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The purpose if DRM is not to stop people from illegally copying. The purpose is to control and manipulate the legal users and limit their freedoms they would ot

The purpose if DRM is not to stop people from illegally copying. The purpose is to control and manipulate the legal users and limit their freedoms they would otherwise legally. Yes, DRM developers lie to us and claim that this is about stopping infringement. But that's only a pretense. They know that it only impacts non-infringing users. But they like having more control and power over the non-infringing users. See http://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq#purpose http://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq#purpose

kmonsen 12y ago
That is also the purpose of door locks btw, and I am assuming you have one of those on your door.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - eridius 12y ago
    Prison locks != home door locks. kmonsen is making the point that door locks on homes don't actually stop determined burglars. The only reason they work is because most people are relatively honest and aren't willing to take the step of breaking the lock (however trivial that may be), even if they'd otherwise happily open an unlocked door and walk in. Not only that, but the fact that a door is locked almost certainly has legal implications for trespassers (though I don't know if that's really applicable to house door locks as much as it might be to locks on doors leading from public areas of commercial buildings to private ones).
    - kmonsen 12y ago
      Thanks for improving my point :-)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
  It's not the purpose of door locks, it's the result. It's true enough that locks keep honest thieves out; the also keep the lazy ones out. Another practical result of a door lock is that it slows the attacker, hopefully enough that the occupants can react.
- rakoo 12y ago
  Wrong. DRM is a tool of the distributor against the user (remember: when you have a DVD, you don't own the content; you only have a license to view its content under certain rules. DRMs make sure you follow these rules). The lock is a tool of the user against third-parties.
  - zanny 12y ago
    The analogous door lock on your computer is your firewall or USB autostart permissions or an encrypted hard drive.
- quadrangle 12y ago
  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/doctorows-law https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/doctorows-law Doctorow's Law: "Anytime someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn't give you the key, they're not doing it for your benefit." A lock you have the key to is nothing like DRM.
Rapzid 12y ago
Accurate. Here are some wonderfully managed rights brought to you by DRM: * What devices and equipment can view it * Time limits on watching * Regional lockouts * Time shifted viewing The movie industry fights tooth and nail to "manage" our rights, not just with DRM by plain RM. In NZ for example there is a ban on parallel importing films for a period after release! Here is something interesting: http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/50HansD_20131015_00000020/copyright-parallel-importing-of-films-amendment-bill http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/50HansD_20.... Choice quote: "The 5-month ban will effectively give cinemas a further 1 or 2 months to exclusively screen films without competition.". Feast your eyes on the pandering! There is no "transition" period going on. It's the movie theatres using laws to prop up their new business model of stealing 20 minutes of your time and selling it to advertisers, after taking 20NZD admission.
briandear 12y ago
It's interesting because this sounds very similar to control legislation in terms of which citizens it affects while not having much effect on criminals who, by definition don't care about the law. I think your point is exactly correct, DRM does little, if anything from stopping illegitimate actors, but it does serve to manipulate and control legitimate users (for example preventing them from using the DRM content on certain devices, thus requiring them to potentially purchae it again.)
snowwrestler 12y ago
I know this is a popular way to frame the argument against DRM, but I have never actually seen any evidence that DRM companies actually think this way. I mean like a quote from an executive, or an internal memo, or even an anonymous statement from an employee. I think it's a much simpler explanation that companies really do hope that DRM will reduce casual illegal copying and sharing, even though they know it can't absolutely stop determined people.

kmonsen 12y ago

That is also the purpose of door locks btw, and I am assuming you have one of those on your door.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- eridius 12y ago
  Prison locks != home door locks. kmonsen is making the point that door locks on homes don't actually stop determined burglars. The only reason they work is because most people are relatively honest and aren't willing to take the step of breaking the lock (however trivial that may be), even if they'd otherwise happily open an unlocked door and walk in. Not only that, but the fact that a door is locked almost certainly has legal implications for trespassers (though I don't know if that's really applicable to house door locks as much as it might be to locks on doors leading from public areas of commercial buildings to private ones).
  - kmonsen 12y ago
    Thanks for improving my point :-)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
It's not the purpose of door locks, it's the result. It's true enough that locks keep honest thieves out; the also keep the lazy ones out. Another practical result of a door lock is that it slows the attacker, hopefully enough that the occupants can react.
rakoo 12y ago
Wrong. DRM is a tool of the distributor against the user (remember: when you have a DVD, you don't own the content; you only have a license to view its content under certain rules. DRMs make sure you follow these rules). The lock is a tool of the user against third-parties.
- zanny 12y ago
  The analogous door lock on your computer is your firewall or USB autostart permissions or an encrypted hard drive.
quadrangle 12y ago
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/doctorows-law https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/doctorows-law Doctorow's Law: "Anytime someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn't give you the key, they're not doing it for your benefit." A lock you have the key to is nothing like DRM.

Rapzid 12y ago

Accurate. Here are some wonderfully managed rights brought to you by DRM: * What devices and equipment can view it * Time limits on watching * Regional lockouts * Time shifted viewing The movie industry fights tooth and nail to "manage" our rights, not just with DRM by plain RM. In NZ for example there is a ban on parallel importing films for a period after release! Here is something interesting: http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/50HansD_20131015_00000020/copyright-parallel-importing-of-films-amendment-bill http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/50HansD_20.... Choice quote: "The 5-month ban will effectively give cinemas a further 1 or 2 months to exclusively screen films without competition.". Feast your eyes on the pandering! There is no "transition" period going on. It's the movie theatres using laws to prop up their new business model of stealing 20 minutes of your time and selling it to advertisers, after taking 20NZD admission.

briandear 12y ago

It's interesting because this sounds very similar to control legislation in terms of which citizens it affects while not having much effect on criminals who, by definition don't care about the law. I think your point is exactly correct, DRM does little, if anything from stopping illegitimate actors, but it does serve to manipulate and control legitimate users (for example preventing them from using the DRM content on certain devices, thus requiring them to potentially purchae it again.)

snowwrestler 12y ago

I know this is a popular way to frame the argument against DRM, but I have never actually seen any evidence that DRM companies actually think this way. I mean like a quote from an executive, or an internal memo, or even an anonymous statement from an employee. I think it's a much simpler explanation that companies really do hope that DRM will reduce casual illegal copying and sharing, even though they know it can't absolutely stop determined people.