This is the second time in a few months that I have heared DCMA and github have come up (GadgetBridge). At this point in time I do feel that github's policy on DCMA tale down notices are a little heavy handed am I right in thinking that DCMA is a US only issue?
Ad blocking is under attack
301–310 of 598 posts
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Please ask nicely, Asking nicely doesn't work.
So being a dick about it will? It hasn't worked so far for me. I still block, and almost without exception still get the content.
The verbiage isn't exactly assaulting anyone, and it sounds like you're being the dick if you can't see why publishers would like to make money.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#303I have a very unpopular opinion that pulls me in two directions. Advertisements have exceeded the point of being a nuisance for many years. But adblocking is a fight that solves symptoms and will affect more than just advertising in a negative way. The best parallel I can draw is to the Napster era when pirating music cut off the head of the chicken in the industry. Hollywood and like were refusing to adjust to digit…
The tools for "ad blocking" are NOT just for ads and arguably ads are their least important function lately. These days I am far more likely to use element-level blocking tools such as uBlock Origin to maintain my sanity in the face of TERRIBLE web design.
Now that I can make any stupid popover or poorly-placed "div" go away forever, I'll never go back.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#304Note that the offender's privacy policy [1] appears to let users (e.g. you or me) contact support@getadmiral.com "to know whether their Personal Data has been stored and [to] consult the Data Controller to learn about their contents and origin, to verify their accuracy or to ask for them to be supplemented, cancelled, updated or corrected, or for their transformation into anonymous format or to block any data held in violation of the law, as well as to oppose their treatment for any and all legitimate reasons."
[1] https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/347981/full-legal
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#305Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, in that blog post, they state: "We asked them 24 days ago to remove functionalclam[.]com on the original commit." Their request is here: https://github.com/easylist/easylist/commit/1ba8d4afeec6d562... And was made by this account: https://github.com/dmcahelper So, they made a github account the same day they made the "request" with an account that in no way indicates where the request is coming from? The github p…
I wonder if folks could get sneaky and change the design from a literal url to a regular expression tailored to single out that url but would also include additional sites that are just gibberish and could be relaxed if useful sites ever do fall into the URL overlap. This might be a new line of research to craft regExs to filter out a specific string while also throwing out a bunch of sister gibberish strings that wo…
How about having EasyList clients fetch the whole history of the repo?
That way any domain that was ever added would be in the blocklist. True negatives should be pretty low.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
DMCA is not the appropriate tool for this. Filing a DMCA takedown notice when you know that there is not any copyright infringement going on in the document you are asking to be taken down is a misuse of the DMCA, and an entity filing such a takedown can be liable for any monetary damages or attorney fess of the other party. Although I don't know that's ever happened, it's in the law as a penalty for intentional misu…
There are many cases of DMCA abuse, and it'd be nice if someone had the resources to go after these, get them fined and help set a precedent to prevent further abuse. Unfortunately, that probably cost more than it's worth.
There should be a mediating body that looks at each request and determines the veracity of the request.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#307Github should have protected easylist from this bullshit DMCA request, here it is on github : https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/ff44d37f62d772bfec5fd432... Github is the culprit here.
Why should Github take on unlimited liability for someone else's code? If a judge agrees that blocking this anti-circumvention technology is illegal (something the DMCA does prohibit), and Github had refused to take it down (which means they don't get safe harbor), then Github is the first-party that is liable for distributing that illegal technology, probably many millions of times. When you start taking statutory f…
Github should think about protecting its users, DMCA takedown request only target copyrighted works, not circumvention measures, I understand Github point of view to minimise its work and legal liability, but they have a lot too lose in the eyes of users here. Maybe Github DMCA take down request is wider than the USA one, but it feel like an abuse in this case.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#308Earlier quoted context omitted.
What, specifically, was defective about the notice?
The notice does not list the copyrighted works that are being infringed (I.e. made publicly available). This is the necessary element of a valid DMCA notice.
Wasn't the takedown request for a circumvention technology versus any specific works?
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#309From Admiral's responding blogpost:
> 5. We asked them 24 days ago to remove functionalclam[.]com on the original commit.
> Transparent engagement between publishers and visitors is a critical piece of that.
Umm, no? Admiral created an account that they hoped would be mistaken as an official github bot or something. And then, instead of asking, they threatened disruption of the repository.
So, in summary, they:
* Tried to hide their identity * Tried to trick people into thinking they were Github * Threatened, not asked, to remove the site from the list
Look, I'm okay with them wanting to remove a server that helps inform users that they'd like to show ads on their customers sites. At the very least, though, be honest about it.
Also, bless the EFF, man. Heading over there to donate right now.
Re: Ad blocking is under attack
#310Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's what open in new tab is for. Close tab is way better than back. Easier, more consistent and faster.
Use the mouse wheel/middle button. Will open a new tab when you click on a link and will close a tab when you click on the tab. This changed my life.
That's a cool trick. Thank you.