[joke to be told in different voices, in order of steeply increasing "jewishness"]
[Man]: Rabbi, you've got to help me, I don't know what to do. Yeasterday my son told me that-- that he's going to convert to Catholicism. I'm so ashamed, what did I do wrong, did I push him away? Did I hold him too close? I just feel awful.
[Rabbi]: Oh you feel bad. You feel ashamed. Last month my son told me he's going to convert! A fine thing, me a rabbi, and my son is going to be a Christian. How does that look? How do you think I feel?
[Booming voice from the sky]: OH SO YOU'VE GOT IT SO BAD...
Re: Re: Re: They don't like it when you read the contract
Really? I just tried a Google search for "Fannie Mae compliant" and got no exact match. Where's the text? And how do I point out a problem or suggest a change? Which lenders claim on their websites that they use this form?
...the real shame is all those companies who have already paid up for this patent. Assuming this patent is also struck down eventually, the companies who paid up won't get their money back.
I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, I sympathise with victims of extrtion schemes; on the other, I know that the ones who roll over are the ones who keep the extortion game going. If they got their money back when someone else defeated the patent, there'd be that much less incentive to fight back.
Which bank and which title company, so we'll know for future reference.
Another big advantage the corporations have is practice. When I sat down to sign my mortgage papers I sort of expected them to be reasonable and fair. What I saw was a mass of fishhooks. One in particular was the clause that said that they could change the contract if it turned out to be "incorrect" -- the contract they had written! -- but I had no such power. The whole thing was non-negotiable; I could sign or I could walk away and start the whole process over again, with probably the same result.
How about a few standard, public-domain contract forms, along the lines of open-source software or cryptography. The lender says "we use mortgage for 12-A", I do some research and find out that 12-A is simple, and that the court rulings on it have been consistent, and that various watchdog groups have looked it over and consider it fair. When I sit down, the contract is one page: "the parties agree to Registered Public Mortgage contract 12-A..."
...it is pretty clear that Free is playing a semantic game...
It's called law. The french legislature passed a law that was poorly thought out and badly written (irrespective of whether it was just or wise). Free chose to obey the letter of the law but not its spirit, which is their right; Mitterand is trying to assert power in a way that went out of style in 1789.
At least this dispels the old stereotype of French politicians: they are not all spineless. Foolish, clumsy, incompetent, arrogant and autocratic maybe, but not spineless.
Wouldn't it be funny if the administrator were one of those nitwits who has his secretary print his email for him to read?
Seriously, I thought this was dumb until I got to this part:
A determined user who has guessed the prohibited keyword could get around it by simply substituting numbers or other characters for letters, such as z00 instead of zoo, representatives for Canon conceded.
Whoa! It can distinguish 0 from o and O? In any font, presumably by context? Never mind the printer, I want that OCR technology!
"...wouldn't the best approach for a big company be to fight any and all bogus patents to the last breath?"
Yes, if the company can thereby convince the trolls that it is not a good target. There is always the temptation to settle, to take the easy way out in the short term at the cost of ruining that hard-won reputation; Apple has done that this time. And small companies that can't survive a fight don't get the chance to establish such a reputation at all.
If only there were a way for a company to burn its bridges beforehand, to legally -- and publicly bind itself: "we will never settle in any patent litigation against us"...
All right you Benedictine monks, if you don't back off, you're looking at up to 180 in jail. That's right, up to 180 days in a plain cell, wearing simple clothing, eating simple food, with no entertainment except whatever books you want to bring with you and maybe some strolling in the yard in the afternoons. So... watch it.
Re: Re: Three bushels of rotten apples make the whole barrel look bad.
>I'm a cop and I've spoken out against this misuse of law in many different forums since the issue first arose.
I'm very glad to hear that (although judging by your comments on the April 21st article, this wasn't one of those forums).
PRMan did not seem to have been referring to this incident specifically, but even in this case the majority response from the police has been to close ranks. I'll happily eat my words if you can point me to a public statement by, I don't know, maybe the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association denouncing the decision to press charges as an abuse of the law. Until then you appear to be in the minority.
Three bushels of rotten apples make the whole barrel look bad.
A minority? And what does the good majority do about the bad minority? Speak out against them? Arrest them? Turn them in to Internal Affairs? Is that kind of action commonplace and admired, or rare and despised?
An officer who shields corruption and abuse of power is a bad one.
For a moment I thought the French ISPs would actually stand up against bad government and refuse to betray their clients. Then I got to the part about their just wanting to be paid more for betraying their clients.
Maybe it's purely PR. If they talk and act as if it's their decision to make, and no one slaps them down (which no one will) a lot of readers/viewers/listeners will adopt that viewpoint without critical thought.
I hadn't heard that. It's a serious and interesting point, but I think it's unrelated to what we're discussing here.
"[A scalper acts] as an unauthorized agent that reduces the cost/benefit to the consumer"
(I think you mean increases the cost/benefit.) Compared to what? The price the consumer could get in an auction is about the same. And if their unauthorized status is the problem, heck, someone could just authorize 'em, problem solved.
"Scalpers artificially raise the price of tickets, reducing demand."
I'd say they naturally raise the price of tickets. And I'm not sure what you mean by "reducing demand", since I find it hard to believe that scalpers are left holding many tickets after the show (and I never studied economics).
"If all tickets were auctioned, scalpers would disappear."
And the tickets would be just as expensive as if the scalpers were in business, maybe a little more so. It would be a little more convenient, and the money that the scalpers make would go somewhere else. Why exactly are we trying to get rid of scalpers again?
Instead of deciding how people should get tickets, try coming up with a good way for them to fail to get tickets. Seriously, there are more people who want to see the show than seats, so some of them won't get in; what should happen with them? Should they find out that the tickets are too expensive? Or that the show sold out in two minutes and they missed it? Or that there was a mailing list they should have gotten onto (somehow) six months ago? Or should they show up to stand in line only eight hours in advance and find crowds of more devoted (or less employed) fans ahead of them? Or should they take part in a lottery and lose? Or some combination of these?
If you don't like these options, suggest a better one; if you don't like to choose a failure mode at all, be aware that by suggesting a way to distribute tickets you are choosing a failure mode.
On the post: Months Later, Defense Secretary Gates Reveals Wikileaks Document Leak Didn't Actually Reveal Intelligence Sources
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I guess that's okay then.
[Man]: Rabbi, you've got to help me, I don't know what to do. Yeasterday my son told me that-- that he's going to convert to Catholicism. I'm so ashamed, what did I do wrong, did I push him away? Did I hold him too close? I just feel awful.
[Rabbi]: Oh you feel bad. You feel ashamed. Last month my son told me he's going to convert! A fine thing, me a rabbi, and my son is going to be a Christian. How does that look? How do you think I feel?
[Booming voice from the sky]: OH SO YOU'VE GOT IT SO BAD...
On the post: If Even The Best Legal Minds Don't Read Boilerplate Contracts... Why Are They Considered Binding?
Re: Re: Re: They don't like it when you read the contract
On the post: Putting Tooltips On Links? Company Demanding $80,000 For Patent Infringement
I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, I sympathise with victims of extrtion schemes; on the other, I know that the ones who roll over are the ones who keep the extortion game going. If they got their money back when someone else defeated the patent, there'd be that much less incentive to fight back.
On the post: If Even The Best Legal Minds Don't Read Boilerplate Contracts... Why Are They Considered Binding?
Re: They don't like it when you read the contract
Another big advantage the corporations have is practice. When I sat down to sign my mortgage papers I sort of expected them to be reasonable and fair. What I saw was a mass of fishhooks. One in particular was the clause that said that they could change the contract if it turned out to be "incorrect" -- the contract they had written! -- but I had no such power. The whole thing was non-negotiable; I could sign or I could walk away and start the whole process over again, with probably the same result.
How about a few standard, public-domain contract forms, along the lines of open-source software or cryptography. The lender says "we use mortgage for 12-A", I do some research and find out that 12-A is simple, and that the court rulings on it have been consistent, and that various watchdog groups have looked it over and consider it fair. When I sit down, the contract is one page: "the parties agree to Registered Public Mortgage contract 12-A..."
On the post: French Culture Minister Unilaterally Tries To Change Hadopi Rules To Close Loophole
laws are made of words
It's called law. The french legislature passed a law that was poorly thought out and badly written (irrespective of whether it was just or wise). Free chose to obey the letter of the law but not its spirit, which is their right; Mitterand is trying to assert power in a way that went out of style in 1789.
At least this dispels the old stereotype of French politicians: they are not all spineless. Foolish, clumsy, incompetent, arrogant and autocratic maybe, but not spineless.
On the post: Canon Creates Keyword-Based DRM For Copy Machines?
Re:
On the post: Canon Creates Keyword-Based DRM For Copy Machines?
¿siɥʇ uɐɔs noʎ uɐɔ
Seriously, I thought this was dumb until I got to this part:
A determined user who has guessed the prohibited keyword could get around it by simply substituting numbers or other characters for letters, such as z00 instead of zoo, representatives for Canon conceded.
Whoa! It can distinguish 0 from o and O? In any font, presumably by context? Never mind the printer, I want that OCR technology!
On the post: Surprise, Surprise: MPAA In Favor Of Current ACTA Text Before Anyone's Supposed To Have Seen It
wrapped in an enigma
Maybe I've been reading too many le Carré novels.
On the post: Details Of How The DC Online Voting System Was Hacked: Small Vulnerability, Huge Consequences
Lesson learned?
On the post: Why Have So Many Companies Settled Over Ridiculous Patent For 'Online Music Distribution'?
Re: Long term
Yes, if the company can thereby convince the trolls that it is not a good target. There is always the temptation to settle, to take the easy way out in the short term at the cost of ruining that hard-won reputation; Apple has done that this time. And small companies that can't survive a fight don't get the chance to establish such a reputation at all.
If only there were a way for a company to burn its bridges beforehand, to legally -- and publicly bind itself: "we will never settle in any patent litigation against us"...
On the post: Why Have So Many Companies Settled Over Ridiculous Patent For 'Online Music Distribution'?
Re:
On the post: Funeral Directors Want To Put Monks In Jail For Offering 'Unauthorized' Coffins
Better watch out...
On the post: Judge Tosses Out Wiretapping Charges Against Motorcyclist Who Filmed Cop With Helmet Cam
Re: Re: Three bushels of rotten apples make the whole barrel look bad.
I'm very glad to hear that (although judging by your comments on the April 21st article, this wasn't one of those forums).
PRMan did not seem to have been referring to this incident specifically, but even in this case the majority response from the police has been to close ranks. I'll happily eat my words if you can point me to a public statement by, I don't know, maybe the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association denouncing the decision to press charges as an abuse of the law. Until then you appear to be in the minority.
On the post: Judge Tosses Out Wiretapping Charges Against Motorcyclist Who Filmed Cop With Helmet Cam
Three bushels of rotten apples make the whole barrel look bad.
An officer who shields corruption and abuse of power is a bad one.
On the post: French ISPs Pushing Back Against Hadopi; Threaten To Ignore Requests
La Resistance vs. la greve
On the post: Companies Reach 'Deal' On Net Neutrality... But What Does That Mean?
manipulating perception
On the post: Bob Dylan Gets Around Service Fees & Scalpers With A Simple Plan: Pay Cash At The Door
Re: Re: Re: Re: Festival seating
I hadn't heard that. It's a serious and interesting point, but I think it's unrelated to what we're discussing here.
"[A scalper acts] as an unauthorized agent that reduces the cost/benefit to the consumer"
(I think you mean increases the cost/benefit.) Compared to what? The price the consumer could get in an auction is about the same. And if their unauthorized status is the problem, heck, someone could just authorize 'em, problem solved.
"Scalpers artificially raise the price of tickets, reducing demand."
I'd say they naturally raise the price of tickets. And I'm not sure what you mean by "reducing demand", since I find it hard to believe that scalpers are left holding many tickets after the show (and I never studied economics).
On the post: Bob Dylan Gets Around Service Fees & Scalpers With A Simple Plan: Pay Cash At The Door
Re: Re: Festival seating
And the tickets would be just as expensive as if the scalpers were in business, maybe a little more so. It would be a little more convenient, and the money that the scalpers make would go somewhere else. Why exactly are we trying to get rid of scalpers again?
On the post: Bob Dylan Gets Around Service Fees & Scalpers With A Simple Plan: Pay Cash At The Door
Look at it another way.
If you don't like these options, suggest a better one; if you don't like to choose a failure mode at all, be aware that by suggesting a way to distribute tickets you are choosing a failure mode.
On the post: Bob Dylan Gets Around Service Fees & Scalpers With A Simple Plan: Pay Cash At The Door
Re: Reservations
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