Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
If you don't want to utterly destroy your company's reputation and have every company that depends on Python or other critical open source infrastructure boycotting you, you need to stop. Just stop. Don't send out any DMCA notices at all, not unless you encounter a case of infringement so blatant that it is obvious to all. And then make the decision yourself, don't contract it out. The risk of damage to others and bl…
HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
171–180 of 348 posts
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#172No post body was provided.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
I literally said this in the comment above -- "That said, ultimately, we are accountable for this because it's our reputation is at stake."
I don’t like this phrasing because it sounds like you only care because it’s on the front page of HN and it’s a bad look — “because [your] reputation is at stake”. You should care because paying someone to disrupt totally innocent open source projects is a shitty thing to do. Filing false DMCA requests on your behalf is also illegal. I like to think that if this never got any attention and your reputation wasn’t at s…
Here's what we are doing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085
You are right. HN thread triggered this. And we are working on fixing this at the core.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#174Not the first time they've taken down Github repos, some with a legal basis (partial problem text, though Fair Use might overrule that if the cases ever made it to court), others with no involvement at all ( https://github.com/egfx/React-Leaderboard still hasn't been restored, for example) More information about previous DMCA abuse here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29239594 Personally, I would not trust a co…
Part of the DMCA takedown process is: > A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Has this penalty ever been enforced?
Not exactly that, as it was settled out of court, but https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-settles-lawsuit-with-allege... comes to mind. However that person did things that are quite a bit worse than what hackerrank did.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
0. Dissolve HackerRank. All things considered, this company has done net negative impact to tech industry.
Why?
Because it is a horrifically flawed metric by which to hire engineers, and is teaching upcoming crops of engineers valueless skills to enter the industry
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t like this phrasing because it sounds like you only care because it’s on the front page of HN and it’s a bad look — “because [your] reputation is at stake”. You should care because paying someone to disrupt totally innocent open source projects is a shitty thing to do. Filing false DMCA requests on your behalf is also illegal. I like to think that if this never got any attention and your reputation wasn’t at s…
Here's what we are doing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085 You are right. HN thread triggered this. And we are working on fixing this at the core.
Great response, credit where credit’s due.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
List of takedown notices from HackerRank to GitHub: https://github.com/github/dmca/search?q=HackerRank&type=
Thank you, this gives a lot of insight into what is going on. This one tells the whole story: https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/ea3736a0c4c9574e0c8cea06...
Won't type the HR word, this page might get DMCA'd.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#178Hello, 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
"Design an automated DMCA takedown algorithm in 40 minutes"
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
> No other well-paid profession tolerates this style of interview one you have experience. Not exactly true, pretty common in finance/trading as well.
It's the result of making IQ tests for jobs illegal. Leetcode and the trick questions asked in finance are just IQ tests in disguise. You can't regulate your way out of the market - if companies want smart people they'll find a way to hire smart people.
IQ tests for employment are not inherently illegal. It’s only illegal if whatever you’re testing has no bearing on the job so as to be used as a proxy for discrimination.
So a job that involves complex problem solving in unique situations would be perfectly reasonable to have an IQ test qualification. But not for something like sweeping the floors or working the assembly line in a meat processing plant.
Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]
#180Not the first time they've taken down Github repos, some with a legal basis (partial problem text, though Fair Use might overrule that if the cases ever made it to court), others with no involvement at all ( https://github.com/egfx/React-Leaderboard still hasn't been restored, for example) More information about previous DMCA abuse here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29239594 Personally, I would not trust a co…
Part of the DMCA takedown process is: > A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Has this penalty ever been enforced?
DMCA 512(f) provides a penalty for misrepresentation; however, it is quite difficult to actually prove such things unless the plaintiff is very, very stupid (in Latin: pro se) or obviously acting with malice.
For example, if the thing you're taking down does use your content, but it falls under fair use, you can still get away with taking it down. There is no objective test for fair use and 512(f) does not mandate one; the criteria is just that you merely considered fair use. And since fair use is a bottomless pit of grey areas, you basically can't get a 512(f) ruling out of a legitimate copyright owner. It only catches the kinds of people who, say, pretend they're Bungie so they can file DMCA takedowns Bungie can't retract in Bungie's name.