4 ms·

If VLC was a commercial product, this would be a lawyer time for effectively damaging reputation based upon lies and would see many media outlet dragged over th

by Zenst 7y ago

If VLC was a commercial product, this would be a lawyer time for effectively damaging reputation based upon lies and would see many media outlet dragged over the coals. VLC is not a commercial product, but equally still took the same impact from this and as we know, many end-user will be oblivious of any retraction as the case with many media retractions/corrections that get buried and do not traction. Maybe we need Open Lawyer as well as Open Source! I'm of the thinking that the only way media would get any education would be litigation. Sad I know, but that is the World they operate in. Why else do media outlets have lawyer departments.

pbhjpbhj 7y ago
[Edit, see below.]
- jbk 7y ago
  VLC is open source, distributed by VideoLAN non-profit and is totally non-commercial. The only money received by the non-profit is through donations.
  - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
    I didn't express that well: In copyright terms, if you compete with commercial; or acquire money via a side-channel then it's "commercial" ... what I was trying to express was that it occupies a space where it's serious software and that damage to it's reputation should be treated just as seriously as damage to a sold product from a for-profit. Apologies.
  - Zenst 7y ago
    Yes, hence they don't have a lawyer ontap, which was kinda the point I was making. The education (what I'm going to call it) that they could bestow upon these bismershing media outlets, would fund much Open Source work for VLC.
    - dvtrn 7y ago
      You say “they don’t have a lawyer” I don’t know if you realize you’re addressing the lead developer and president of VLC. I think he may be quite a bit more aware of his org’s ability and desire to retain legal counsel than all of us.
      - Zenst 7y ago
        I was not, I am now blush. You're right of course.
  - nickpsecurity 7y ago
    Thanks for your hard work on VLC. I love it. Throwing you a quick donation so you have something good happening during an otherwise rough time. @ you and any lawyers I know you probably don't want to go to some long-term battle in the courts with any of these groups. What about a libel suit in small claims court against each one? I wonder if that's even possible. If so, start with one to keep time/costs down, then (if victorious) hit the others either one at a time or simultaneously. At the least, the wins raise you some funding while providing some small deterrence from them doing it again.
reneberlin 7y ago
'Exactly what i wanted to write. Thx. So i didn't had to type so much on a glass-surface :)
Erwin 7y ago
Remember the Bloomberg Supermicro story? If a billion-dollar company cannot get Bloomberg to retract their stories, what chance does an open source project have? Has any American newspaper or person or politician on twitter been forced to retract exaggerated claims?
- dvtrn 7y ago
  Has any American newspaper or person or politician on twitter been forced to retract exaggerated claims? Seemingly. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1667&context=stu_hon_theses https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...
notriddle 7y ago
Isn't that what the Software Freedom Conservancy does?
- Zenst 7y ago
  https://sfconservancy.org/about/ https://sfconservancy.org/about/ I'm not sure, doesn't look like this would fall under their remit, but no definitive yes or no jumping out for me either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Conservancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Conservancy Not a long litigation list either, so hard to see any comparable cases in the two instances listed. So I'm going to lean against a no, but I'm not 100% sure upon this.

by Zenst 7y ago

pbhjpbhj 7y ago

[Edit, see below.]

jbk 7y ago
VLC is open source, distributed by VideoLAN non-profit and is totally non-commercial. The only money received by the non-profit is through donations.
- pbhjpbhj 7y ago
  I didn't express that well: In copyright terms, if you compete with commercial; or acquire money via a side-channel then it's "commercial" ... what I was trying to express was that it occupies a space where it's serious software and that damage to it's reputation should be treated just as seriously as damage to a sold product from a for-profit. Apologies.
- Zenst 7y ago
  Yes, hence they don't have a lawyer ontap, which was kinda the point I was making. The education (what I'm going to call it) that they could bestow upon these bismershing media outlets, would fund much Open Source work for VLC.
  - dvtrn 7y ago
    You say “they don’t have a lawyer” I don’t know if you realize you’re addressing the lead developer and president of VLC. I think he may be quite a bit more aware of his org’s ability and desire to retain legal counsel than all of us.
    - Zenst 7y ago
      I was not, I am now blush. You're right of course.
- nickpsecurity 7y ago
  Thanks for your hard work on VLC. I love it. Throwing you a quick donation so you have something good happening during an otherwise rough time. @ you and any lawyers I know you probably don't want to go to some long-term battle in the courts with any of these groups. What about a libel suit in small claims court against each one? I wonder if that's even possible. If so, start with one to keep time/costs down, then (if victorious) hit the others either one at a time or simultaneously. At the least, the wins raise you some funding while providing some small deterrence from them doing it again.

reneberlin 7y ago

'Exactly what i wanted to write. Thx. So i didn't had to type so much on a glass-surface :)

Erwin 7y ago

Remember the Bloomberg Supermicro story? If a billion-dollar company cannot get Bloomberg to retract their stories, what chance does an open source project have? Has any American newspaper or person or politician on twitter been forced to retract exaggerated claims?

dvtrn 7y ago
Has any American newspaper or person or politician on twitter been forced to retract exaggerated claims? Seemingly. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1667&context=stu_hon_theses https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...

notriddle 7y ago

Isn't that what the Software Freedom Conservancy does?

Zenst 7y ago
https://sfconservancy.org/about/ https://sfconservancy.org/about/ I'm not sure, doesn't look like this would fall under their remit, but no definitive yes or no jumping out for me either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Conservancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Conservancy Not a long litigation list either, so hard to see any comparable cases in the two instances listed. So I'm going to lean against a no, but I'm not 100% sure upon this.