you don't have to have rights to download anything. issue of ethics? absolutely. But the last time I checked, when something was put on a public tracker and downloaded that has nothing to do with rights.
I don't have rights to a linux ISO, but I downloaded it too.
unfortunately, it's more expensive for us to have internet if we don't have basic cable. Thanks, comcrap. $15/mo higher without basic cable, and $10/mo with it.
after we watch weeds season 5 this week, we're canceling netflix for good. They started to go downhill when they did silverlight, and now this? this is the last straw. Meanwhile, I can go to demonoid, install peerblock and utorrent, and download any movie/episode in 1 day, thus 27 days earlier and for free. Way to go netflix/hollywood.
I think the whole concept is very cool, and makes a lot of sense.
That first follower movement/momentum is also very visible on slashdot, for example.
One person makes a post, it gets moderated, someone makes an additional comment, and the end result is an enormous discussion spawned off of a single comment. It's a different version of the same concept but I see it happen when I post there daily, if I get a good moderation or post something that tends to gather attention, as it gathers more attention by that fact itself.
I guess it rolls into crowdsourcing concepts a little too. Good post, mike.
I'm glad you linked that site with the strawman arguments.
The closest thing to reality in the strawman arguments in the blogpost is the "Mike Cane" example, but in reverse. What they said was that it's okay to download if you can't buy a cd (not out yet), but when the cd comes out you have to buy it. This by itself is wacky. Why would someone buy a cd automagically because they downloaded the song? Doesn't work that way.
that was his reply...it was actually on CNN originally before he put it back on his own site. He basically explained the rapelay thing in quite reasonable terms.
the fact that we're reading techdirt, by and of itself, shows that there are people who specifically know of the competition and read it (techdirt as an example of competition).
as a consumer:
I love yelp. Yelp elite events are free food + drinks + basically free parties at cool places.
as someone who knows folks who do business with yelp:
yelp is a piece of crap. Their reviews are indeed reliable and they do try to spot bogus reviews, however the problem is their advertising policy.
Say you bought some kind of yelp service? You'd be charged for every clickthrough to your business no matter if someone actually went to your business or not. This = horrible. It doesn't put any relevance to whether the advertising was successful.
Thus it's very easy for certain businesses to drum up that cost for other businesses. All they have to find is the favored review company and send through tons of fake clickthroughs.
Re: Context from a Postie who appreciates anonymous comments
PS: your own answer shows that registration isn't fixing spam, so why even bother?
That's like DRM all over again. It's like "well, DRM hasn't slowed piracy, but why put a stop to it?"
it's quite ignorant, and has nothing to do with the quality of your blogs or the type of posts, or your opinion. All of this fails to call to notice that you don't allow anonymous comments.
anonymous in terms of the internet means - you can post without being required to have some login or password to do so.
Re: Context from a Postie who appreciates anonymous comments
okay, registering to comment does not equal anonymous. You dodged this issue entirely, bt the second sentence.
Just because you can fake your name doesn't mean that from registration to posting, you can be anonymous. You can't. The IP address is tracked through that and can be easily fetched. Techdirt actually does allow posting without requiring registration, and slashdot as well. So no, washingtonpost is a step behind here.
There are significantly better ways to handle the spam. Watch for what links are being provided - example: if there is an inline link and the actual link description are different, you could have this flag a post for review. Captchas, while not a perfect solution, can help mitigate some spam as well. Just don't be stupid - don't do captchas that are "verify the word" as those are easily defeated, and the harder those are the harder it is for legitimate posters to pass the captcha. Do picture + verbal confirmation at a minimum. Moderation is another method - let users moderate comments. Of course the method that you do this matters too.
What does all this prove? That you don't support anonymity in the true sense of what it means. You support it in a false sense, calling it anonymous when it's not.
First, washingtonpost does have a point. I think that's why most smart websites allow anonymous posting, although some don't know how to deal with the good and bad. Some IP log to prevent spam, some simply moderate the comments, and plenty of variance that sadly, isn't 100% anonymous. Depending on popularity moderation might not be realistic.
Meanwhile, you have to log in to comment on the article talking about allowing anonymous comments. Not on techdirt, but on washingtonpost's *entire website.*
"You must be signed in to washingtonpost.com to comment. Please sign in."
way to go washingtonpost. left hand, meet right hand.
MyCleanPC is a total scam. It basically downloads spyware and gets rid of other spyware. Also installs a toolbar. I think you know where apps that install billions of toolbars sit in the land of usefulness: they don't.
On the post: Frontier Communications "Testing" To See How Users Respond To Being Ridiculously Overcharged For Bandwidth
Re: Re: Doesn't seem right somehow....
I don't have rights to a linux ISO, but I downloaded it too.
On the post: Telcos Still Pretending Google Gets "Free Ride"
google voice has sadly been countered
Well, the numbers for google voice are landline.
This was a direct strike at google, and the telcos didn't even sit a second. Even tmobile switched their plans due to this one.
On the post: The Number of People Giving Up TV for the Web Is Slowly Gaining Pace
tv = subsidized
On the post: How To Piss People Off: Publish A Book Using Their Tweets Without Asking Them First
Re: Re: Re: Oh please
Publisher didn't have to ask anyone, but could have informed them beforehand to set up a way to promote th book.
Meanwhile, said people included could use it as a viral feature "I was in a book!" etc.
On the post: Netflix Agrees To Delay Fox And Universal New Releases, Annoy Avatar Fans
yup
On the post: Ideas Into Execution: Giving Away An Idea To Make It Happen
movement/momentum
That first follower movement/momentum is also very visible on slashdot, for example.
One person makes a post, it gets moderated, someone makes an additional comment, and the end result is an enormous discussion spawned off of a single comment. It's a different version of the same concept but I see it happen when I post there daily, if I get a good moderation or post something that tends to gather attention, as it gathers more attention by that fact itself.
I guess it rolls into crowdsourcing concepts a little too. Good post, mike.
On the post: If FreeCreditReport.com Doesn't Even Offer A Free Credit Report... Is That Truth In Advertising?
$1 to charity = profit
Considering they donate the dollar to charity means they get the $1 discounted off their taxable income at no cost to them.
I'm sick of companies doing this all the time. It's totally disgusting, and lots do it.
Dollar's not really being donated to charity, it's being donated to tax dodging.
On the post: Is The iPad The Disneyland Of Computers?
Matt
It is exactly why I don't buy em, though.
On the post: Misguided Outrage At NY Times' Ethicist Over Ethics Of Downloading A Book
total strawman
The closest thing to reality in the strawman arguments in the blogpost is the "Mike Cane" example, but in reverse. What they said was that it's okay to download if you can't buy a cd (not out yet), but when the cd comes out you have to buy it. This by itself is wacky. Why would someone buy a cd automagically because they downloaded the song? Doesn't work that way.
On the post: CNN Dusts Off Ancient Moral Panic Over Out Of Print Game That Was Banned A While Back
japanese author reply
http://www.tsurupeta.info/content/open-letter-to-cnn-by-nogami-takeshi
that was his reply...it was actually on CNN originally before he put it back on his own site. He basically explained the rapelay thing in quite reasonable terms.
On the post: Rupert Murdoch Doesn't Recognize That There's Competition Online
very very simple
On the post: And The Next Battle Is Apple vs. Google... As Microsoft/Yahoo Fade Off Into The Sunset?
apple search
Google will still have the info with or without the search engine.
On the post: IBM Breaks Promise; Threatens Open Source Company Over Patents
read up more
On the post: Yelp Adds A Tiny Bit Of Transparency... And Inches Away From Pay For Placement
yelp
I love yelp. Yelp elite events are free food + drinks + basically free parties at cool places.
as someone who knows folks who do business with yelp:
yelp is a piece of crap. Their reviews are indeed reliable and they do try to spot bogus reviews, however the problem is their advertising policy.
Say you bought some kind of yelp service? You'd be charged for every clickthrough to your business no matter if someone actually went to your business or not. This = horrible. It doesn't put any relevance to whether the advertising was successful.
Thus it's very easy for certain businesses to drum up that cost for other businesses. All they have to find is the favored review company and send through tons of fake clickthroughs.
On the post: Washington Post Ombud: Anonymous Comments Have Their Place
Re: Context from a Postie who appreciates anonymous comments
That's like DRM all over again. It's like "well, DRM hasn't slowed piracy, but why put a stop to it?"
it's quite ignorant, and has nothing to do with the quality of your blogs or the type of posts, or your opinion. All of this fails to call to notice that you don't allow anonymous comments.
anonymous in terms of the internet means - you can post without being required to have some login or password to do so.
On the post: Washington Post Ombud: Anonymous Comments Have Their Place
Re: Context from a Postie who appreciates anonymous comments
Just because you can fake your name doesn't mean that from registration to posting, you can be anonymous. You can't. The IP address is tracked through that and can be easily fetched. Techdirt actually does allow posting without requiring registration, and slashdot as well. So no, washingtonpost is a step behind here.
There are significantly better ways to handle the spam. Watch for what links are being provided - example: if there is an inline link and the actual link description are different, you could have this flag a post for review. Captchas, while not a perfect solution, can help mitigate some spam as well. Just don't be stupid - don't do captchas that are "verify the word" as those are easily defeated, and the harder those are the harder it is for legitimate posters to pass the captcha. Do picture + verbal confirmation at a minimum. Moderation is another method - let users moderate comments. Of course the method that you do this matters too.
What does all this prove? That you don't support anonymity in the true sense of what it means. You support it in a false sense, calling it anonymous when it's not.
On the post: Publisher Realizes Google Books Isn't Evil, But Quite Beneficial
20 percent
So yes, obscurity issues? taken care of. Preservation of info? Not so much.
That 20% seems to apply to public domain stuff when google lists it too.
On the post: Washington Post Ombud: Anonymous Comments Have Their Place
put this in the "Whoops" category?
Meanwhile, you have to log in to comment on the article talking about allowing anonymous comments. Not on techdirt, but on washingtonpost's *entire website.*
"You must be signed in to washingtonpost.com to comment. Please sign in."
way to go washingtonpost. left hand, meet right hand.
On the post: CyberDefender Threatens Consumer Advocate With Defamation Claim
mycleanpc
Even Mcafee knows that: http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/mycleanpc.com
On the post: UK Newspaper Drops Paywall After Less Than 10 People Subscribe
yeah
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