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HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

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Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#111

Post by haltingproblem »

rvivek wrote: post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

I hate you and your company and will make every effort to not support anyone who uses it in any form whats over.

How can you shitbags take down SymPy and then show up on HN to actually make light of it with your crapola comments while it remains taken down.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#112

Post by haltingproblem »

bfz wrote: post #102
haltingproblem wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

Travis is the creator of NumPy.

I know and so what?

edit: what triggered me is that he is here promoting his podcast!!??!!? seriously, a little EQ will go a long way.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#113

Post by rvivek »

oscarbenjamin wrote: post #103
rvivek wrote: post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

Thanks Vivek for responding. Speaking as one of the maintainers of SymPy (who received the DCMA takedown request by email) I would like to note some points: 1. If you do a web search for "HackerRank DMCA" you will find similar examples of this that have happened in the past (with exactly the same text). 2. The text of the request is not in any way designed to enable a reasonable response. No detail is given about wha…

Oscar, thank you for responding and I'm terribly sorry for the disruption this has caused. I should have taken this more seriously when it sprung up on HN the first time but for whatever reason we just fixed that problem and moved on. This is a serious one and we are working on a strategy that is sustainable.

Meanwhile, if we need to make a monetary contribution for your effort or anything more we could do to promote, what would be the best way to do it? If you'd like to send me an email to discuss further, I'm available at vivek at hackerrank

Thank you & sorry!

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#114

Post by [deleted] »

rvivek wrote: post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

[deleted]

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#115

Post by kristianov »

tomxor wrote: post #62
rvivek wrote: post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

Possible solutions to affect some justice and reclaim your image: 1. Fire WorthIT Solutions (no RCA necessary, do not automate or outsource DMCA, even if it's human based automation) 2. Apologise to SymPy 3. Discuss internally the cost-vs-benefit (more than monetary) of embarking on copyright policing as part of your company's future strategy 4. Blog results of #3 WRT #3, sustainability comes to mind - if disseminati…

0. Dissolve HackerRank.

All things considered, this company has done net negative impact to tech industry.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#116

Post by josephcsible »

smorgusofborg wrote: post #4
Nextgrid wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I suspect happened is that the HackerRank test legitimately (fair use) included parts of the docs (the exercise could’ve been about the library those docs are for), DMCA enforcement has been outsourced to the lowest bidder and these idiots just did a blanket search for some phrases from the test, found the official docs and DMCA’d it.

The CC licenses should probably be adjusted to make a DMCA attempt a permanent revocation of license. That way DMCAs can flow in the opposite direction and people can learn things.

We already have precedent for this kind of thing too, for patents. For example, the Mozilla Public License says this:

> If You initiate litigation against any entity by asserting a patent infringement claim (excluding declaratory judgment actions, counter-claims, and cross-claims) alleging that a Contributor Version directly or indirectly infringes any patent, then the rights granted to You by any and all Contributors for the Covered Software under Section 2.1 of this License shall terminate.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#117

Post by brasic »

zomglings wrote: post #38

I apologize in advance for the profanity. This really pissed me off. FUCK you HackerRank, for even entertaining the notion of litigating open source projects at scale for no good reason. FUCK you for taking down the the documentation for a harmless open source symbolic mathematics engine without any justification that I can see. What content of your shitty ranking company could SymPy possibly have infringed on? Also…

> your DMCA policy to take down the repository without even a standby period (perhaps with a warning?).

See https://github.com/github/dmca/pull/10944:

  > Before disabling any content in relation to this takedown notice, GitHub
  > - contacted the owners of some or all of the affected repositories to give them an opportunity to make changes.
  > - provided information on how to submit a DMCA Counter Notice.
(Disclosure: I work at GitHub)

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#118

Post by caslon »

jfarmer wrote: post #49
zomglings wrote: post #38

I apologize in advance for the profanity. This really pissed me off. FUCK you HackerRank, for even entertaining the notion of litigating open source projects at scale for no good reason. FUCK you for taking down the the documentation for a harmless open source symbolic mathematics engine without any justification that I can see. What content of your shitty ranking company could SymPy possibly have infringed on? Also…

Fuck the DMCA, not GitHub! AFAIK, they're legally required to take down material as soon as they receive a DMCA notice or else lose their safe harbor status. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notice_and_take_down

People and corporations complicit with unjust laws are partially responsible for the injustice.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#119

Post by not2b »

zomglings wrote: post #67
beckman466 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And FUCK me for not having the steel to just take my code off of GitHub. I am part of the problem. as a user you literally are not the problem. the problem is the monopolization of technology by a small group of investors, which makes it nearly impossible for alternatives to rise. why isn't a platform like Github part of the commons instead of a private, proprietary fiefdom? why is it instead the private property o…

I do think that I am part of the problem. Although there is no commons alternative, there is Sourcehut - run by a team that is dedicated to the principles of free software. I should be giving them the money that I spend on GitHub. At the very least, I should be giving them more money than I give GitHub... I will do that immediately.

Sourcehut is also subject to US law and would have to take down your project if this company files a false claim against you. The problem in this case isn't GitHub, it's the filing of false DMCA notices. And that's not solely a US problem, it can happen in the EU as well.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#120

Post by kristianov »

RachelF wrote: post #109
paranoidrobot wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> plagiarized code snippets I'm looking at the page that was taken down[1] and it seems to be largely full of pretty basic code snippets demonstrating how to use the Solvers module. Your DMCA request[2] includes the statements that say, in part, that Fair Use has been considered, that you own the copyright, and that the information in that statement is true and accurate. Could you elaborate what on that page you cons…

I wonder how many of the HackerRank questions are themselves plagiarized from other places?

They started by stealing and now these thieves want to claim all code.
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