), 9 Sep 2018 @ 10:27am

    Wow, the comments section has been flagged.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2018 @ 7:13pm

      Re:

      That's what happens when out_of_the_blue and Hamilton confess their undying love for each other.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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