Warning: This is a huge tangent. I've been speaking out against the DMCA for the better part of a decade now (pretty hard not to if you're a reverse-engineer w

Warning: This is a huge tangent. I've been speaking out against the DMCA for the better part of a decade now (pretty hard not to if you're a reverse-engineer with a sweet tooth for DRM), but for once I'm going to speak in its defense. There are many, many things in the DMCA that I disagree with, but it also has huge benefits and is responsible for making possible many sites you use every day, such as Youtube. The safe harbor exemptions in the DMCA make it possible for a service provider to host user content without worrying about being crushed under copyright claims; if you deal with DMCA takedowns when they come in, you're A-OK. Likewise, the DMCA made clear many elements of fair-use around reverse-engineering, but we don't ever hear about this because the same clauses also make many other things illegal. The DMCA is really a mixed bag. I'd love to see most of it go away, as it's personally impacted me on many occasions, but it also has good -- essential, many would say -- parts.