[NTLUG:Discuss] MI2 boycott

[Brian Koontz]

Jeremy Blosser wrote:
> Third, it's not a fine line.  There is a large difference between dubbing
> something so you can sell it, and just wanting to view what you yourself
> legally bought.

Please, spare me the rhetoric.  You and I both know the purpose of DeCSS
is to make illegal copies of DVD's, just like the intent of Napster is
to illegally trade in MP3's.  Don't try to insult the public's
intelligence (or mine) by telling them something that isn't.

The public may not all be programmers, but they aren't stupid.  

With that said, I can support the argument that DeCSS *can* be used to
make legal copies of stuff you've paid for.  Same for Napster, Gnutella,
etc.  But yes, Jeremy, there is a fine line that's being toed by those
who claim the issue behind DeCSS et. al. is simply a "software freedom"
issue, while completely ignoring the ramifications and history of the
software in question.  

Supporting software freedom with a foundation of legally-questionable
apps is a fruitless endeavor.

  --Brian