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Please remove mitsuhiko/*

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Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#391

Post by SolarNet »

jordigh wrote: post #192
JohnTHaller wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason HNers are pulling out the DMCA is because another project is (unethically or not) using their names to raise funds in a way that they do not permit. That has nothing to do with bitcoin. Like it or not, the pseudonymous (not anonymous) nature of bitcoin will always attract a high level of illegal and unethical activity. Many people will then use those activities, stories, and experiences to paint bitco…

> The only reason HNers are pulling out the DMCA is because another project is (unethically or not) using their names to raise funds in a way that they do not permit. And what does that have to do with the digital millenium copyright act? Using a name without permission in a way that can confuse consumers is a trademark violation, not a copyright violation. It's horrible that the DMCA has turned into a generic weapon…

It's not about the name thing. It's about the usage of parts of the licensed material without following the license. For example, commit messages, the subtitle, etc.

Theoretically:

* tip4commit violates the license the code is published under (for example if it has a NonCommercial clause).

* The original author is now the only one who has copyright.

* tip4commit is using safe harbor protections (a user chooses to create a page for a project).

* DMCA is now applicable to protect the copyright of the original author.

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#392

Post by benologist »

pbreit wrote: post #384
sjs382 wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Btw, if you think this project shouldn't exist - welcome to https://github.com/tip4commit/tip4commit/issues/157 - that could be the easiest solution for all of us. The project should be opt-in or shouldn't exist at all.

Opt-in would kill the project. But I think they could do opt-out if they were a LOT more sensitive to their constituents.

Opt-in doesn't mean they couldn't inform projects when someone actually wants to donate. First donation just needs to be framed as an invitation to use tip4commit with no being a valid (and default) option.

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#393

Post by techrat »

WallWextra wrote: post #243
mbesto wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's fair to say that the vocal majority of BitCoiners have a very naive view of some basic economic concepts.

Also that they like ramming it down everyone's throats.

Given the value of BitCoin relies on desire and the only way they can possibly convince people that they want BitCoin is to spam it until they believe it...

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#394

Post by dec0dedab0de »

Vendan wrote: post #271
Ologn wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoins are worthless precisely because the Subjective Theory of Value is wrong. Benjamin Franklin, Adam Smith and all the early economists thought the Subjective Theory of Value was wrong. Because it is wrong. Bitcoin is a little scam which justifies itself against the backdrop of a much bigger scam. Gold is valuable because it takes effort to find, mine and refine. People want to exchange other valuable things for…

My wife's dentist didn't use gold for her teeth, Copper and silver are better conductors. Gold's only useful quality is that it doesn't tarnish. Ask yourself this, on a desert island, what's more valuable, 5 pounds of potatoes or 5 pounds of gold? I'd pick the potatoes, myself. Sounds like the value is subjective to me...

sure, but I think the point was that if suddenly everyone stopped trading gold it could still be useful to someone. Whereas if everyone stopped trading bitcoin it would not be useful to anyone.

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#395

Post by jafaku »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #345
jafaku wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overstock holds Bitcoin, and its CEO is a big fan of it.

Overstock uses Coinbase for checkout and converts the majority of it to dollars immediately. They have recently begun to hold about 10% of sales made in Bitcoin as Bitcoin and have disclosed this as a risk in their latest 10-Q to investors. Bitcoin accounts for 0.25% of sales, so they're keeping 0.025% of revenue as Bitcoin. While many may argue the prudence of such a decision (and subsequent disclosure), it's import…

So, they are holding Bitcoin.

Are you going to disclose too that Bitcoin went up 300% since last year? Or you prefer to cherry-pick a shorter time period to make it fit your narrative?

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#396

Post by jafaku »

enraged_camel wrote: post #332
jafaku wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who said anything about ethics? Corporations accepting Bitcoin is evidence of its usefulness. And by the logic you guys are espousing, then e-commerces don't accept any currency that isn't the one their government forces them to use either, because they do it through intermediaries like Visa.

>>Who said anything about ethics? Corporations accepting Bitcoin is evidence of its usefulness. I don't buy that either. The only thing it is an evidence of is that said corporations want to attract customers of a specific demographic. Overstock.com CEO himself is a libertarian, for example. If it wasn't for him I strongly doubt they would have implemented Bitcoin payments on their site. I mean, if Bitcoin is so usef…

If a hammer is so useful, why don't everyone use it every day?

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#397

Post by benologist »

pbreit wrote: post #385
vitriol83 wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The objection is you're committing fraud. You're soliciting 'donations' for a third party (everyone committing to a project) without their consent. Unbeknownst to the donaters you're then keeping these 'donations' because the third-party has no interest in taking them. This is pretty shaky ground to be on, and it only takes one person to decide to take legal action against you.

They should simply state and then execute that refused donations will be sent to other projects or returned. I don't think this is that big of a problem.

They don't do that, they just lie.

https://tip4commit.com/github/django/django

    Project maintainers have decided not to notify new 
    contributors about tips and they probably don't like
    this way of funding.
Then they return the tip to the 'project' pool which is themselves for unclaimed or unwanted funds:

    Funds that are not claimed during 30 days get returned 
    back to the donation pool of the project
The donor is deliberately deceived about whether the person or project will ever get the money.

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#398

Post by bigiain »

wyager wrote: post #380
jevgeni wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using Bitcoin is basically, like using a foreign currency, with the only difference, that in case of a the conventional currency you might actually live in the country it is used. In other words, whenever you use Bitcoin you take on FX risk . This means, that Bitcoin is something you wouldn't want to store value in for the long-term. Hedging that risk will also prove a major headache, since there aren't that many Bit…

>This means, that Bitcoin is something you wouldn't want to store value in for the long-term. I can think of a reason you would want to. Bitcoin is strictly supply-limited, and all fiat currencies are not. One might decide that, despite Bitcoin's volatility, the expected change in unit value over time is higher than that of any (inflationary) fiat currency.

With the difference that other fiat currencies are spectacularly unlikely to be declared illegal in your jurisdiction. There's a non-zero chance of your "bitcoin stored value" being about as desirable as a few suitcases full of cocaine, if your local laws fall that way.

I wonder if tip4commit have even considered whether any of the unsolicited donations they're collecting for are intended for residents in any of the non-green countries here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_Bitcoin_by_country ? If you're a contributor to an open source project and you live in Bangladesh, this is about as welcome as receiving illegal drugs in the post in return for your open source project commits. (Yeah, a bit of hyperbole there, but still...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_Bitcoin_by_country

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#399

Post by jafaku »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #394
Vendan wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife's dentist didn't use gold for her teeth, Copper and silver are better conductors. Gold's only useful quality is that it doesn't tarnish. Ask yourself this, on a desert island, what's more valuable, 5 pounds of potatoes or 5 pounds of gold? I'd pick the potatoes, myself. Sounds like the value is subjective to me...

sure, but I think the point was that if suddenly everyone stopped trading gold it could still be useful to someone. Whereas if everyone stopped trading bitcoin it would not be useful to anyone.

Wrong, the Bitcoin blockchain has many uses. For example: http://proofofexistence.com/

Re: Please remove mitsuhiko/*

#400

Post by pbreit »

sjs382 wrote: post #387
pbreit wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opt-in would kill the project. But I think they could do opt-out if they were a LOT more sensitive to their constituents.

Why would being opt-in kill the project?

Because instead of having a million projects, you'd have 3. The power of defaults and opt-out is pretty well-understood to the point I'd call it non-controversial.
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