03:21 pm, 16 Feb 04
brightnet
The Off System stores bits of files on different servers, only to be recombined (mathematically, not just concatenated) by the client. Is it illegal to have data that can xor against other data to produce copyrighted data? Which half is the copyrighted half?
[both this and the last via
candid]
[both this and the last via
candid]
Re:
I don't think it's interesting because of the loophole.It's a thought experiment. It's similar to the question of whether your consciousness is transferable to a machine: suppose you make something that could simulate one neuron, and use it to replace one of your own. Then do more and more, until you have half your brain. Now plug each half into a machine providing the other half: do you end up with two copies of yourself?
It's not very interesting if you believe consciousness is transferable (I do) but it has the potential to be illuminating for those who don't.
Re:
I have to ask: why not? A general gist of your reasons would be great (doesn't even have to be too coherent: i really can only think of one starting point for an argument against this).The only reason i can see against exploiting this loophole is that it encourages draconian reactions to close it, which will (by necessity) over-reach and almost certainly cause problems more than solve them. Am i missing some tact here?
Re:
Just a guess, but: maybe he's morally opposed to copying data, and was just stating his opposition to this ("it may be legal, but it still ain't moral").Re:
I'm not of the opinion that it's fundamentally immoral to break a law. Sometimes laws shouldn't exist, and need to be broken in order to be properly challenged (I won't comment on my opinions on copyright law in this post).However, exploiting a loophole in this manner is immoral. No one in their right mind would consider this sort of exploit anything but copyright violation in spirit; the only reason it even *might* be legal is because of a possible oversight in the legal code. It's crap like this that makes it necessary for laws to be written in "legalese", because people try to pervert ambiguities for their own gain.
This technique isn't making a statement, it's just letting people who want free stuff make them feel better about themselves. If you want to break a law, for your own gain or to make a just statement, do it properly - don't hide behind a "loophole". It's childish.
Well, it's a one hand, other hand. On the one hand, those storing the split file may not be copyright infringment. On the other hand, it may be -- you just said that half the bits are there -- you just can't tell which half. On the other hand, no part of that file is identifibly their file.
However, it's most certianly conspiricy to commit, as the data has no purpose other then to comit copyright infringment, and, for that matter, can be used as evidence that you intended to commit copyright infringment -- just like a bittorrent can, which contains even less of their document. (The bittorrent community doesn't like to admit that, BTW.)