SOPA and PIPA discussion

[GaryCXJk]

The thing is, not only are they harming the companies they're directing it to, they're also harming the good nature of the gamers themselves. Not to mention they'll be sabotaging themselves, seeing as this would only give companies more incentive to support SOPA. We're trying to prevent that, not bring it about.

[Debbie82]

At least Epic Games stands up against SOPA.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6348222...3Bheadline%3B2

Also, SOPA loses steam with Hollywood Union Members. Sweet.

http://www.webpronews.com/sopa-loses...embers-2012-01

[Nintendo Boy1]

Originally Posted by Time

Can you imagine a world without Google or Facebook? If plans to protest the potential passing of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) come to fruition, you won’t need to; those sites, along with many other well-known online destinations, will go temporarily offline as a taste of what we could expect from a post-SOPA Internet.

Companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, Yahoo! and Wikipedia are said to be discussing a coordinated blackout of services to demonstrate the potential effect SOPA would have on the Internet, something already being called a “nuclear option” of protesting.

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/01/05/...#ixzz1ijoAyYUh

I don't know about you guys but this would one heck of a productive day for me. Not only that but it's something so big and tramatic that it would be unheard of for the media to shed light on it.

SUPPORT THE BLACKOUT!!! (best link I could find.)

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Nintendo Boy1

I don't know about you guys but this would one heck of a productive day for me. Not only that but it's something so big and tramatic that it would be unheard of for the media to shed light on it.

SUPPORT THE BLACKOUT!!! (best link I could find.)

Fantastic. I've been hoping they would do that.

[Debbie82]

Al Gore slams SOPA in now-deleted YouTube Video

Huge supporter of stronger copyright law, Grover Norquist, is backing away from SOPA

And in other news, Rep. Lamar Smith decides that lying about, insulting and dismissing opposition to SOPA is the winning strategy! Weak!

[Comrade Pants]

I reiterate: rebellion is the only way to fix things, especially if this bullshit passes.

[Debbie82]

A few more people are coming out against SOPA and/or PIPA too!

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...sopapipa.shtml

http://paulryan.house.gov/News/Docum...umentID=274134

That idiot ICE film pats itself on the back for censoring the web, and it promises much more to come, which is even worse!

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...-to-come.shtml

[Comrade Pants]

Fuck ICE. IP enforcement is just corporate welfare for the bourgeoisie anyway.

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by Comrade Pants

IP enforcement is just corporate welfare for the bourgeoisie anyway.

[Alcoremortis]

What disturbs me about ICE is the warehouses of confiscated items full of...purses. And jerseys. Doesn't the FBI have more important things to do with their time than fill warehouses with perfectly good items? It really pains me to see so much stuff go to waste. Sure, the fake drugs should be thrown out since they're dangerous, but the rest of the stuff seems perfectly harmless.

And really, a cheap knockoff of a Prada purse or something is not the same thing. AT ALL. People buy expensive luxury goods at high prices for the distinction of having something that other people can't afford...not because of the way it looks. They wouldn't buy the fakes because they're sold at a lower price, and thus the bragging rights wouldn't be there. I mean, how many people would go and buy a cheap second-hand car that looks like a Lamborghini so that they could tell people how rich they were if they could actually afford a real Lamborghini? Makes no sense.

It sorta reminds me of the Ultra Luxe bit from Fallout where that lady says that while she'd just love for there to be enough steaks for everyone it would ruin the exclusivity if everyone could have steak.

Originally Posted by Comrade Pants

Fuck ICE. IP enforcement is just corporate welfare for the bourgeoisie anyway.

You called?

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

What disturbs me about ICE is the warehouses of confiscated items full of...purses. And jerseys. Doesn't the FBI have more important things to do with their time than fill warehouses with perfectly good items? It really pains me to see so much stuff go to waste. Sure, the fake drugs should be thrown out since they're dangerous, but the rest of the stuff seems perfectly harmless.

And really, a cheap knockoff of a Prada purse or something is not the same thing. AT ALL. People buy expensive luxury goods at high prices for the distinction of having something that other people can't afford...not because of the way it looks. They wouldn't buy the fakes because they're sold at a lower price, and thus the bragging rights wouldn't be there. I mean, how many people would go and buy a cheap second-hand car that looks like a Lamborghini so that they could tell people how rich they were if they could actually afford a real Lamborghini? Makes no sense.

It sorta reminds me of the Ultra Luxe bit from Fallout where that lady says that while she'd just love for there to be enough steaks for everyone it would ruin the exclusivity if everyone could have steak.



You called?

People actually do buy cheap knockoffs without realizing it. Beside scamming the customer it potentially devalues the original product.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

People actually do buy cheap knockoffs without realizing it. Beside scamming the customer it potentially devalues the original product.

I mentioned the devaluing thing in my post. The real reason these goods are being confiscated is because the people who can afford the actual product don't want people who can't afford it to have something that looks like it. And I'm saying that I don't think that's the case. The real product will still be better because it costs more.

As an example, my grandpa, a wine connoisseur, has sampled a large variety of champagne and found a little known brand that he says is absolutely fantastic. But when New Years Eve comes around, he doesn't go and buy this little brand, he buys Dom Perignon instead. He does this even though he also insists that they taste exactly the same. Why? Because you pay for the label not the product. You pay for the fact that you're paying more and you can show people that you can afford to blow two hundred and fifty dollars on a single bottle of bubbly. Same reason for buying diamonds when you could buy nicely cut glass for a few bucks.

As for people getting confused... well, if they jump at buying a big brand name purse for $45, they wouldn't have bought the real deal anyways.

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

my grandpa, a wine connoisseur, has sampled a large variety of champagne and found a little known brand that he says is absolutely fantastic.

I would like to know which one this is. I'm not disputing you, I just want to try it.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

I would like to know which one this is. I'm not disputing you, I just want to try it.

Honestly, I can't remember what it was called. My mom thinks it's Cristal, but that's actually MORE expensive than Dom Perignon, so I don't think that's it. I'll have to ask my grandpa when I see him again.

[DAISHI]

It's not a little known brand if it's Cristal.

[Comrade Pants]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

I'm always bitter.

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

What disturbs me about ICE is the warehouses of confiscated items full of...purses. And jerseys. Doesn't the FBI have more important things to do with their time than fill warehouses with perfectly good items? It really pains me to see so much stuff go to waste. Sure, the fake drugs should be thrown out since they're dangerous, but the rest of the stuff seems perfectly harmless.

And really, a cheap knockoff of a Prada purse or something is not the same thing. AT ALL. People buy expensive luxury goods at high prices for the distinction of having something that other people can't afford...not because of the way it looks. They wouldn't buy the fakes because they're sold at a lower price, and thus the bragging rights wouldn't be there. I mean, how many people would go and buy a cheap second-hand car that looks like a Lamborghini so that they could tell people how rich they were if they could actually afford a real Lamborghini? Makes no sense.

It sorta reminds me of the Ultra Luxe bit from Fallout where that lady says that while she'd just love for there to be enough steaks for everyone it would ruin the exclusivity if everyone could have steak.

This is why I hate IP enforcement. It's just rich assholes making the government suck them off. The sooner that system goes to pieces the better. I do agree, however, that medical enforcement is a worthwhile endeavor. Big Pharma might do some truly awful stuff, but there's no excuse to give people chalk pills.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

It's not a little known brand if it's Cristal.

This is another reason why I think my mother is wrong. I would have remembered it if it were a well-known brand. When I find out what it was, I'll be sure to post it on the forums though.

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

This is another reason why I think my mother is wrong. I would have remembered it if it were a well-known brand. When I find out what it was, I'll be sure to post it on the forums though.

Thank you.

[puzzlebox]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I mentioned the devaluing thing in my post. The real reason these goods are being confiscated is because the people who can afford the actual product don't want people who can't afford it to have something that looks like it. And I'm saying that I don't think that's the case. The real product will still be better because it costs more.

It devalues the product beyond the illusory missed sales though. As you said, the whole point of these luxury brands is the exclusivity, the fact that not everyone can afford them. If suddenly every old chav on the street is toting your status symbol of choice (fake as those ones may be), it definitely tarnishes the prestige. If you have to tell people "but mine is real", it's like... so what? You pay through the nose to carry essentially the same thing-holder as that bag lady who pulled her monogrammed LV Boulogne out of a dumpster? Congratulations, what a spectacular waste of money.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by puzzlebox

It devalues the product beyond the illusory missed sales though. As you said, the whole point of these luxury brands is the exclusivity, the fact that not everyone can afford them. If suddenly every old chav on the street is toting your status symbol of choice (fake as those ones may be), it definitely tarnishes the prestige. If you have to tell people "but mine is real", it's like... so what? You pay through the nose to carry essentially the same thing-holder as that bag lady who pulled her monogrammed LV Boulogne out of a dumpster? Congratulations, what a spectacular waste of money.

In the area I live up north, you'd probably be safer if everyone thought your bag or whatever was a fake...

In any case, this is a case of our government pandering to the rich and the desire to be exclusive. Now, if these items were circumventing customs and being smuggled into the country, that would be a problem. But as far as I can see from that video, they aren't. And you know, maybe it's a good thing that people are seeing how these exclusive products can be so easily replicated. Maybe it will force the brand names to be more innovative and create better products that can't be so easily reproduced.

Or maybe they could complain to the government and just maintain the status quo. But, as a favorite character of mine says: "The status is NOT quo."