There really is no such thing as "harassment" on the Internet. Almost every site has tools necessary to deal with such annoyances. In Gmail, I can specify a filter to either delete incoming emails or direct them into storage (and "mark as read") for evidence in court. On Facebook, I can remove someone from my friend list and block someone. I left MySpace almost 4 years ago (member for about a month), but I assume it has blocking mechanisms.
The only real grounds for harassment would be someone who repeatedly signs up under new names just to avoid your blocks. There MIGHT be a case there where someone is actively trying to throw themselves onto the victim, but other than that it amazes me how anyone can let themselves be bothered by stuff online.
Why is this other business offering paid subscriptions to mapping services? What about other map services that are free? Shouldn't they be switching to another business or at least offering something unique to its paying customers? No one is ENTITLED to compete. If someone else offers a superior product all around, tough beans. Can I open a small bookstore and sue B&N for unfair competition on my first day?
It really is a simple answer. If any of those social networks started charging, I would stop using them. The bottom line is that they are not necessities in my life. Sure, they're nice to have for keeping in touch with friends/family, but I would be fine without them. Email may seem a bit old-fashioned, but it still works, and it still saves on postage.
I'd be interested in seeing proof of this statement. I'm not trying to be obnoxious or anything; I'm just genuinely interested to see this happen. Several people have mentioned that Google does not always honor robots.txt, but I have never seen any matching evidence.
@Bradley -- This whole issue has NOTHING to do with "LAN vs Battle.net" quality. I believe Blizzard when it says that Battle.net 2.0 is going to be freakin' amazing. I have no doubts about that. The issue here is that LAN lets people play the game in a place where Internet is absent (or really slow/laggy). Internet access is not quite omnipresent like electricity and water are. Even on the university campus here, there is Internet everywhere, but all game-related sites/ports are blocked.
I participate in Starcraft LAN parties quite frequently. The decision to remove LAN play removed all incentive for me to buy the game. No, I am not so naive to think that the LAN supporter boycott will make a dent in Blizzard's finances. We are simply expressing our distaste with this decision and have chosen not to buy this game.
The problem with this whole situation is that the focus is placed too heavily on telling kids to NOT do something. It is much more effective to find things for kids to actually do instead. If you tell a child to just "stop playing games", he/she will just mope around, whine, and find a way to get back to playing. Part of it is immaturity, but part of it is the mere fact that the parent offered nothing to fill the void.
Legislation banning any amount of gaming will only anger a lot of people. It will not magically send kids outside.
The issue isn't just the mountain of fine print backing any product these days. The problem we have today is that businesses are no longer concerned with their customers. Many credit card providers have the decency to call the owner of a card if a strange purchase is made (and even cancel/reverse the purchase). Heaven forbid that AT&T call Adam, verify his identity, and notify him that he is coming up on the first few hundred dollars of charges.
This leads me to my other concern: it is waaaay too easy to spend money over cellphones. On my first cellphone, I went ringtone shopping. I thought I was in the "free" sections (I NEVER once selected a "purchase" button/link), but I had $60 charges on my bill next month from 3rd-party vendors. There needs to be some consumer-protection in this area because too many vendors outright LIE about stuff being free and whatnot.
If you are running Linux, let the entire video buffer. Go to your /tmp folder, copy the Flash cache file (named something like Flashzbx93o or other garbage that starts with "Flash"), rename it as an MP4 file.
Voila. You've just saved a Flash video off the Internet without using any fancy plugins/tools.
I am in class right now, so I had to use this method to watch it later. This way, at least, I don't have to rebuffer it later. ^_^
(In fact, halfway through typing this message, I lost my Internet connection.)
I've been making this point for a while in these kinds of debates. Content creators seem to want all the benefits of digital distribution mixed with all the restrictions of physical distribution.
Since when did it become logical/fair to simply sue a link in the chain of events? He should have just sued the manufacturer! The makers are clearly responsible for this!
I am gonna start committing crimes if all the lawsuits target things above me. I get away with my loot while my mother/boss/landlord gets stuck with the bill!
This is pure comedy. All authors are asked the same questions: "Where do you get your ideas from? What inspires you?" I have NEVER seen an author respond, "Nowhere. It is completely original. It spawned from the dark depths of my mind. From nothing, I created something." EVERYONE takes existing ideas, remixes them in their minds, and publishes them in a new form. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying. JK Rowling simply did a brilliant job of presenting her ideas in a way that everyone loved. She needs to return the favor and let new content creators take inspiration from her creations. Being inspired by prior art does NOT reduce the value of that prior art.
My goodness... I would be happy with $10 million. I could live off of $100,000 for the next 100 years. Darn straight, give those execs a pay cut! No one's work is worth THAT much.
On the post: Bad Ideas: Trying To Make Content More Like Physical Property
heh
On the post: Lori Drew Case Officially Dropped
Harassment on a controlled platform?
The only real grounds for harassment would be someone who repeatedly signs up under new names just to avoid your blocks. There MIGHT be a case there where someone is actively trying to throw themselves onto the victim, but other than that it amazes me how anyone can let themselves be bothered by stuff online.
On the post: Google Maps Charged With Unfair Competition In France For Daring To Be Free
Huh?
On the post: AP Says It's 'Done' Talking About Fair Use And Its DRM
RIP AP
On the post: What Would Happen If Social Networking Sites Charged
bye bye
On the post: Google To Newspapers: Here, Let Me Introduce You To Robots.txt
Re:
Source?
On the post: How Does Offering Free Content Insult Those Who Pay?
I like insulting people.
On the post: Blizzard The Latest To Kill Features, Call It An Upgrade
Re:
I participate in Starcraft LAN parties quite frequently. The decision to remove LAN play removed all incentive for me to buy the game. No, I am not so naive to think that the LAN supporter boycott will make a dent in Blizzard's finances. We are simply expressing our distaste with this decision and have chosen not to buy this game.
On the post: Forget Video Games, Why Aren't Politicians Complaining About Chess?
wrong focus
Legislation banning any amount of gaming will only anger a lot of people. It will not magically send kids outside.
On the post: Mythbusters' Adam Savage Discovers Insane Roaming Fees: $11,000 iPhone Bill For A Few Hours Surfing
No Love
This leads me to my other concern: it is waaaay too easy to spend money over cellphones. On my first cellphone, I went ringtone shopping. I thought I was in the "free" sections (I NEVER once selected a "purchase" button/link), but I had $60 charges on my bill next month from 3rd-party vendors. There needs to be some consumer-protection in this area because too many vendors outright LIE about stuff being free and whatnot.
On the post: Buy The Novel, Get A Lot More -- Including True Reasons To Buy
Re: Re: Re: Hmmm
On the post: Buy The Novel, Get A Lot More -- Including True Reasons To Buy
Hmmm
On the post: Success Stories From The Music Commerce Frontier
Saved!
Voila. You've just saved a Flash video off the Internet without using any fancy plugins/tools.
I am in class right now, so I had to use this method to watch it later. This way, at least, I don't have to rebuffer it later. ^_^
(In fact, halfway through typing this message, I lost my Internet connection.)
On the post: If Downloading A Song Is Just Like Stealing A CD, Why Won't The RIAA Allow Reselling MP3s?
Indeed
On the post: If You Get Shot, You Don't Get To Blame Craigslist For Hosting An Ad For The Gun Dealer Where The Shooter Bought The Gun
chain lawsuits
I am gonna start committing crimes if all the lawsuits target things above me. I get away with my loot while my mother/boss/landlord gets stuck with the bill!
On the post: JK Rowling Accused Of Plagiarizing Harry Potter... Yet Again
lolwut
On the post: Suggestion For Warner Music: Maybe Look At How Much You're Paying Your Execs
Next >>