3 ms·

Busy week for API drama. I'm going to have to side with Dropbox on this one. This tool was quite obviously going to be harnessed for piracy.

• jQueryIsAwesome 14y ago
  And code editors are quite obviously going to be used to create spyware, virus and Trojans. What is exactly your point?
  • billpatrianakos 14y ago
    The difference is that no one will stop you from creating and distributing your own code editor even if you advertise that it's meant for malicious or illegal development. But don't expect the same privilege when you base your app off of someone else's API which you get to use for free by the way. Everyone knows when you use an API you're a house guest, paying no rent and you can be asked to leave at any time.
• Smudge 14y ago
  The internet is harnessed for piracy. I guess we'd better turn it off then.
  • billpatrianakos 14y ago
    You can't sue the Internet though. This line of argument begins with entitlement. Dropbox is a company with an ass to protect. Anyone using any service's API is never entitled to any guarantees regardless of whether they comply with their TOS or not. The purpose of an API is to simultaneously add value for users and widen use of the produc (both of those fall technically under the banner of "to help the company providing the API make boat loads of money). The other part of people's defense of Boxupus is this whole idea that just because it could be used to violate copyright doesn't mean it will. Anyone who honestly, deep down, truly believes this and isn't just towing the Pirate Party Line needs to wake up. The majority of people downloading from torrents are downloading copyrighted material which is not legal, like it or not, the legalities of copyright law are irrelevant here. While I'm sure you can pop in and say "but I was using it for legit use case x, y, and z", most people were using it for downloading music and movies. Where's my proof? Fuck my proof. Where's your proof (I'm using the royal "your" here, not aimed at the op here) that it was being used so innocently? It really makes me upset that I just know someone will try to call me out for not having evidence on that one point despite the fact that we all know what was up just like we all knew what was up with MegaUpload. Demanding my evidence on that one point is the last defense of a person who's just grasping at straws, defending some pro-piracy ideology. But piracy isnt even the issue nor is it relevant! Dropbox is a company here to make money. Just mentioning torrents puts people in a frenzy. So they're protecting themselves from liability by making sure their product is not associated in any way with torrents. It doesn't matter whether they have a legit purpose or not. It's a case of perception trumping all else and you have to remember that even beyond legal issues, Dropbox has a brand to protect. The perception of Dropbox is that of an exceptionally wholesome file storage/sharing service. Why would they even risk being seen as even the teensiest bit shady?
    • executive 14y ago
      most people using dropbox like services are hosting copywrited material.
      • MalphasWats 14y ago
        You are absolutely right! I own the copyright to almost every single file stored in my dropbox account, because I created them. Those that I didn't are happily stored but not distributed, entirely within the licences granted by the owners of the material.
  • jarcoal 14y ago
    Harnessed was a bad word choice, I meant that it was going to be used 99% of the time for piracy.