[olug] Fw: FC: Linus Torvalds on digital rights management in Linux kernel

[Brian Wiese]

On Thu, 1 May 2003 11:06:46 -0500 (CDT)
"William E. Kempf" <wekempf at cox.net> wrote:

|
|Brian Wiese said:
|> I like the Register's satirical commentary on the whole story...
|>
|> http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/30450.html
|>
|> What's great is the closing lines, similiar to our discussions about
|> the(inevitable?) slippery slope of the argument...  =)
|>
|> ----------
|> Larry McVoy did have a nice summary which, although he may have been
|> talking about patent implications, resonates here:
|>
|> Me: Action A is leading to reaction B which you don't want.
|> You: Action A is perfectly legal, etc., etc.
|> Me: It's not about whether it is legal or not, it's about reaction B.
|> You: Action A is perfectly legal, etc., etc.
|> Me: Reaction B is what you don't want, it's behaviour A which is the
|> cause. You: Action A is perfectly legal, etc., etc.
|> Me: You keep missing the point about the reaction B.
|> You: Action A is perfectly legal, etc., etc.
|> Me: Err, umm, how many times do I have to tell you it is the reaction
|> that is what you want to avoid? You: Action A is perfectly legal, etc.,
|> etc. Me: Sigh.
|> -------------
|
|Absolutely flawed logic, and I agree with Linus.  Technology isn't "an
|action", it's just technology.  

But that's what my T-shirt says that I'm wearing today: "Question
Technology."  -- Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility --
http://www.cpsr.org

We should question the purpose and use of technological creations, perhaps
some things just shouldn't be done and perhaps some things should.