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YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

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Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#101

Post by gbl08ma »

toyg wrote: post #90
gbl08ma wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't work like that since certain videos use obfuscation methods that random cat videos don't.

Since this affects only tests, they could easily change the relevant scripts to download a list of test videos at runtime. I bet the RIAA github-scrapers would not "see" it. Just serve statically a rot13-encoded list of URLs from pastebin or something, and Bob's your uncle.

Based on what I saw in past discussions, I'm pretty sure that the takedown was not a run-of-the-mill scraper-based takedown (it makes no sense to be taken down just for linking to videos which, at best, is what any scrapers would have seen in the original test code). It was very much an intentional, manual one with actual lawyers behind it.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#102

Post by jjice »

If any maintainers or contributors see this, thank you all for your incredible work! youtube-dl is one of the best tools I've every used. It's polished and always working and with such an incredible community. This is seriously a killer piece of software that is part of my default setup for every new machine I've had over the past 4-5 years.

I've downloaded countless free lectures that some universities offer for offline viewing and sometimes listening if it's a discussion based class. Seriously, this is great software.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#103

Post by Yetanfou »

bigbubba wrote: post #27
crumbshot wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And not even purged from the repo, it's still in the history if needed. Seems like the copyright holders making a big fuss over nothing really.

I wonder if RIAA lawyers believe themselves productive members of society, or if they recognize themselves as the parasites they are.

I wonder this about a large majority of corporate lawyers who somehow seem like members of a parasitic species which has found a host which they can exploit for resources by inducing changes in their behaviour, comparable to the way the Toxoplasma parasite makes mice less scared of cats [1].

[1] https://www.pnas.org/content/104/15/6442

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#104

Post by DanBC »

CodesInChaos wrote: post #16

Was a counter-notice filed, or did github restore it without one, once the tests were removed? Because my understanding was that certain decryption/anti-drm functions were also in the scope of the takedown request, not just the tests.

Anti-DRM can't be part of a DMCA takedown request. The remedy available to RIAA is to go to court and get an order.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#105

Post by rch »

bigbubba wrote: post #27
crumbshot wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And not even purged from the repo, it's still in the history if needed. Seems like the copyright holders making a big fuss over nothing really.

I wonder if RIAA lawyers believe themselves productive members of society, or if they recognize themselves as the parasites they are.

I think if people are paid well enough, they can convince themselves that the harm they do is a net positive because it demonstrates that the system needs to change.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#106

Post by shmerl »

saynay wrote: post #28
crumbshot wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And not even purged from the repo, it's still in the history if needed. Seems like the copyright holders making a big fuss over nothing really.

I have become convinced that the RIAA lawyers emerge from their crypts every few years, generating a slew of copystrikes to justify their retainer fee.

That's exactly what they do. Troll everyone they can reach.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#107

Post by wpietri »

cseberino wrote: post #89
simias wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This line of questioning on Startup News is quite amusing to me, I must say. How many of us can really pretend to make society a better place?

Well anyone who voluntarily enters into a work for hire arrangement is making society a better place. The employer wouldn't have done it unless they were benefitting and likewise for the employee. What is important is doing something people want.

That is definitely not the case. There are plenty of employers making things worse. One of my first jobs was for a telephone fundraising outfit. We'd cold-call people, manipulate and like to them, so they'd donate money for our charity of the week, and keep 85% of it.

Making society better requires actually making society better. You have to weigh the total societal positives against the total societal negatives.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#108

Post by boomboomsubban »

crazygringo wrote: post #73
CivBase wrote: post #37

GitHub is still hosting the full youtube-dl version history, including versions which include those supposedly infringing tests. Does copyright law end with HEAD on master? Those tests are still there. This makes it especially obvious that the RIAA's problem with youtube-dl was never really the tests.

I've always wondered about copyright and HEAD. For example, you can find a LOT of copyrighted font files that were committed somewhere in GitHub, and then removed in a later commit once they realized they'd accidentally uploaded a copyrighted file. But they're still always there in the history, effortless to download. I'm not really sure what to make of that. I don't think it would really count as removal in court...…

If GitHub received a DMCA takedown notice, they would be obligated to takedown the copies of the fonts listed in the notice, including if old copies were listed. I'm unsure if they could say "all releases before X" or would need to link each one.

If the copyright owners tried to sue the project for copyright infringement, IANAL but I would assume that the removal from head would show an attempt to correct the mistake and limit liability.

If the copyright holder sued an individual I imagine it would matter if they were mirroring the repo or just intentionally downloaded the copyrighted files for personal use.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#109

Post by wpietri »

bigbubba wrote: post #75
blueline wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah unlike us hackers who are saving the world with targeted ads and food delivery

Technology has had an impact on nearly any industry you can think of. As such, there is no shortage of tech work outside of ad tech. Ten years ago I worked on ad tech shit for Amazon, but I quit when I realized that made me a parasite. I don't work in food delivery, but I'd say getting a pizza from point A to B is a hell of a lot more productive than being a lawyer for the RIAA.

Yeah, same. Years ago I did work for a medical advertising company. They were lovely, smart, creative people. But the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to aid for-profit manipulation of people. I've stayed away from ads since, and never regretted it.

Re: YouTube-dl's repository has been restored

#110

Post by kortilla »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #92
katsura wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least some of us don't try to actively make it harder/worse. So that's a plus.

I'm convinced the companies considered as 'evil' now didn't think they would at first either. Something something unintended consequences. I mean Reddit; bastion of free speech or platform for hate speech? (they cracked down on that over the years) Dropbox; File synchronization and sharing platform or child porn exchange? Airbnb; Great way to find an affordable place to stay and / or rent out unused room, or platform…

But who goes into being an RIAA lawyer position thinking it’s going to be good at first? You have to have believed in the RIAA’s stance from the get-go because it hasn’t really changed.
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