Live data from Hacker News

Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

decrypt.co

351–360 of 409 posts

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I really take issue with the idea that IP is "other people's stuff". I might say they were giving away copies of data that the government had granted others a monopoly on. I am being intentionally pedantic because copyright is much more harmful than people give it credit for. The internet archive is desperately trying to give people free books and others are trying to stop them.

Are you planning to make all your code on GitHub public domain? Or are you just referring to other people’s copyrights?

Yes. All of the writing on my website is CC0 licensed (public domain). The robot I have been designing for the last 2.5 years is CC0 licensed. I design PCBs for fun and license them CC0. I have been licensing my youtube videos as CC0, and I just started a new youtube channel for my own CC0 licensed 4k videos of nature. Most of the content on my github is already licensed with some kind of permissive open license either CC0 or MIT/BSD licensed, though some of my older work is licensed GPL.

Intellectual property restrictions raise costs and keep people poor. 3D printers were $50,000+ until the patents expired, and now you can get a decent printer for $300. And books of course could be distributed for free. Every person on earth could be born in to great wealth if we simply allowed it.

Of course I do not advocate that we take income from hard working artists. Instead I advocate for a world where we make living so cheap that artists need little in the way of income for survival. Reducing intellectual property restrictions is one important factor in lowering the cost of living for all, and would make it easier for billions to benefit from the technologies people like me in the USA enjoy.

Supporting copyright means supporting the idea that we do not build a comprehensive library of all books accessible to all people. In contrast to the idea that every child born on earth should have access to a complete library of the written word, intellectual property advocates push for the impoverishment of the billions on earth who cannot pay tithing to book publishers and movie studios. It's quite the bold position to take.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you planning to make all your code on GitHub public domain? Or are you just referring to other people’s copyrights?

Yes. All of the writing on my website is CC0 licensed (public domain). The robot I have been designing for the last 2.5 years is CC0 licensed. I design PCBs for fun and license them CC0. I have been licensing my youtube videos as CC0, and I just started a new youtube channel for my own CC0 licensed 4k videos of nature. Most of the content on my github is already licensed with some kind of permissive open license eith…

Great people deserve great recognition. Thank you.

May your works act as a seed to a tree whose shade you may one day enjoy.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a tricky precedent to set though, isn't it? If you do sufficiently good work elsewhere in your organization, you can break the law without penalty? That's like McDonalds claiming that they should be allowed to mistreat their workers because they also run a children's charity. Doing a right thing doesn't grant you immunity when you do a wrong thing. And there was no question that what they did was illegal. Many…

Rather, if you do sufficiently good work in the process of breaking the law (as the IA has done here), you should be able to break that law without penalty.

So... If I smash in the windows of a Nike shop, steal all the shoes, then give them to homeless people, I'm excused? No crime here?

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#354
The Internet Archive should do the lawful thing and remove all the content that the publishers want removed, to prevent the collateral damage to the important resource for those who just want to see old versions of pages that have changed or disappeared.

Leave the books and whatever to pirate torrent sites and just do the Wayback Machine thing.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because the marginal cost of a copy is zero does not mean there's no value in the information, and it's perfectly reasonable to gate access to that value. Copying a video file is free too but I'm sure you wouldn't argue that anyone can watch a movie for free just because someone else made it. People have a right to own and control the distribution of their works that they invested in creating.

> it's perfectly reasonable to gate access to that value It's also perfectly reasonable to distribute that information widely and without limits. The fact information is valuable to someone doesn't make it scarce. The harsh reality that creators need to face is that only the first copy need be paid for. > I'm sure you wouldn't argue that anyone can watch a movie for free just because someone else made it I would. Ins…

Why would someone pay in advance for something that they will get for free at the same time as everything else? Fundamental limitation of capitalism is that one of its goals is to acquire the maximum amount of value for yourself, while losing the minimum amount. Even the most successful Patreon users rely on "Patreon exclusive content" for their supporters to be able to make some kind of livable money.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you planning to make all your code on GitHub public domain? Or are you just referring to other people’s copyrights?

Yes. All of the writing on my website is CC0 licensed (public domain). The robot I have been designing for the last 2.5 years is CC0 licensed. I design PCBs for fun and license them CC0. I have been licensing my youtube videos as CC0, and I just started a new youtube channel for my own CC0 licensed 4k videos of nature. Most of the content on my github is already licensed with some kind of permissive open license eith…

I can’t see this working on a large scale. With no IP rights then how can I protect my work? We could outlaw all businesses so nobody can take my work and turn a profit from it but then where’s the incentive to solve complex problems? If I have to give away my solution then there’s really no reason for me to try unless I’m being forced in some way. Why would a dr want to work on a solution for cancer instead of just treating people if the value gain is the same?

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument being put forward here is as if IA just broken into peoples houses and redistributed 3m masks, and tried to justify it because they're doing good.

I agree! Many people are grossly exaggerating the harm so that they can scoff at the justification of "doing good".

Fine, but the good has been exaggerated too. Some people who heard about this were able to read a book or two for free during a time when everyone was stuck in their house. That's a good gesture that I'm sure was appreciated, but they didn't change anyone's life here.

And it was a gesture that was not theirs to make. Did they ever consider just asking the publishers for permission? They might actually have gotten it. Companies were quite eager to do things to show they were trying to help back in March and April. But I've looked and found nothing saying they asked, so I'm guessing they didn't. Probably because they thought asking would look bad if they were told "no" and did it anyway.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#358
post #167
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By unique data, that excluding generated data? Can you please estimate the space for just the wayback machine? It's the actual target. What's the wayback machine with and without images? Is it possible that we could distribute the ASCII/Unicode content now?

It's the actual target. It may be your target, but I would not be so dismissive of the other data in the Archive. The Software Library, the tens of millions of scanned books, the music, etc etc. On top of that, the raw scrape data driving the Wayback Machine is not currently made available to download from the archive. It's stored in WARC files, which would include both the images and text of all scrapes and would no…

I'm not dismissing any other section of the archive. The the wayback machine has the big red target on it. It's a snapshot of recent history, I have lost track of how many times I have needed it for things that would otherwise be memoryholed.

Please, consider making a subscription service for the warc files, let us pay to get access to a query interface. archive.org could raise significant defense funds.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Ohio, many (maybe all?) libraries allow you to apply online for a virtual library card that can be used to check out ebooks/audiobooks/etc. A librarian reviews the application and approves or denies it within a day or so, and you get an email either way. No need to ever visit a library in person. I'm not 100% sure that this was in place before COVID-19, but I think it was. To check out physical books, you have to…

The Boston Public Library has done virtual cards for years as well, and a BPL card is available online for any Massachusetts resident.

Yea, I forgot to mention it, but it's the same way for all of the major library systems in Ohio as well. My local library is connected to Dayton's system, but I also have virtual cards for Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. It makes finding audio books much easier.

Re: Activists rally to save Internet Archive as lawsuit threatens site

#360

I warned about this very outcome when they announced the initiative [0]. The Internet Archive is too big and too important to gamble on this short term of a win (giving everyone free and unlimited access to all books for a few months at most). Assuming the organization continues to exist after this ordeal, their entire board should step down for putting at risk one of the most invaluable archives in existence. I’m an…

" I’m an executive board member for a much smaller IRL non-profit and could never imagine opening us up to such liabilities. " Most non-profits, like almost all organizations, have the primary goal of continuing to exist as an organization, not do whatever charitable ideals they purport to support.

And if you’re the only one offering said service?...
Post reply on HN