Riaa

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World War E? as in, the "electronic war"..

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Yup. It's a shame things had to come to this point. But, considering what the industry and criminal justice system have done to the music consumer, I don't see any other alternative. "Wrong" and "right" are pretty blurry when judicial authority takes a vacation. And, while it may be intuitively wrong to use P2P utilities to share copyrighted material, it certainly isn't right to let the first thieves get away with robbery by bending over to them and saying:

"Stick it up there, Cap'n, high and tight."

FWIW, here's a tome I like to share with friends.

On December 16, 1773, a group of American colonists, under the cover of night, boarded 3 British vessels in Boston Harbor and tossed tons of tea into the bay to protest being gouged by an unfair tea tax. The British authority considered them thieves and pirates. But nowadays, those colonists are seen as heroes of the American Revolution.

Tomorrow, a group of American netheads, under the cover of stealth P2P utilities, will board the Internet backbone and toss tons of MP3s into the ether to protest being gouged by an unfair resolution to a multi-million-dollar crime against them. Nowadays, the prevailing authority considers them thieves and pirates. But tomorrow, will those netheads be seen as heroes of the multimedia revolution?

I don't think we'll be hereos as the main motive abroad is "greed" for many of us. Examples of poor conduct are simple to show such as cam versions of films yet to be released, tmd and the like, or software pirates with cracks and keygen, some of these titles not even available for sale yet.

It is crystal clear that those of us using p2p are far from heroes, nor would I dare say that we are here to have vengence on another thief. We are seen as much greater thieves at large than they are for the reasons above. Free sells and greed grows fast, we are simply seen as greedy children that want everything for free.

I read an article that simply mentioned the two mistakes not to make. One for each side.

For Them...
Not to take part in becoming the beast they are becoming asking for rights to take our rights away and start hacking and slamming into however and whatever they deem fit without recourse, using the DCMA as the interpitation for such behavior.

For Us...
It was compared to the Boston Tea Party, though my history is poor, the statement would not have been as strong had they stolen the Tea, would it? Well, I think you get the point.

Don't get me wrong, f**k 'em, they're a dinasour (those in the music biz), and they are already all but extinct. I am waiting, as it is happening already for artist to sell directly to the consumer. I will not buy anything from a record store, nor do I remember what one lOOks like on the inside. Funny, had they embraced Napster, which was centralized, and had control over content, they could have implemented whatever structure they chose. Insted they choose to throw rocks at a tidal wave.

Regarding www.earthstation5.com/ nice link, looks very interesting, and yes this is where most of us will be very soon, using p2p that are encryptid and the like, I already use Filetopia, this is our future as smart theives. :D :D


Edited by Rat Faced:
I removed the link to earthstation5.com as it included a direct download, which isnt allowed....looks interesting though ;)

Wow.

Reading in this forum has never been such a pleasure. I almost feel lucky the fact I haven't been able to do so much lately has resulted in my finding this thread late enough so that all that needed saying had already been said.

I am heartened by the massing here of intellects of similar bent, and find my recollections of many of Sir Winston's words appropriate-"WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER..."

My only regret is that I am merely "as old" as some dirt.

BTW-I wonder if I'd get the RIAA pop-up if I DL'd some Winston?

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I don't think we'll be hereos as the main motive abroad is "greed" for many of us.

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On the hero part, you're probably right (grin). On the motive part, I suspect there are many. My motive is stark anger. And, I can't help but think that the motive for some users is the sense of empowerment over an unwielding adversary (ala David vs. Goliath) ... the metaphorical "unfriendly hand gesture" I referred to in the article I wrote. I don't deny that greed is a motive ... but, because of how I feel about the industry and the "state of justice" in this country, I'm not going to criticize that greed. The threats being made against file-sharers are jail time and fines to be paid out of their own pockets. The only money the industry paid back, as ordered in the settlement, was "other people's" money. The court should have ordered a full return of the $400 million AND a punitive award on top of that. And missing in this whole scenario was Justice Department insistence that the five cartel CEOs should have cooled their heels in a Federal pen ... even if it was only a "token" sentence of, say, a month. I'm reminded of lyrics from a Steppenwolf song, "The Monster" --

There's a monster on the loose,
It's got our head through the noose,
And it just sits there .... watchin' ....

To classify file-sharers as merely "thieves," to me, is a far too simplistic tag. But certainly, this is the tag the industry wants to see accepted as the proper tag. They want the public to accept the notion of industry=good and sharing=evil. And more than that, they want sharers themselves to feel the same way ... to feel guilty about what they're doing ... to forget about what's been done to them as music consumers and just "take it up the ol' wazoo."

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I am waiting, as it is happening already for artist to sell directly to the consumer. I will not buy anything from a record store, nor do I remember what one lOOks like on the inside.

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I agree. But, while greed is perhaps an underlying motive, I think "control of the spicket" from whence things flow is the real issue. In theory, the consumer should be in the driver's seat of any market. In most markets, they are ... but not in the music market. The industry has controlled so much of it for so long and they want stay in the driver's seat. Unfortunately for the industry, sharing won't allow them to sit "comfortably" in that driver's seat. And, if pressure on the industry continues (and it will, regardless of threats or the making of examples via litigation), I think we'll see the day when the industry will be "put in its place," as it were.

j2k4 wrote:

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BTW-I wonder if I'd get the RIAA pop-up if I DL'd some Winston?

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Shhhhh ... they may be listening (grin). Of course, if they started demanding compensation for sharing the speeches of Adolph Hitler (yes, there are a few out there being shared), I'd understand the industry's motives (wicked grin).

I&#39;ve assumed all along that they (RIAA) are listening. About "Adi&#39;s" speeches, are you talking about audio or just the written version? My (formerly, but totally rehabbed <g>) NAZI next-door neighbor used to tell me about how spell-binding he was as an orator. (This guy was a PHD physicist prof at the U of Darmstadt). Reading the speeches, the German seems, well, pretty basic. I assumed that you had have been there - and had a receptive ear. I&#39;d like to listen to some of them at length, just for curiosity. If I feel moved to jump up and salute "Sieg Heil," I&#39;m sure I can restrain my right hand with the other, a la Sellers in "Stranglove." :lol:

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About "Adi&#39;s" speeches, are you talking about audio or just the written version?

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Audio. Of course, knowing German is a help on that. I took one class in German when I was in college but have forgotten most of it. But, there&#39;s plenty of hate-based audio out there in English. There is a dark side of the file-sharing world (neo-Nazi, Aryan, Klan music). This is slightly off-topic but, when I was a kid, I was certain my step-dad was a Klan member. One day, we were watching a CBS news special on the Klan (when I was a kid) and they played a 45-rpm record that was very popular in "certain circles." And as they played it, I could hear my step-dad humming it ... as if he already knew it. And he smiled as the lyrics were sung. Here&#39;s the refrain:

America for whites,
Africa for blacks,
Keep those monkeys in the trees,
Ship those niggers back. <-- (the song&#39;s title)

The artist&#39;s name (or pseudonym) was "Johnny Rebel." As an experiment, log on and search for songs by that artist. Every time I perform the experiment, my screen fills (shudder).

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If I feel moved to jump up and salute "Sieg Heil," I&#39;m sure I can restrain my right hand with the other, a la Sellers in "Stranglove."

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True fact. The currunt "under God" controversy was not the first controversy over the Pledge of Allegiance. The first controversy came in 1942. Prior to &#39;42, while reading the pledge, children gave a raised-right-hand salute (known as the Bellamy Salute, named after Francis Bellamy - the pledge&#39;s author). But in 1942, people became angry at how much the Bellamy Salute resembled the Nazi salute -- and the salute was changed to a right hand held over the heart. I often wonder whether Hitler "stole" America&#39;s raised right-handed salute because he thought it looked cool, hehe.

This is so appropro. Here is the image of file-sharing (click here) that the RIAA wants everyone to accept.

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Originally posted by OlderThanDirt@6 May 2003 - 21:45
This is so appropro. Here is the image of file-sharing (click here) that the RIAA wants everyone to accept.

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Great fucking link. :) As a professional filesharer (a title I gave myself), there is some gloom in all this free music. Some heroin addicts talk about "getting high from the ritual." Basically this refers to the anxiety and excitement of preparing their fix, cooking it up, getting the needle ready... you get the idea. Its all about the power and energy involved before the high.

Since I rarely buy music, I miss this the most. I miss overwhelming feeling of standing in front of the CD rack, browsing this Tuesday&#39;s new releases. I miss the inner city kid, wearing a Best Buy tshirt, making &#036;5 an hour, cashing me out. And I also miss the perfectly wrapped, yet impossible to open shrinkwrap hologram. What kind of futurist space material is this shit made out of?

C&#39;mon guys, you can&#39;t get that online. Can you? :huh: :huh: :huh: