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This is an excellent comment, to which I might add: framing a persuasive argument based on the position that DRM (or nearly anything) is an unequivocal bad is v
by dsacco 9y ago
This is an excellent comment, to which I might add: framing a persuasive argument based on the position that DRM (or nearly anything) is an unequivocal bad is very nearly guaranteed to be untenable and inherently inconsistent.
If you truly believe that DRM is harmful in general, you need to construct an argument that appeals to educating people about which practical freedoms they care about will be lost. At that point you need to accept that they might not care about those freedoms.
But if you construct an argument from the axiom that users shouldn't introduce anything into their systems they can't reasonably control, you've fundamentally isolated almost everyone who you want to convince. Of those remaining to listen, most will typically already be on your side end evangelizing the same thing. In order to be consistent, arguing from a core axiom of user freedom and choice requires sacrificing things like hardware security modules, which are a giant leap forward for user security. You can have the absolute freedom to do anything if you'd like, but you might find that there are relatively few ways to apply that freedom if you do.
The alternative is a balanced approach: you don't start from an axiom that users need to be inherently free, and that some amount of tradeoff in freedom is beneficial and desirable. Then you go on to demonstrate why DRM in particular is bad in general. But this is a much weaker position in general, and framed this way you'll have fewer people to argue with.
- madez 9y agoYour comment and its parent are both very good. I agree with you. Furthermore, there are conditions under which I consider DRM tolerable. However, if DRM leads to a second hidden operating system in my computer, that has complete control over the machine, then I complain. Also, DRM has an effect on the larger scale. Cultural heritage belongs to everybody. DRM might be used to effectively locked it away in a timeless manner. The right to exclusively make money with a book, song, movie, game or whatever must end at some point, and there need to be effective measures to preserve the works for the next generations independent of the creator. There are good reasons why we have libraries and museums. If DRM prevents that, then I complain. This is not circle-jerking nor evangelizing. The arguments are very real and not theoretical. This position is not fundamentalist. I'm not against DRM because of some blind axiomatic position that is only relevant to a few. To summarize, DRM is considerably less problematic if, first, it is seperated and isolated from the rest of the machine, and, second, it opens up after some time and releases the content.