5 ms·
microsoft had a rare chance here to actually stand up for developers in a way that would gain them a lot of mindshare, goodwill and respect. i wish they would’v
by rStar 6y ago
microsoft had a rare chance here to actually stand up for developers in a way that would gain them a lot of mindshare, goodwill and respect. i wish they would’ve taken it.
- daptaq 6y agoBut then again, they are still Microsoft and deserve none of that.
- whereistimbo 6y agoThe GitHub CEO Nat Friedman (https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=natfriedman https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=natfriedman) personally reached youtube-dl dev on IRC to offer an helping hand. https://twitter.com/t3rr4dice/status/1320660235363749888 https://twitter.com/t3rr4dice/status/1320660235363749888 (via TorrentFreak)
- feanaro 6y agoWhich is more of an indication that they realized this is costing them too much good will after the fact. He did still require code to be removed in order to reinstate the repository and the RIAA still managed to cause turmoil, so I would call this too little, too late.
- wegs 6y agoWhich was a completely duplicitous PR stunt. Nat: * Complied with a DMCA take-down request which he had no legal reason to comply with. DMCA takedown requests are for infringing content. DMCA bans anticircumvention measures, but that's between youtube-dl and RIAA. RIAA does that by initiating litigation, or sending a demand letter to the youtube-dl project. * Took down forks of youtube-dl, which he had no reason to do. Those should have been independent DMCA requests. * Threatened to ban users who forked youtube-dl, in violation of his own ToS and DMCA policy. If Nat was doing the bare minimum required to maintain legal compliance, I wouldn't fault him. Legally, he's zealously pursuing youtube-dl and acting as the RIAA's lapdog. At the same time, he's publicly making statements of empathy towards youtube-dl. Pathetic.
- vulcan01 6y agoI wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft's legal department can override Mr. Friedman's decisions. GitHub's owned by Microsoft, after all. And Microsoft is part of the RIAA...
- raxxorrax 6y agoYou cannot know if it is intended or just damage control, because of course it will also fall back on GitHub.
- MYEUHD 6y agoMicrosoft is a member of RIAA
- darkcha0s 6y agoMicrosoft had a rare chance to stand up for developers? By what, tackling the DMCA head on by defending a tool which is _clearly_ against the provisions of it? I can get behind them standing up when its an issue thats actually debatable, but this case seems so clear cut it would have just been a waste of everyones time. But hey, anything to shit on MS right?
- dredmorbius 6y agoMicrosoft is a member of the RIAA. It could and should resign. Microsoft can lobby for further exceptions to §1201 anti-circumvention. Microsoft can issue a statement formally protesting RIAA's action. Microsoft could offer an Amicus brief or other statements in favour of youtube-dl developers. Whilst we're discussing monopolists, Google could issue a statement that the rotating is not in fact an anti-circumventiion device.
- rStar 6y agomicrosoft has lawyers and can afford to pay them. I find your characterization of “_clearly_” as anything but. As to Microsoft, with Ballmer in charge, this is definitely how they would act, but I guess I was under the mistaken impression that under Nadella things would operate differently.