[FoRK] Re: Kindle first impressions

[Jeff Bone]

On May 5, 2008, at 6:52 PM, Luis Villa wrote:

> But that wasn't your claim. Your claim was that law on paper didn't
> change anything. I'm point out that law, on paper, has brutally
> changed the game already.

Depends on the game.  Not sure it's had much effect on mine.  But I'm  
not playing the arena game...

>  which is stupid and pathetic.

Alternative?

>>> To be slightly less snarky, I get your point that the DMCA doesn't
>>> stop *you*, but it does stop lots of people (either because of their
>>> moral concerns
>>>
>>
>> Then it's not the DMCA stopping them, is it?
>
> Yes, it is.

No it's not.  YMMV, but I don't derive my morals from some dusty law  
book...

> I realize that in your Randian world, people only pay
> attention to their inner moral compasses, but out here in the real
> world, there are people who feel it is morally wrong to violate the
> law,

They're just confused. ;-)

> whatever the law may be. In other words, they don't care about
> the artist- they care about the DMCA.

No they don't, they care about getting popped by the RIAA or the MPAA  
for more money than they've got, and maybe going to jail.


> (You really think herds of
> people follow the speed limit, or avoid pot, because they are afraid
> or pot or driving 75? No, they follow them because they dislike
> breaking the law.)

No, it's not because they "dislike breaking the law."  It's because  
they judge that the benefits of breaking the law fail to outweigh the  
consequences.

A law without any coercive threat behind it is ignored blissfully, all  
day long, by everyone, always, everywhere, throughout history.

>>> or because it reduces their access to
>>> knowledge/tools), certainly stops virtually all corporations,
>>>
>> Corporations aren't people, despite the fiction...
>
> Corporations create tools that (gasp) are used by people.

Corporations create nothing, among other things they don't have  
hands.  Corporations employ people that create things.

I realize you probably don't cotton to these arguments, as it might  
undermine your whole new second career raison d'etre.  I don't think  
lawyers are useless, btw. I'm not actually a lawyer-hater --- there  
are probably much bigger lawyer-haters on list.  Some of by best  
friends, and even a relative or two are lawyers, so this isn't aiming  
at you.  (Unlike your intended barb which went astray...   
"Randian..."  I'll say! ;-)

Contracts, bro.  Contracts...


jb