"To me, it doesn't look like section 230 reform is very much a priority for the Democrats"
There are indeed many other more important issues than soothing the butthurt of right-wingers and white supremacists who blame section 230. Especially when not even Gettr, the platform set up to gather them together when they get told by other people that they're not welcome, can do business without also telling them to GTFO because they're so toxic.
"Hawley knows who you are dirty tech and will NEVER FORGET THE NASTY COMMENTS THAT WERE LEFT ON THIS SITE ABOUT HIM. You will pay when the lawyers come"
Fuck me, you people are getting stupider by the minute. He believes in free speech but will instantly destroy you with lawyers if you state an opinion about him that you don't like?
Even for the low standards you have set before, this is incredible.
Re: Re: Re: If it's stupid and dishonest but it works...
I know what you're trying to say, but "we used to allow kids to play with actively harmful radioactive material" isn't the flex you think it is.
Also, if you want to paint this famous kit not being available today as being some affront to your glorious past growing up, your own link disproves you:
"Alas, fewer than 5,000 of the Gilbert kits were sold, and it remained on the market only until 1951. The lackluster sales may have been due to the eye-popping price: US $49.50, or about $500 today."
Either you grew up rich, or this is just another example of someone telling people how much better it was in the old days because of something they didn't even experience themselves.
Re: Re: If it's stupid and dishonest but it works...
"You may not believe it but we could blow up the house."
Yep, and it happened enough that people wanted to stop it from happening on a regular basis and get kids to run their experiments with the supervision of qualified adults.
"AND can anyone show me HOW this kid hurt himself enough with a plastic bottle?"
Because obviously it was the bottle that sent him to hospital with severe burns and not the other parts of the experiment?
You should really think your random screeds through before you post them more often, things like this make you look really stupid and get people to automatically skip over the posts where you do have a point.
It's a result in terms of precedent and hopefully getting some sanity for other people included, but that's 4 years that's not going to be returned and the personal consequences over those years may have been severe. All for something that a basic talk combined with common sense should have resolved.
"It's a small shift, but it reflects the growing COVID-era understanding that broadband is more of an essential utility than a luxury."
Which is, of course, already a little troubling since the shift to things like online banking, employers requiring online applications, a wide difference between access to reasonably price goods online, etc. were there long before COVID. But, it's good that a recognition that it's not a luxury item for most people is being pushed to a small degree.
Although, the flipside to this is an implication that people are potentially buying houses without checking this kind of basic utility. I can understand why you'd rent a place in a low price range and take what you can get without fully researching everything at a moment's notice, but buying?
"Wouldn't a better idea be to have someone to teach him how to do initial research using a search engine"
No, it would be better to have someone teach him how to evaluate sources and understand history and context (or know when to delegate to someone who does). Surely this whole pandemic shows you that you shouldn't let these people "do their own research" with Google?
I remember having the previous coloured peg version of that game and the sight of those people on the box art gives me flashbacks, though I always associate the name "Mastermind" with the gameshow that involved Magnus Magnusson and other things that non-UK people might not get.
" Also, if there was no attempt at IP enforcement, Apple had no reason to take it down from the AppStore"
Well, I think that depends on where you live. Although the term wasn't trademarked, using that in the name would appear to be a deliberate attempt at confusing customers, for the direct purpose of profiting from the confusion. Apple may well have been in the clear in the US, but other places with stronger consumer protection laws might have taken a dimmer view of them allowing apps of that name after they've been informed they did not originate from the original creator. Plus, Apple are under fire with all the "big tech" lawsuits and legislative attacks currently being pushed, and this was a big win in terms of marketing even if they had no direct legal or financial reason to block the app.
"For once, someone avoided the heavy-handed approach to "imaginary property", but "the world" (i.e. Apple) still reacted as if he did"
I think Apple reacted as if when the backlash inevitably goes the other way and people start asking why if the dev is boasting about making $X from the app then why Apple are fine taking Y% of what seems to be a clear attempt to fool customers into buying something they don't need to buy. The original creator is not part of the equation here in Apple's mind, I think, because he has no direct relationship to them one way or the other. But, the customers who could later claim to have been defrauded are.
"I imagine plenty of people would want—and even pay for!—a version of Wordle that doesn’t limit players to a single puzzle a day"
Absolutely, and I imagine that the different letter size puzzles was a big attraction. The basic format does seem to be one that's easily, and maybe successfully, built upon.
"But plenty more people—myself included—like the fact that Wordle gives you one puzzle per day."
I wouldn't want to hazard a guess at actual figures, but there's different audiences for sure. Some people want a nice daily challenge to sink their teeth into on a quick break or while waiting for their morning coffee. Some people want a nice timewaster that lasts a bit longer and will be disappointed when they're told to wait 24 hours.
"That appreciation probably explains why so many people reacted the way they did to the “ripoff” app"
I'd say there's several factors - the clear, gleeful profiteering, the fact that the original author has no interest in this kind of roadmap, the fact that it was set up in a way to fool people who didn't realise there's no official app. I'd guess that if there were some cosmetic changes and they didn't use the Wordle name it wouldn't have had the response it did, though obviously that's just a guess on everyone's part as to what the real reason was.
Ah, apology accepted, although Clegg was the former leader of the Liberal Democrats who formed the doomed coalition with the Conservative party that led us into a lot of the current mess the country's in. Labour was the party formerly in power that the coalition government ousted. Although by American standards they all count as "liberal", there's many important differences.
I understand that this might all be confusing for people looking in from the outside, but there's a huge difference in many ways and Farage is a unique enough cancer without confusing things further ;)
The trick is to have someone who knows what they're doing supervise and not just randomly copy what you saw on a video that may or may not give all the details involved in a safe experimental environment. But, lack of qualified supervision being present when kids decide to imitate something is hardly a new thing.
It's the usual story - politicians need issues to grandstand on and look like they're "doing something". Media get more hits by writing stories that make something sound "new" rather than just the same old stuff. The target audience for both are people who want to blame everything wrong with the world and things that are new and scary (read: anything that wasn't around when they were a teenager).
The only "new" thing here is that because the number of people in the latter group who didn't use a computer before they had kids of their own is dwindling, now it's the platform being blamed. So, now it's fear about whichever platform their kids use that they haven't really used themselves. Thus the cycle will continue until the general population either demands politicians focus on underlying issues or media stop being dependent on clickbait and fearmongering for easy revenue. You can probably see the problem here...
"But notably absent in all of this was anything related to actual intellectual property registrations and the like."
It's nice when that happens, but in this case I doubt it will last long. This app has demonstrated that there's a market for clones, that people will pay for them, and that they have to be slightly more subtle about it. It won't be long until imitators come along that don't fall in the same traps, and by that point the original author has essentially refused to arm himself with the tools needed to protect customers who are being ripped off.
Maybe he doesn't care, and I'm sure that people willing to pay for puzzles of different sizes and more than one puzzle a day won't be too concerned either. But, if it's determined that people are being ripped off those things will likely have to come into pay in some way.
A nice result all around here, but the tools you mention will almost certainly have to come into play when the narrow set of circumstances that made Apple feel the need to step in before the backlash truly started are no longer in play.
No, the main problem here is that they used the actual brand name of the original. The original author chose not to trademark it, but it seems clear that there will be definite customer confusion here (as people trying to search for Wordle will only get this app and not the original they intended to search for), and that has certain possible implications legally and financially down the road for the store if they knowingly allow it to happen.
King or Zynga would have copied everything but named it "Word Crush Saga" or "Wordville" and been in the clear because they weren't using the original name.
"It's effectively a hostage-taking law and the reason Labour wants it so badly? Because Nigel Farage left them to join Facebook and they view it as a betrayal"
"The problem is all of these people who have no problem supporting the Proud Boys because they aren't the KKK."
The problem is racist, homophobic, etc. scum. You won't do anything about them. by playing the rebranding games and pretending they're not the same people because some of them decided to get better at branding and euphemisms. That's an endless cycle which achieves nothing except allowing them to pretend that the real problem is the people spotting the racists through their new outfits.
On the post: Josh Hawley Was The Democrats' Partner In Trying To Regulate Big Tech; Then The Public Realized He Was A Fascist
Re: Stealing Their Thunder
"To me, it doesn't look like section 230 reform is very much a priority for the Democrats"
There are indeed many other more important issues than soothing the butthurt of right-wingers and white supremacists who blame section 230. Especially when not even Gettr, the platform set up to gather them together when they get told by other people that they're not welcome, can do business without also telling them to GTFO because they're so toxic.
On the post: Josh Hawley Was The Democrats' Partner In Trying To Regulate Big Tech; Then The Public Realized He Was A Fascist
Re: Why Techbribe why?
"Senator Hawley just wants free speech online"
"Hawley knows who you are dirty tech and will NEVER FORGET THE NASTY COMMENTS THAT WERE LEFT ON THIS SITE ABOUT HIM. You will pay when the lawyers come"
Fuck me, you people are getting stupider by the minute. He believes in free speech but will instantly destroy you with lawyers if you state an opinion about him that you don't like?
Even for the low standards you have set before, this is incredible.
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re: Re: Re: If it's stupid and dishonest but it works...
I know what you're trying to say, but "we used to allow kids to play with actively harmful radioactive material" isn't the flex you think it is.
Also, if you want to paint this famous kit not being available today as being some affront to your glorious past growing up, your own link disproves you:
Either you grew up rich, or this is just another example of someone telling people how much better it was in the old days because of something they didn't even experience themselves.
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re: Re: If it's stupid and dishonest but it works...
"You may not believe it but we could blow up the house."
Yep, and it happened enough that people wanted to stop it from happening on a regular basis and get kids to run their experiments with the supervision of qualified adults.
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re: WTF?
"AND can anyone show me HOW this kid hurt himself enough with a plastic bottle?"
Because obviously it was the bottle that sent him to hospital with severe burns and not the other parts of the experiment?
You should really think your random screeds through before you post them more often, things like this make you look really stupid and get people to automatically skip over the posts where you do have a point.
On the post: Pennsylvania Court Reverses Student's Expulsion Over A Snapchat Post, Reminds School Students Still Have Rights
Re: Re: Some context is important
Yeah... that's the thing that hit me...
"On April 1, 2018"
"OPINION BY JUDGE CEISLER FILED: January 7, 2022"
It's a result in terms of precedent and hopefully getting some sanity for other people included, but that's 4 years that's not going to be returned and the personal consequences over those years may have been severe. All for something that a basic talk combined with common sense should have resolved.
Even when people win, they can still lose...
On the post: New Washington Law Requires Home Sellers Disclose Lack Of Broadband Access
"It's a small shift, but it reflects the growing COVID-era understanding that broadband is more of an essential utility than a luxury."
Which is, of course, already a little troubling since the shift to things like online banking, employers requiring online applications, a wide difference between access to reasonably price goods online, etc. were there long before COVID. But, it's good that a recognition that it's not a luxury item for most people is being pushed to a small degree.
Although, the flipside to this is an implication that people are potentially buying houses without checking this kind of basic utility. I can understand why you'd rent a place in a low price range and take what you can get without fully researching everything at a moment's notice, but buying?
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re: Re: Whoosh
"Wouldn't a better idea be to have someone to teach him how to do initial research using a search engine"
No, it would be better to have someone teach him how to evaluate sources and understand history and context (or know when to delegate to someone who does). Surely this whole pandemic shows you that you shouldn't let these people "do their own research" with Google?
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
Re: "The Original"
I remember having the previous coloured peg version of that game and the sight of those people on the box art gives me flashbacks, though I always associate the name "Mastermind" with the gameshow that involved Magnus Magnusson and other things that non-UK people might not get.
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
Re:
" Also, if there was no attempt at IP enforcement, Apple had no reason to take it down from the AppStore"
Well, I think that depends on where you live. Although the term wasn't trademarked, using that in the name would appear to be a deliberate attempt at confusing customers, for the direct purpose of profiting from the confusion. Apple may well have been in the clear in the US, but other places with stronger consumer protection laws might have taken a dimmer view of them allowing apps of that name after they've been informed they did not originate from the original creator. Plus, Apple are under fire with all the "big tech" lawsuits and legislative attacks currently being pushed, and this was a big win in terms of marketing even if they had no direct legal or financial reason to block the app.
"For once, someone avoided the heavy-handed approach to "imaginary property", but "the world" (i.e. Apple) still reacted as if he did"
I think Apple reacted as if when the backlash inevitably goes the other way and people start asking why if the dev is boasting about making $X from the app then why Apple are fine taking Y% of what seems to be a clear attempt to fool customers into buying something they don't need to buy. The original creator is not part of the equation here in Apple's mind, I think, because he has no direct relationship to them one way or the other. But, the customers who could later claim to have been defrauded are.
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
Re: Re:
Yeah, that's also true, I forget that was part of the way it got spread so quickly.
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
Re:
"I imagine plenty of people would want—and even pay for!—a version of Wordle that doesn’t limit players to a single puzzle a day"
Absolutely, and I imagine that the different letter size puzzles was a big attraction. The basic format does seem to be one that's easily, and maybe successfully, built upon.
"But plenty more people—myself included—like the fact that Wordle gives you one puzzle per day."
I wouldn't want to hazard a guess at actual figures, but there's different audiences for sure. Some people want a nice daily challenge to sink their teeth into on a quick break or while waiting for their morning coffee. Some people want a nice timewaster that lasts a bit longer and will be disappointed when they're told to wait 24 hours.
"That appreciation probably explains why so many people reacted the way they did to the “ripoff” app"
I'd say there's several factors - the clear, gleeful profiteering, the fact that the original author has no interest in this kind of roadmap, the fact that it was set up in a way to fool people who didn't realise there's no official app. I'd guess that if there were some cosmetic changes and they didn't use the Wordle name it wouldn't have had the response it did, though obviously that's just a guess on everyone's part as to what the real reason was.
On the post: UK Government Apparently Hoping It Can Regulate End-To-End Encryption Out Of Existence
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Ah, apology accepted, although Clegg was the former leader of the Liberal Democrats who formed the doomed coalition with the Conservative party that led us into a lot of the current mess the country's in. Labour was the party formerly in power that the coalition government ousted. Although by American standards they all count as "liberal", there's many important differences.
I understand that this might all be confusing for people looking in from the outside, but there's a huge difference in many ways and Farage is a unique enough cancer without confusing things further ;)
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re:
The trick is to have someone who knows what they're doing supervise and not just randomly copy what you saw on a video that may or may not give all the details involved in a safe experimental environment. But, lack of qualified supervision being present when kids decide to imitate something is hardly a new thing.
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re:
Most likely working extra hours to keep a roof over their heads while the internet acted as babysitter.
On the post: Senator Blumenthal Blames TikTok... Due To A Popular And Widely Championed Science Experiment Gone Wrong
Re: To be fair:
It's the usual story - politicians need issues to grandstand on and look like they're "doing something". Media get more hits by writing stories that make something sound "new" rather than just the same old stuff. The target audience for both are people who want to blame everything wrong with the world and things that are new and scary (read: anything that wasn't around when they were a teenager).
The only "new" thing here is that because the number of people in the latter group who didn't use a computer before they had kids of their own is dwindling, now it's the platform being blamed. So, now it's fear about whichever platform their kids use that they haven't really used themselves. Thus the cycle will continue until the general population either demands politicians focus on underlying issues or media stop being dependent on clickbait and fearmongering for easy revenue. You can probably see the problem here...
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
"But notably absent in all of this was anything related to actual intellectual property registrations and the like."
It's nice when that happens, but in this case I doubt it will last long. This app has demonstrated that there's a market for clones, that people will pay for them, and that they have to be slightly more subtle about it. It won't be long until imitators come along that don't fall in the same traps, and by that point the original author has essentially refused to arm himself with the tools needed to protect customers who are being ripped off.
Maybe he doesn't care, and I'm sure that people willing to pay for puzzles of different sizes and more than one puzzle a day won't be too concerned either. But, if it's determined that people are being ripped off those things will likely have to come into pay in some way.
A nice result all around here, but the tools you mention will almost certainly have to come into play when the narrow set of circumstances that made Apple feel the need to step in before the backlash truly started are no longer in play.
On the post: The World Handled A 'Wordle' Ripoff Just Fine Without Any IP Action
Re:
No, the main problem here is that they used the actual brand name of the original. The original author chose not to trademark it, but it seems clear that there will be definite customer confusion here (as people trying to search for Wordle will only get this app and not the original they intended to search for), and that has certain possible implications legally and financially down the road for the store if they knowingly allow it to happen.
King or Zynga would have copied everything but named it "Word Crush Saga" or "Wordville" and been in the clear because they weren't using the original name.
On the post: UK Government Apparently Hoping It Can Regulate End-To-End Encryption Out Of Existence
Re: Re: Re:
"It's effectively a hostage-taking law and the reason Labour wants it so badly? Because Nigel Farage left them to join Facebook and they view it as a betrayal"
Erm, what?
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"The problem is all of these people who have no problem supporting the Proud Boys because they aren't the KKK."
The problem is racist, homophobic, etc. scum. You won't do anything about them. by playing the rebranding games and pretending they're not the same people because some of them decided to get better at branding and euphemisms. That's an endless cycle which achieves nothing except allowing them to pretend that the real problem is the people spotting the racists through their new outfits.
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