UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

Fark that noise, bring it to a vote. I want the congresspeople supporting this nonsense to stand up and shout at the entire world that they're total farking idiots that shouldn't be allowed to eat soup without water wings on for their own safety.

To be tacked onto the next defense bill.

No more postponing. Vote it down or kill it, you farking procedural pussies.

sprawl15: Fark that noise, bring it to a vote. I want the congresspeople supporting this nonsense to stand up and shout at the entire world that they're total farking idiots that shouldn't be allowed to eat soup without water wings on for their own safety.

No...let them go ahead and eat the soup without the water wings...It will make things a lot better for all of us.

Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

That's pretty much the problem. There's a back catalog that supports a few thousand people but their contracts didn't envision the internet distribution channel.

What the world needs is a law allowing distribution companies to tack on internet options to existing IP. Bing bang boom and it's available through legit channels.

This was doomed to failure the moment that Google and Yahoo and the other internet giants got involved.

The entertainment business is nice and all, but they're just not as relevant as they were. The Internet giants are the new powerhouses and this debacle was the crowning of the new kings.

It was a nice reign, Hollywood. If you hurry, you can hold onto second place.

Nothing spiffy about couching a bad bill to spring on us later; Super Bowl? July 4th weekend? Maybe lame-duck Obama will be more open to it in a couple years.

MugzyBrown: To be tacked onto the next defense bill.

Won't anyone think of the children?

(I read somewhere Lamar Smith has a 'child endangerment' bill coming up for a vote; expect SOPA as an attachment)

They came for our freedom (NDAA), and we did nothing.

They came for our future (unsustainable debt), but we stayed silent.

Then, they came for our internets... and we're fixin' to burn this motherfarker down.

CygnusDarius: Ok, I used this line in another thread, and I really liked it so I'll use it again.

In the middle ages, knights wanted the Church to prohibit the use of crossbows, because they felt it was a dishonorable weapon and it was of satanic influence (Translation: A simple peasant with two hours of crossbow practice could kill a knight, in one shot, that had to train for years to wear his armor/fight mounted/use his knightly weapons). And, where are the knights today? But I see still see a few crossbows.

In other words, they're the knights, and we're the peasants. And practice time is over.

haven't heard that one before, I'm stealing it.

Hold on there's someone at the doo

Infernalist: The Internet giants are the new powerhouses and this debacle was the crowning of the new kings.

That makes me happy.

imontheinternet: They came for our freedom (NDAA), and we did nothing.

They came for our future (unsustainable debt), but we stayed silent.

Then, they came for our internets... and we're fixin' to burn this motherfarker down.

The first is something we take for granted and don't ever really expect to see taken away without warning.

The second is something that most people can't comprehend and so have no emotional investment in.

The third is something that we, the vast majority of Americans, have come to rely on for day-to-day survival. The internet, as it exists now, is something we're prepared to get furious over if it's intruded upon because we actively enjoy it.

We don't have time or desire to consider the future, but the internet? That's NOW, buddy.

imontheinternet: They came for our freedom (NDAA), and we did nothing.

They came for our future (unsustainable debt), but we stayed silent.

Then, they came for our internets... and we're fixin' to burn this motherfarker down.

Dear MPAA & RIAA,

I would consider buying your crap if my money wasn't in the pockets of the 1%.

Love,

Me

Dorf11: MugzyBrown: To be tacked onto the next defense bill.

Won't anyone think of the children?

(I read somewhere Lamar Smith has a 'child endangerment' bill coming up for a vote; expect SOPA as an attachment)

That's just it. They'll tack it on the back of some crap that nobody would dare oppose, like they did with UIGEA and the Safe Port Act.

Nah, it's way too late to attach this to some other bill, even a "must pass" spending bill. Too many people with money (along with too many regular folks) are opposed to it now.

They will attempt to rewrite it and pass a somewhat neutered bill, although I can't imagine a bill that solves the problem (foreign websites hosting pirated content-which is a real problem) without breaking the internet and being unconstitutional.

Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

They should have updated their business models in 1999 to get ahead of that newfangled Nappystairs thing.

Instead, they waited until most people had already used it once or twice (or 15,000 times) to go after it...with legislation. Which took another...year? to wend its way through the courts.

Then Napster disappeared for a year and change, during which time Kazaa, Limewire, and the other kajillion filesharing services sprung up. And Napster reappeared, ready to take our money...for what we could get for free anywhere else. This during an time when, if you were young enough to know how to download, there was no way you could afford to buy all that on CD.

Then iTunes came out, well after most people had gotten used to getting new music for free, and while the pricing and ease-of-use were acceptable, not having major sections of everyone's music library (Beatles, Pink Floyd, just to name 2) was a pretty big hurdle.

You snoozed, you losed. And, by the way, digital sales are still putting plenty of billions in RIAA/MPAA's pockets. They're not hurting (unless you take a Disco Stu-type projection of CD/tape sales).

// by "most people", I mean the under-30 crowd
// which I'm no longer a part of *sniff*
// read more

Yes subtardmitter Reid only puts bills up for votes that he loves, it's not like he is the Majority Leader or anything and kind of lets needs to allow all the bills that pass or fail to go up for votes.

I love the spin that many of the GOP have done begging this bill to fly through congress and now pretending it's all the democrats fault when the winds changed.

Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

No you won't.

I_C_Weener: Corvus: Yes subtardmitter Reid only puts bills up for votes that he loves, it's not like he is the Majority Leader or anything and kind of lets needs to allow all the bills that pass or fail to go up for votes.

I love the spin that many of the GOP have done begging this bill to fly through congress and now pretending it's all the democrats fault when the winds changed.

Nice blame game. Seems it is mostly the Dems still supporting it and the Republicans actually bothering to think about it now.

Yeah, the Dems dropped the ball on this one, but that goes back to the deep connection between the entertainment business and the Dems.

Dodd is being stupid trying to blackmail the Dems into staying on board, though. Google and the other internet businesses will gladly step in and take their place on the donor lists, I'm willing to bet, for permanent reassurance of SOPA/PIPA's demise.

stoli n coke: No you won't.

He very well would. Also there's all the people that would love to watch all sorts of movies but can't because they're not on Netflix and not on DVD. And that's thousands of movies. Then there's all the music that came out on record that has never come on CD and isn't at iTunes.

Fark, watch Youtube, cheat using Wikipedia, or simply illegally download some music, Harry Reid (D-idn't think it all the way through) has postponed the vote on PIPA

Funny, I teach my students how to use Wikipedia, so I guess that means I'm showing them how to cheat.

stoli n coke: Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

No you won't.

Steam, iTunes, and Kindle say we will (and do).

lennavan: Fark, watch Youtube, cheat using Wikipedia, or simply illegally download some music, Harry Reid (D-idn't think it all the way through) has postponed the vote on PIPA

Funny, I teach my students how to use Wikipedia, so I guess that means I'm showing them how to cheat.

The trick is to copy off Wikipedia, then use Wiki's citations as your own.

shiat like SOPA happens when you vote incumbents into office. If every member of the house got replaced every 2 years we'd be better off.

stoli n coke: Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

No you won't.

Well if he won't, I will. Exhibit A: "How I met your mother" through Amazon.
DVD: $16.49
Digital (per episode): $1.99*22=$43.78
Digital ("bundle"): $18.49

So a digital copy is more expensive than the physical format.... makes no sense when we take into account the packaging plus the physical media plus the fact that it has to go through some factory and shipped from the other side of the world in order to get to be $2 cheaper than the digital copy, which has near-zero costs for distribution. Fact is, copyright holders are pulling the same bullshiat on digital media whether it's the entertainment industry or the publishers who also make digital copies of their books more expensive for Amazon to distribute. I haven't even mentioned that these episodes aired on 2005-06 and should be far cheaper than their recent episodes, and they are not.

So yeah, I hope they cling to that old business model and die a slow death. I wish them nothing but misery.

I_C_Weener: Seems it is mostly the Dems still supporting it

Except for the Democrat who just postponed the vote...

sprawl15: lennavan: Fark, watch Youtube, cheat using Wikipedia, or simply illegally download some music, Harry Reid (D-idn't think it all the way through) has postponed the vote on PIPA

Funny, I teach my students how to use Wikipedia, so I guess that means I'm showing them how to cheat.

The trick is to copy off Wikipedia, then use Wiki's citations as your own.

I must be doing it wrong. I do citation mining off of Wikipedia and give credit

qorkfiend: I_C_Weener: Seems it is mostly the Dems still supporting it

Except for the Democrat who just postponed the vote...

No, he 'is' right in that the Dems are still supporting it. It's annoying, but eh. They're going to have to choose between their Entertainment donors and pissing off the majority of Americans 'and' being vetoed by their own political leader.

It'd be a stinging rebuke to have the GOP 'and' the President unite to smack the Dems down. I don't think they want to see that happen.

Guidette Frankentits: shiat like SOPA happens when you vote incumbents into office. If every member of the house got replaced every 2 years we'd be better off.

No, we would not be. The bill would still be there, written by lobbyists and staffers; the constituents would have no leverage over their representatives to get them to change their mind; the representatives would be even more susceptible to offers of post-Congressional jobs for passing the bill than they already are.

Infernalist: qorkfiend: I_C_Weener: Seems it is mostly the Dems still supporting it

Except for the Democrat who just postponed the vote...

No, he 'is' right in that the Dems are still supporting it. It's annoying, but eh. They're going to have to choose between their Entertainment donors and pissing off the majority of Americans 'and' being vetoed by their own political leader.

It'd be a stinging rebuke to have the GOP 'and' the President unite to smack the Dems down. I don't think they want to see that happen.

There is where you're wrong. "Some" dems, yes. And out of total supporters, "more dems than republicans." Those are as far as you can go and still be correct. There are members of both parties on both sides of the issue, though.

Infernalist: No, he 'is' right in that the Dems are still supporting it.

Individual Democrats are, but the Democrats as a whole aren't. The White House has announced its opposition and it was shelved by the Democratic Majority Leader in the Senate.

Just watch. SOPA/PIPA will be back. They give it a few weeks/months and then quickly and quietly pass it after the furor has died down, another outrage or two has surfaced and most people have largely forgotten about this. Or even attach the worst of the provisions as riders on some other bill which is politically untenable to vote against.

This wasn't a victory... it was simply a feint before the knockout punch by our clown congress.


stoli n coke: Norv Turner: UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS MODELS YOU FOOLS

I would gladly purchase movies online if they were priced reasonably and easy to access.

No you won't.

The data suggests strongly that he will.

/hat tip to farker Gleeman for the links.

LasersHurt: Infernalist: qorkfiend: I_C_Weener: Seems it is mostly the Dems still supporting it

Except for the Democrat who just postponed the vote...

No, he 'is' right in that the Dems are still supporting it. It's annoying, but eh. They're going to have to choose between their Entertainment donors and pissing off the majority of Americans 'and' being vetoed by their own political leader.

It'd be a stinging rebuke to have the GOP 'and' the President unite to smack the Dems down. I don't think they want to see that happen.

There is where you're wrong. "Some" dems, yes. And out of total supporters, "more dems than republicans." Those are as far as you can go and still be correct. There are members of both parties on both sides of the issue, though.

I can grant that. The point remains that the GOP has been quick as hell to get out from underneath this disaster and paint the Dems as the steadfast supporters.

Goes back to how much money Hollywood pumps into the Democratic Party, I guess. I hate that the GOP has become the standard bearer in this battle. By rights, it should be the Dems leading the charge.

mongbiohazard: Just watch. SOPA/PIPA will be back. They give it a few weeks/months and then quickly and quietly pass it after the furor has died down, another outrage or two has surfaced and most people have largely forgotten about this. Or even attach the worst of the provisions as riders on some other bill which is politically untenable to vote against.

I think that if they could quickly and quietly pass it, they would have done so prior to the firestorm over it. Not saying it won't be back, but it won't be quick or quiet.

qorkfiend: No, we would not be. The bill would still be there, written by lobbyists and staffers; the constituents would have no leverage over their representatives to get them to change their mind; the representatives would be even more susceptible to offers of post-Congressional jobs for passing the bill than they already are.

So you're against job creation?

Guidette Frankentits: qorkfiend: No, we would not be. The bill would still be there, written by lobbyists and staffers; the constituents would have no leverage over their representatives to get them to change their mind; the representatives would be even more susceptible to offers of post-Congressional jobs for passing the bill than they already are.

So you're against job creation?

I see what you did there.

qorkfiend: mongbiohazard: Just watch. SOPA/PIPA will be back. They give it a few weeks/months and then quickly and quietly pass it after the furor has died down, another outrage or two has surfaced and most people have largely forgotten about this. Or even attach the worst of the provisions as riders on some other bill which is politically untenable to vote against.

I think that if they could quickly and quietly pass it, they would have done so prior to the firestorm over it. Not saying it won't be back, but it won't be quick or quiet.

Those companies invested in the current state of the Internet have more than enough money to keep watchdogs on retainer in order to watch out for the next incarnation of this censorship.

We might talk about how it was a victory born from the people, but in reality, it was the internet giants that won this battle for us. Every so often, the interests of freedom and the interests of profit coincide. It's rare, but when they do, god help their enemies.

Infernalist: No, he 'is' right in that the Dems are still supporting it. It's annoying, but eh. They're going to have to choose between their Entertainment donors and pissing off the majority of Americans 'and' being vetoed by their own political leader.


I think you're being unrealistically optimistic if you think Obama won't sign it. He'll do the same thing he did with the recent NDAA which had those nasty provisions... He'll pretend to be concerned, make some half-hearted statement condemning it for the wrong reasons and then sign that farking thing into law anyway.

Look, I'm not some partisan Obama "hater" by any means. He actually was winning me over quite a bit during his first year or two... But if you don't realize by now that his campaign rhetoric about change was exactly that - simply rhetoric - then I'm not sure what he's got to do to prove it to you.

The only reason he's getting my vote in November is because his likely Republican opponent will have much worse rhetoric and will be marginally worse as a POTUS in practice. I'm under no illusions that I'll actually be voting for a good President, or someone who isn't a typical Washington shiathead in practice.

I used to love Harry Reid. I met the guy several times, had one or two brief political discussions with him, thought he was really cool. Then, middle of last year, he comes out and says Nevada's prostitution industry should go away. That right there almost made me hate the guy outright, given my own views on prostitution (short version: its inevitable and unstoppable, and legal, regulated prostitution is safer for everyone than the illegal variety), but I hung in there... barely.

His support of PIPA has pretty much killed all remaining respect I had for the man. I think it's time to consider retiring, Mr. Reid, and let someone with an actual awareness of how all this newfangled technology works take over.