Liberal Democrats threaten Youtube!

[swissarmycheese]

www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/04/lords-digital-economy-bill

Why would they do this? It makes absolutely no sense at all - especially for a party which is so popular amongst students and high internet users.

If you have a Lib Dem MP please write to them and ask them to change their minds.

"Taking what people like me is not akin to taking an extra serviette. It's akin to going to a family restaurant, eating the food and the jumping out the toilet window while telling yourself you were only trying the food out."

Not really, if you factor in how many people visit mcdonalds in a day, how many people take the extra serviettes, the extra straws etc all that adds up and all comes out of the profits, so yes it is the same thing.

"if it's free and it's there for the taking people are going to take it and no amount of legislation will stop that"

Thankfully that's not the case."

The tech is there to stop anyone being able to identify downloaders people atm are just too lazy to use it because the law in this country isn't interested in proecuting individuals atm.

When demonoid went down it took less than a week to get new servers and get back online. TPB was the virtually the same (although i believe they borrowed their servers from another site ) even when a site like mininova goes down, it's other sites remain and others take up the slack, apart from sweeden russia make great hosts as they don't give a poop about international law and refuse to close site down.

There will always be countries happy to offer sites a home without fear of being shut down and there will always be new tech to get around identification of individual downloaders.

Have you ever broken the law? done something your not supposed to do?

"if you factor in how many people visit mcdonalds in a day, how many people take the extra serviettes, the extra straws etc all that adds up and all comes out of the profits, so yes it is the same thing."

Things like that are offered for free so it's not the same.

Bands might offer their music for free, and in the end the hosting and bandwidth for doing that will cost them money. The bands and McD's both make a choice, the cost of providing some "freebies" will be repaid.

You can't compare taking some "help yourself" serviettes after buying a burger to taking the main item itself, be that the burger or a music file, without paying for it.

"When demonoid went down it took less than a week to get new servers and get back online. TPB was the virtually the same"

And the point is?

As I've already said much as how I despise the attitudes of people like TPB in the end they're not actually doing anything wrong. They link and they don't host. The recent rulings against the were something that I very much disagree with and that I feel set a very bad precedent.

"There will always be countries happy to offer sites a home without fear of being shut down and there will always be new tech to get around identification of individual downloaders."

Again the point is?

There will always be ways to shoplift and people happy to tell you how to defeat security methods.

What stops people in the end is just the awareness that it's wrong.

"Have you ever broken the law? done something your not supposed to do?'

Yes but the point being?

It's OK to break a law if other people have broken others?

That's the best defence for illegally downloading?

Besides it's not as if I'm sitting here encouraging people to break any law or pretending that doing so doesn't create a victim.

Download away, I can't stop you as I can't stop persistent shoplifters. But don't disguise what you're doing as anything more noble or justified than what it is, stealing something because you can get away with it.

And hope that fate doesn't have an ironic sense of humour and that one day you find yourself talking with someone who wants to cheat and steal from you and your family.

My 'point' is,

""if it's free and it's there for the taking people are going to take it and no amount of legislation will stop that"

Thankfully that's not the case."

this was your reply to my posting. Obviously it is the case as no one no matter how much legislation they throw at it will stop illegal downloads, there's always away around the sytem.

""Have you ever broken the law? done something your not supposed to do?'

Yes but the point being?

It's OK to break a law if other people have broken others?

That's the best defence for illegally downloading?"

Besides it's not as if I'm sitting here encouraging people to break any law.."

my can't we all justify breaking the law and doing illegal things when it suits us.

I'm not a religious person but let me say ;

'he who is without sin cast the first stone'.

"Obviously it is the case as no one no matter how much legislation they throw at it will stop illegal downloads, there's always away around the sytem."

Legislation could help make it clear that downloading is a crime and it hurts people. And that would be the only real way that it will ever be stopped.

"he who is without sin cast the first stone"

So if you found a thread on here with people talking about how it was OK to break into your house and steal something you wouldn't say "now hang on a minute!"?

And what would your reaction to those thieves saying to you "I'm sure you've broken the law so you've got no right to comment"?

It's quite possible that I won't persuade you.

But maybe, just maybe, one person reading this might now understand the effects of illegally downloading and might stop doing it.

Actually I've been robbed on a three occassions now and although it's annoying, it's life, I try to not let it bother me and who knows maybe it's karma coming round to bite me in the butt? wouldn't that be a cosmic whooping?

"But maybe, just maybe, one person reading this might now understand the effects of illegally downloading and might stop doing it. "

I hope you get your wish.