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It looks like he's recently tried to change his image from mega villian to "freedom fighter." At least that's what he calls himself on his Twitter account. Alth

It looks like he's recently tried to change his image from mega villian to "freedom fighter." At least that's what he calls himself on his Twitter account. Although it does seem like a troll towards the people who have been after him. Does this qualify as a heel face turn? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn

Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
I suspect that Kim Dotcom is something of a Walter Mitty figure, one of those people who fundamentally sees the world and his place in it very differently to how the rest of the world see him. As a result I don't think he'd view this as a change (which would involve him accepting that he'd been a heel in the past), I think he'd say he's still the way he's always been. At the end of the day though I think he's in it for himself. He only wants to disrupt the music industry and free artists so long as it makes money for himself. He's clearly a smart and driven guy but I'd need to see a lot more than we've seen now to believe he's any sort of altruist.
kahawe 14y ago
He has been doing the exact same thing for almost 2 decades now. He started out on BBS and distributed "warez" over a bbs he ran and then famously turned everyone in the scene in to the police when they caught him and cut him a deal. He did the same thing with megaupload by providing a platform and making money from it and I am sure megabox will be like that as well. Lots of marketing hype and huge, romantic promises and lots of shades of grey and nothing much behind it, least of all a legitimate business. Some of the stunts he pulled in between his BBS days and megaupload was to royally scam "letsbuyit.com" which he got convicted for and then he tried to open a "very high-wealth individuals" automatic trading system which obviously bombed. And back in the day he flamed the German CCC and loved to flash the word "hacker" as if he belongs. He sold a company he founded, DataProtect, to the renowned TÜV Rheinland and it turned out to be a scam and crashed. And before that he got caught dealing stolen calling cards. He is and has been a trickster, an opportunist, a self-proclaimed "hacker" and above all an egomaniac who now, by sheer luck alone, finds himself on the more fortunate, romantic Robin-Hood side of things but his basic principles and ideas and greed haven't changed one bit.
- ralfd 14y ago
  As a German I always cringe when I see Kim Schmitz speaking or a video of some stupid stunt. He isn't even a convincible trickster or a sophisticated con man! He is just an immature joke, a narcistic simpleton. He compares himself with Martin Luther King without even blinking an eye. If life would be a movie you would criticize his character as totally unbelievable and badly written. That he managed to live in a 15 million Dollar mansion and is cheered on in many corners of the web makes me despair.
- moe 14y ago
  As someone who (casually) knew Kimble back in the BBS days I confirm everything kahawe wrote. He shows his true face when things get heated. Legalities aside he has repeatedly turned around and backstabbed whoever was nearby, in order to cover his own ass. Definitely not the kind of person you want to do any business with.
- iwwr 14y ago
  Nevertheless, he is worth defending. There's more at stake than just the man. The things they do to Dotcom are indicative of the current involvement of US politics with the IP lobby. This relationship is having repercussions all over the world. Faced with a failing business model, IP companies are investing their ever-scarce capital into political rent-seeking, the consequences of which would be the destruction of privacy and creative freedom.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    A million times this. Furthermore, we must not forget that even the "guiltiest" and scummiest men deserve the full protections the law affords. Shortcuts around due process cannot be justified by saying, correctly or not, "This guy is a total sleeze and guilty as hell".
    - res0nat0r 14y ago
      Please stop saying a million times this... Also due process was followed as far as I know. Read the indictment. There was enough evidence to have his assets seized just like any other business if there is enough evidence to believe there are ongoing illegal activities. And yes the NZ government did agree to this also, otherwise his arrest in NZ wouldn't have happened.

Tyrannosaurs 14y ago

I suspect that Kim Dotcom is something of a Walter Mitty figure, one of those people who fundamentally sees the world and his place in it very differently to how the rest of the world see him. As a result I don't think he'd view this as a change (which would involve him accepting that he'd been a heel in the past), I think he'd say he's still the way he's always been. At the end of the day though I think he's in it for himself. He only wants to disrupt the music industry and free artists so long as it makes money for himself. He's clearly a smart and driven guy but I'd need to see a lot more than we've seen now to believe he's any sort of altruist.

kahawe 14y ago

He has been doing the exact same thing for almost 2 decades now. He started out on BBS and distributed "warez" over a bbs he ran and then famously turned everyone in the scene in to the police when they caught him and cut him a deal. He did the same thing with megaupload by providing a platform and making money from it and I am sure megabox will be like that as well. Lots of marketing hype and huge, romantic promises and lots of shades of grey and nothing much behind it, least of all a legitimate business. Some of the stunts he pulled in between his BBS days and megaupload was to royally scam "letsbuyit.com" which he got convicted for and then he tried to open a "very high-wealth individuals" automatic trading system which obviously bombed. And back in the day he flamed the German CCC and loved to flash the word "hacker" as if he belongs. He sold a company he founded, DataProtect, to the renowned TÜV Rheinland and it turned out to be a scam and crashed. And before that he got caught dealing stolen calling cards. He is and has been a trickster, an opportunist, a self-proclaimed "hacker" and above all an egomaniac who now, by sheer luck alone, finds himself on the more fortunate, romantic Robin-Hood side of things but his basic principles and ideas and greed haven't changed one bit.

ralfd 14y ago
As a German I always cringe when I see Kim Schmitz speaking or a video of some stupid stunt. He isn't even a convincible trickster or a sophisticated con man! He is just an immature joke, a narcistic simpleton. He compares himself with Martin Luther King without even blinking an eye. If life would be a movie you would criticize his character as totally unbelievable and badly written. That he managed to live in a 15 million Dollar mansion and is cheered on in many corners of the web makes me despair.
moe 14y ago
As someone who (casually) knew Kimble back in the BBS days I confirm everything kahawe wrote. He shows his true face when things get heated. Legalities aside he has repeatedly turned around and backstabbed whoever was nearby, in order to cover his own ass. Definitely not the kind of person you want to do any business with.
iwwr 14y ago
Nevertheless, he is worth defending. There's more at stake than just the man. The things they do to Dotcom are indicative of the current involvement of US politics with the IP lobby. This relationship is having repercussions all over the world. Faced with a failing business model, IP companies are investing their ever-scarce capital into political rent-seeking, the consequences of which would be the destruction of privacy and creative freedom.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  A million times this. Furthermore, we must not forget that even the "guiltiest" and scummiest men deserve the full protections the law affords. Shortcuts around due process cannot be justified by saying, correctly or not, "This guy is a total sleeze and guilty as hell".
  - res0nat0r 14y ago
    Please stop saying a million times this... Also due process was followed as far as I know. Read the indictment. There was enough evidence to have his assets seized just like any other business if there is enough evidence to believe there are ongoing illegal activities. And yes the NZ government did agree to this also, otherwise his arrest in NZ wouldn't have happened.