Gizzit’s Comments

• Apr 14th, 2010 @ 8:25am

  Re: Boycott

  on UK Comedy Writer Takes The Digital Economy Bill Seriously... As A Threat To His Livelihood
  I understand your position Nathaniel, and I have no desire to take the bread from the mouths of the creators on a long-term or permanent basis.
  
  What I conceive the boycott to represent is a protest, designed to leave an anomalous blip in the spreadsheets, a signal that people can and will act in response to ill-judged legislation and secretive ACTA cabals, not simply be "a cash crop".
  
  I have no issue with creative types, rather I despise the parasitic organisations that proliferate and leech off the creators and the consumers alike.
  
  My proposed boycott would not be comprehensive, I get that, I can't really cancel my Spotify premium account for a month...I've already paid for the year...however, if I and enough like-minded souls don't buy their usual quota of media for the month of July, then let the accountants come up with a reasonable explanation for the sudden anomaly in the sales figures.
  
  I'm interested in the alternative business models you refer to, and would welcome anything which more directly compensated creators, and less the huge corporations sponsoring ACTA and the Digital Economy Act. Creative Commons licensing looks to be evolving nicely.
• Apr 14th, 2010 @ 7:37am

  Re: Re: Increasingly concerned...

  on UK Comedy Writer Takes The Digital Economy Bill Seriously... As A Threat To His Livelihood
  ...I agree...so far I've suggested this in the forums of theRegister, Open Rights Group, the BBC, BoingBoing, Techdirt and a few other places too.
  
  It goes without saying that anyone who thinks this is a reasonable idea can (and should) spread the word through whatever means they think are appropriate.
  
  Yes, I'd like to see the notion of a boycott gather some momentum, which is partly why I suggest a timeframe of July, to give some time for word to spread.
• Apr 14th, 2010 @ 7:07am

  Increasingly concerned...

  on UK Comedy Writer Takes The Digital Economy Bill Seriously... As A Threat To His Livelihood
  It is reassuring to see that there are creative types who disagree with the way that this legislation was enacted.
  
  Personally, I grow increasingly concerned that ACTA, especially when taken in conjunction with country-specific legislation is a bigger threat to basic freedoms than many people recognise.
  
  I for one have no desire to see the internet become no more than a shop-front for "old business", no more than a channel to elicit cash from passive consumers.
  
  Elsewhere, I have suggested that one legal and legitimate protest against the way that things are trending, would be a month-long boycott of any commercially licensed creative works.
  
  Say for the month of July 2010, if enough people refused to buy any books, e-books, video games, CDs, mp3s, DVDs, BluRays, movie tickets, etc. etc., it would send a clear message to those who are trying to parcel-up and possess the Internet.
  
  Make no mistake, this is not an issue confined to the UK, or to France, Australia or China - ACTA is global in its scope.
  
  So if you agree with the sentiments clumsily expressed in this post, I would urge you to join me in a boycott of the creative industries' output for the entire month of July, and to ask all your friends to do the same.