wizdum:
The software is required if you want to avoid being sued into oblivion. Find me one company that doesn't use it. They are not stopping use of all bot software, they are stopping the use of that particular software, and finding a different solution (and only because someone "famous" was hurt). One that honors fair use would be nice. Speaking of overzealous anti-piracy measures : YouTube Flags Democrats' Convention Video on Copyright Grounds | WIRED It happened again today.
No, the software is not required. It is simply more cost effective than having a human being screen content. It is impossible for software to determine 'fair use', since it requires human judhement. Relying on software, and loosing the Expert System AI's rules will simply result in actual violations. Again, no one was harmed by the convention link you included. You tube, doesn't wish to have to pay for human judgement, instead relying on an AI expert system with very tight rules. Therefore, as a corporation, they are making a choice for the most cost effective approach. Just as no one, other than possibly the corporation who chose that approach, was harmed by your previous link.
wizdum:
The RIAA and MPAA have both the FBI and ICE working for them. There are entire departments at Time Warner Cable and Google that are dedicated to finding pirates, and yet... it continues. Meanwhile, I can't even play a singleplayer game that I purchased, without an internet connection anymore, due to the DRM.
No private organization has any law enforcement agency working for them, and the assertion is ridiculous. Those agencies are simply enforcing the law, which is what they are tasked to do. The corporations involvement is simply providing evidence of crimes, something any citizen could do...
As to your game issue, did you not know that such a limitation was included when you purchased the game? If not, was it because you didn't read the fine print? Your recourse when you purchased the game was to return it for a full refund.
wizdum:
I am not arguing the degree of pirating, I am arguing that the comparison is unfair and the metrics used are smoke and mirrors. You are comparing two different pools of users. The Humble Bundle is going to have a higher percentage of pirates because it is only known in the pool of users that know how to pirate things. If I were to go to Times Square and randomly ask people how many of them knew what an Atmega 168 was, i'd see a very low percentage of correct answers. If I asked here however, the percentage would be much higher. The percentage here isn't higher because of a sudden interest in ICs, it was because I changed the pool. With the Humble Bundle example you successfully argued that some people are dicks.
The metrics are hardly smoke and mirrors, and the specific Humble Bundle example is just one of many. There have been other examples with other media, such as music--another media where the cost for purchase is also quite low, yet many still prefer to steal. And the point is that all pirates are thieves, and their rationalizations for their theft are just that--rationalizations. There is no justification for such theft.
So lets review the various points:
- DRM is an unfortunate consequence of thieves and their behavior
- No one is forced to deal with DRM limitations if they so choose. For instance, you could simply have not purchased that offensive piece of software you mention
- In the US, stupid politicians wrote laws that conflict with 'fair use' provisions
- No one has been, and no one will be charged with violations of those laws for 'fair use' because all parties understand they would loose, so despite the stupid law they are not criminals
- No one, who was not guilty of theft, has been forced to pay fines
- Those fines are fair by definition. After all we don't let murderers, rapists, etc.. define what would be their fair punishment.
- No one, who was not guilty of theft, has been convicted of such
- Those who have been fined, charged, etc.. simply don't feel their punishment is 'fair'
- No one expects to eliminate piracy, any more than we have eliminated any other kind of theft.
- More 'pirates' will be prosecuted and fined. The message has to be sent there will be consequences, and that those consequences are fair and just