[NTLUG:Discuss] MI2 boycott

[Richard Cobbe]

Lo, on Wednesday, 3 May, 2000, Jeremy Blosser did write:

> What "I know" are these facts:
> 
> - you don't need DeCSS to copy a DVD
> - DeCSS doesn't serve the purpose of copying anything anyway, it serves the
>   purpose of decrypting it for playback
> - you could probably find a way to use DeCSS to copy a DVD, but it'd be
>   pretty stupid and inefficient if pirating it is really what you wanted to
>   do
> - DeCSS was created by Linux users who wanted to be able to view the DVDs
>   they'd paid for on a platform other than the one the DVDs were designed
>   to be played on

Was it really?  I though it was done by a couple of Windows users who just
though it was an interesting challenge.  I'll agree, the program is much
more useful under Linux, which has (currently) no other way of doing this,
but I don't think the Linux community was either the author or the target
audience.

> This isn't about software freedom half as much as it's about freedom of the
> user to use what they paid for in a manner consistent with the law.
> *We're* the ones trying to uphold the rule of law here, not the MPAA.

Well, the rule of law before the MPAA/RIAA bought the DMCA, but yeah,
exactly.  <sigh>

Richard