3 ms·

I didn't see mention of copyright, which is by far the most contradictory and complicated set of laws we as middle class citizens run a foul of on an everyday b

I didn't see mention of copyright, which is by far the most contradictory and complicated set of laws we as middle class citizens run a foul of on an everyday basis. Why is that?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Ajedi32 2y ago
It gets a passing mention: > A 24-year-old who downloads academic articles that don’t belong to him isn’t just reprimanded; now we threaten him with decades in federal prison.
sjm-lbm 2y ago
Well, the whole thing is less about general categories of law and more about specific examples - and one of those specific examples is the Aaron Swartz case, with a link to The Atlantic article about that and everything. I would say that he, at least, covers it.
- bediger4000 2y ago
  I'm probably a little older than the average HN commenter. I've heard these "ha ha here's a dumb law about sounding a car's horn around horses" my entire life. Specific examples of bizarre, or outdated laws serve no one, and do not reveal an underlying problem other than some legislature hasn't gotten around to dumping outdated, or bizarre laws.
  - sjm-lbm 2y ago
    Yeah, agreed. Obviously I have no doubt that the rule book is currently bigger than it has been in the past, but I also know that the Cuyahoga River used to catch on fire and the ozone layer was disappearing. There's a good case to be made for rationalizing the number of laws, but merely focusing on the sheer size of the federal code and pulling out a few silly examples doesn't even come close to having a serious discussion on the topic.
janice1999 2y ago
Copyright serves the elite. The things those in power want to deregulate are always things that protect the public like worker and environmental laws. There was a reason that buildings went up faster in the 1930s - (poor) people died and the materials were dangerous.

3 ms·

I didn't see mention of copyright, which is by far the most contradictory and complicated set of laws we as middle class citizens run a foul of on an everyday b

by bediger4000 2y ago

I didn't see mention of copyright, which is by far the most contradictory and complicated set of laws we as middle class citizens run a foul of on an everyday basis. Why is that?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Ajedi32 2y ago
It gets a passing mention: > A 24-year-old who downloads academic articles that don’t belong to him isn’t just reprimanded; now we threaten him with decades in federal prison.
sjm-lbm 2y ago
Well, the whole thing is less about general categories of law and more about specific examples - and one of those specific examples is the Aaron Swartz case, with a link to The Atlantic article about that and everything. I would say that he, at least, covers it.
- bediger4000 2y ago
  I'm probably a little older than the average HN commenter. I've heard these "ha ha here's a dumb law about sounding a car's horn around horses" my entire life. Specific examples of bizarre, or outdated laws serve no one, and do not reveal an underlying problem other than some legislature hasn't gotten around to dumping outdated, or bizarre laws.
  - sjm-lbm 2y ago
    Yeah, agreed. Obviously I have no doubt that the rule book is currently bigger than it has been in the past, but I also know that the Cuyahoga River used to catch on fire and the ozone layer was disappearing. There's a good case to be made for rationalizing the number of laws, but merely focusing on the sheer size of the federal code and pulling out a few silly examples doesn't even come close to having a serious discussion on the topic.
janice1999 2y ago
Copyright serves the elite. The things those in power want to deregulate are always things that protect the public like worker and environmental laws. There was a reason that buildings went up faster in the 1930s - (poor) people died and the materials were dangerous.