US Government Takes Down 3D Printed Gun Plans • Hacker News Board

Re: US Government Takes Down 3D Printed Gun Plans

#181

Post by jaibot » Tue, May 14, 2013, 2:02 AM UTC

smsm42 wrote: post #153

jaibot wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you'll still stop _most instances_ of would-be piracy - the 14-year-old kids hanging out at a park, unable to _easily_ send a movie from one smartphone to another. Not impossible - just hard enough to not bother. You can't absolutely stop 3D printing of dangerous artifacts. But you can lower the appeal by increasing penalties, requiring the party to take more steps to avoid being caught, attaching a strong social…

>>>> But you'll still stop _most instances_ of would-be piracy Really? Is it how it is working out? Last time I looked all those DRM-ed things were still available easily - together with cracks. >>> But you can lower the appeal by increasing penalties Really? Is it how it is working out? I remember we have increased penalties for drug offenses, which completely eradicated drugs from the market. Oh wait, it didn't, it…

It is difficult to measure counterfactuals, but I strongly suspect that the rate of piracy is much lower than it otherwise would be. Everything you say regarding availability is accurate - but consider, for example, the difference in piracy rates between console and PC games. There _are_ cracked versions of console games, but they are much less widespread because using them is much, much more difficult.

I am not happy that DRM appears to be effective - I would much rather that not be the case - but it does appear to significantly reduce the level of piracy from what it would otherwise be.

You are correct to note the absence of printed-gun crimes. The technology is young, the printers are not widespread, and the initial designs are likely far short of what is possible. As accessibility, knowledge, and affordability increase, I expect those crimes to start occurring. I further expect that the rate of those crimes will be lower with federal intervention than without. I really hope I'm wrong about that, too.

Re: US Government Takes Down 3D Printed Gun Plans

#182

Post by smsm42 » Tue, May 14, 2013, 9:01 AM UTC

jaibot wrote: post #181

smsm42 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>>> But you'll still stop _most instances_ of would-be piracy Really? Is it how it is working out? Last time I looked all those DRM-ed things were still available easily - together with cracks. >>> But you can lower the appeal by increasing penalties Really? Is it how it is working out? I remember we have increased penalties for drug offenses, which completely eradicated drugs from the market. Oh wait, it didn't, it…

It is difficult to measure counterfactuals, but I strongly suspect that the rate of piracy is much lower than it otherwise would be. Everything you say regarding availability is accurate - but consider, for example, the difference in piracy rates between console and PC games. There _are_ cracked versions of console games, but they are much less widespread because using them is much, much more difficult. I am not happ…

Most of the crimes always were, are and will be committed with most readily available means. This is why in most violent crimes, the weapons used are fists, knives, clubs and alike, and regular common handguns. One needs to either have very special circumstances or very special state of mind to choose to commit a crime with such very exotic weapon as 3d-printed gun. It's like choosing to shoot somebody with 15-century longbow - possible, but who really would do it? Of course, among 300+ mln people sooner or latter there would be some weird people that do that, however I highly doubt banning those files would stop them either from committing the crime and from committing the crime with this specific weapon if they already decided to do it.

Re: US Government Takes Down 3D Printed Gun Plans

#183

Post by jaibot » Tue, May 14, 2013, 9:46 AM UTC

smsm42 wrote: post #182

jaibot wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is difficult to measure counterfactuals, but I strongly suspect that the rate of piracy is much lower than it otherwise would be. Everything you say regarding availability is accurate - but consider, for example, the difference in piracy rates between console and PC games. There _are_ cracked versions of console games, but they are much less widespread because using them is much, much more difficult. I am not happ…

Most of the crimes always were, are and will be committed with most readily available means. This is why in most violent crimes, the weapons used are fists, knives, clubs and alike, and regular common handguns. One needs to either have very special circumstances or very special state of mind to choose to commit a crime with such very exotic weapon as 3d-printed gun. It's like choosing to shoot somebody with 15-centur…

"Exotic" is a function of time, familiarity, price, and rarity. There was a time when Internet pornography was exotic, and there will come a time when printed weapons aren't. Notice, too, the degree to which the Internet vastly expanded the audience and variety of pornography available. The analogous process with something less innocuous, like weapons, is not a cheering thought.