3 ms·

In theory, sure. In practice, if you don't have the money to file the lawsuits to enforce it, no you don't. And if you think making money is unethical or exploi

by imgabe 3y ago

In theory, sure. In practice, if you don't have the money to file the lawsuits to enforce it, no you don't. And if you think making money is unethical or exploitative, then it's unlikely you are going to be able to have the money to enforce whatever rules you think anyone who uses the stuff you put out there for free should follow.

fnordpiglet 3y ago
I see, so theft is right so long as you get away with it? Fortunately you actually can lodge lawsuits in such cases even if you can’t afford it so long as you find either a lawyer who works on contingency in expectation of a settlement or one who believes in something. In this case, almost any lawyer in the field of copyright would be eager to simply make their name with a case that sets precedent in such an important domain. Fwiw, I make a considerable amount of money, yet also write and contribute to free software. I think it’s unethical and exploitive to take my labor given for free to the community and claim it as your own for your personal enrichment. I think I’m not alone in this specific community on hacker news. So, in theory you’re right. In practice, the libertarian ideal of mad max exploitation of anything you can find not bolted down appeals to a few small number of people, and the rest of us are happy to defend artists and creators from that small population.
- imgabe 3y ago
  Copying is not theft. > I think it’s unethical and exploitive to take my labor given for free to the community and claim it as your own for your personal enrichment. Nobody is claiming anything is their own. You gave it away. You did the labor, it will always have been done regardless of what anyone does with it after that. There is no difference in the effect on you, so why are you mad about it? If you want to lock it in a box so nobody else can ever look at your precious baby, then do that. Don't put it out where anyone can use it and then get mad when they use it. What did you make it for if you didn't want anyone to use it? Presumably you got something out of making whatever you did, and that was enough reason to make it. If you wanted to keep some exclusive right to it, then you shouldn't have made it publicly available.

by imgabe 3y ago

fnordpiglet 3y ago

I see, so theft is right so long as you get away with it? Fortunately you actually can lodge lawsuits in such cases even if you can’t afford it so long as you find either a lawyer who works on contingency in expectation of a settlement or one who believes in something. In this case, almost any lawyer in the field of copyright would be eager to simply make their name with a case that sets precedent in such an important domain. Fwiw, I make a considerable amount of money, yet also write and contribute to free software. I think it’s unethical and exploitive to take my labor given for free to the community and claim it as your own for your personal enrichment. I think I’m not alone in this specific community on hacker news. So, in theory you’re right. In practice, the libertarian ideal of mad max exploitation of anything you can find not bolted down appeals to a few small number of people, and the rest of us are happy to defend artists and creators from that small population.

imgabe 3y ago
Copying is not theft. > I think it’s unethical and exploitive to take my labor given for free to the community and claim it as your own for your personal enrichment. Nobody is claiming anything is their own. You gave it away. You did the labor, it will always have been done regardless of what anyone does with it after that. There is no difference in the effect on you, so why are you mad about it? If you want to lock it in a box so nobody else can ever look at your precious baby, then do that. Don't put it out where anyone can use it and then get mad when they use it. What did you make it for if you didn't want anyone to use it? Presumably you got something out of making whatever you did, and that was enough reason to make it. If you wanted to keep some exclusive right to it, then you shouldn't have made it publicly available.