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The Courts Government News

EFF Fundraiser in Boston 126

Posted by Hemos from the raising-money-for-the-cause dept.
Weld Pond writes "The Digital Commerce Society of Boston is holding a fundraiser for the EFF legal efforts in the DeCSS case. @Stake (nee l0pht) is one of the sponsors making this event possible. Come join us and put your money where your mouth is. Suggested minimum donation is $35. The details are in the invitation. Geek warning: The Harvard Club of Boston requires jacket and tie. " One other note: I talked with some of the folks from OpenDVD last night, and there will be a fund setup within the week to help the legal defense fund. At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000 towards the defense fund - and we had a fundraiser later on in the evening.
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EFF Fundraiser in Boston

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  • I can't wear a jacket and tie! I don't even *own* a jacket and tie... Damn those Harvard freaks.

    -----------

    "You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."

  • Where can I send money, ignoring the dinner?

    I don't need to hob knob and dine ... I want to make a difference with my money, not portray myself as one of the ilk responsible for the bs.
  • It would be interested to see if any commercial companies are going to donate any money to help support DeCSS. It would be pretty interesting if one of the larger companies OpenSource supporters are going to donate money for this cause(Maybe Redhat or Corel?).

    Maybe if they'll also organize a competition--for example, the biggest donation gets a T-shirt with the DeCSS source code signed by its author, they'll get more funds.

  • Re:Jacket and Tie?? (Score:4)

    by Llynmir ( 125697 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @10:58AM (#1304626)
    Being a girl is so much easier. All we have to do for fancy dinners is wear last year's halloween costume without the makeup. Black, slinky witch dresses always get attention.

  • GO ALAN!!! (Score:3)

    by JustShootMe ( 122551 ) <rmiller@duskglow.com> on Friday February 04, 2000 @10:58AM (#1304627) Homepage Journal

    So Alan Cox gave his $10,000US to the EFF for defense. THAT floors me. But my respect for AC just went up a great deal.

    I'd like to shake his hand someday. Hey, Alan, if you're ever in Portland, you've got a place to crash :-)

    We could all learn from that example!


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
  • At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000
    towards the defense fund - and we had a fundraiser later on in the evening.


    Waitaminnit!!! Am I missing something?!? The Beanies have already been awarded?!?!? Why didn't I receive the memo?!?!?!?!? God damn it.

    In any event... I hope that Knuth won the Best Open Source-Related Book Beanie. Any other result would be just preposterous.
  • It's nice to see someone giving $10,000, certainly... But isn't Alan a muli-millionaire now?

    -----------

    "You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."

  • DeCSS Protest Information (Score:5)

    by worth ( 132011 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:03AM (#1304631)
    Today, February 4 will also be a day of action planned against motion picture association. Protests are scheduled for today at movie theaters around the world, in over 100 cities. You can find more information here [hackernews.com].

    Go and tell people the truth about DeCSS! You can find flyers in multiple languages here [2600.com].
  • I'll second the sentiment... THAT is impressive!!!
    ---

  • Even if he is... it shows he's putting his money where his mouth is. It's still worthy of great respect. $10,000 is not chump change.


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.

  • Go to Goodwill (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    They have great, cheap, pre-owned jackets, ties, pants, shoes, etc. Granted, it won't be the height of fashion, but then again you'd be going to a deCSS defense fundraiser. The uglier the tie, the cooler.

  • My 2 cents worth... (Score:5)

    by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak@yahoGINSBERGo.com minus poet> on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:12AM (#1304637) Homepage Journal
    First off, Alan Cox giving his $10,000 towards the defence tells me two things. First, it's that kind of generosity and concern that often gets a person unsung, but more importantly, it's why he really IS a hero!

    Secondly, not everyone is a wealthy millionaire. $35 might not sound much, when the defence is probably going to cost a fortune, but it's a lot to some people. I spend less than that a week on food, gas and other essentials. I'm not complaining, I just think the perspective needs a little fine-tuning.

    Also, don't just stick with the "big dinners". There are plenty of high school kids in the US, 4th - 6th formers in the UK who would be happy to chip in something to help kick an arrogant slug in the teeth. Ok, not many go around with $35 to throw around, but there's a hell of a lot more of them. If each kid in a typical school could splash in a solitary quarter, you're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that ain't something to be sneezed at!

    (It'd also get news footage. Your average Joe and Jane Bloggs in the streets doesn't care about the people they are told are pirates. They won't care about a fancy over-blown dinner party, either. But they'd pay attention when they see their little Mary Bloggs offering some of her allowance to "fight the oppressors". THAT would change public perception. FAST.)

  • Alan Cox again ... (Score:4)

    by Forge ( 2456 ) <kevinforge@@@gmail...com> on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:12AM (#1304638) Homepage Journal
    ... showing why he is the #2 man in the Linux Kernel.

    I.e. He knows the right things to do in order to help move the community forward. He is a worthy successor to Linus. Which is kind of tricky since I think he actually seams older. ( Alan how old are you really ? )

    As for this DVD thing. The sound bytes from LinuxWorld hint at VALinux getting involved. This makes perfect sense in light of how *I* ( and perhaps a very few others ) see this this thing going. I.e. Get an injunction against a well hated bogeyman like 2600.com then use it to keep serious Linux companies and Hardware manufacturers out of the DVD business.

    Picture a DVD player that lets you do absolutely anything you want with the film including; cut and past to compare the holes on Neo's shirt when he is "dying" to the ones when he is "resurrected" ( Do they line up ? ).

    This can be done with an OSS software player and DVD watching geeks sending code in. It won't happen with what exists now commercially. This scares the devil out of the existing licensees.
  • Fundraisers like the EFF affair are a good way to get the typical suit-and-tie types to contribute. It's probably not the best way to get the typical geek to contribute though. Even if I lived near the Boston area I probably wouldn't go, wearing a suit is about as enjoyable for me as a good swift kick in the butt.

    What I'd be more interested is more of a birds of a feather affair: a couple kegs of beer, a few pizzas and no dress code. Make your donation and get a cheap plastic cup to fill with beer.

    There wouldn't be enough interest where I am, but possibly in Minneapolis, which is only about 100 miles away. Is there anything like this planned?

    The fund-raiser at the Harvard Club is a great idea, its just not a great fit for everybody. It will probably make news and thus raise awareness. Smaller get togethers can at least raise money for the defense fund and may also be able to make news and bring out the message "we're not in it to pirate, we honestly want to watch purchased DVD" to the public. Something that I've rarely seen even mentioned in the press.

  • <I>It's nice to see someone giving $10,000, certainly... But isn't Alan a muli-millionaire now?</I>

    The other day I was wondergin why ESR wasn't donating money too, given that he helps in the DeCSS distribution contest, but then I remembered that his probation period was going until something like June, I wonder if Alan is also subject to this probation, being a developer (although an important one) and not a part of the head of Redhat, and I wonder wether they still are under probation and for how many time.

  • Hey, be careful with that cash now (Score:3)

    by ch-chuck ( 9622 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:16AM (#1304641) Homepage
    no matter WHAT you do, when gold bricks start flying the scum crawls out of the woodwork to try and sell you a bridge over the East River - donations should end up in the right hands and not the trunk of some shyster speeding for the boarder...

    No alter ego today
  • in boston, go to keezers (central sq., cambridge) excellent, cheap, pre-owned suits, tuxedos, what-have-you

  • Given that the NY Judge's ruling repeatedly mentions the lack of evidence presented at the trial, the EFF needs all the dough it can get to hire good lawyers who *gasp* do their homework. Jon has a chance, but not if his lawyers putz around with baseless/unproven (as in having no supporting evidence provided) arguments.

    Imagine someone was getting sued for promising that the sun will rise tomorrow. Which defense are you more likely to believe:

    a.)
    The sun rose yesterday, the day before, and the day before, etcetera, so OF COURSE the sun will rise tomorrow!
    b.)
    As you can see from these satellite pictures [Exhibit A], the Earth is indeed rotating on its axis at a more or less constant rate of speed. While the defense admits that the rate is declining, the decline is not so great that movement would stop within the next 24 hours, much less the next year. Indeed, according to the data presented here [Exhibit B], the sun will run out of hydrogen and go supernova before the Earth's rotational speed ceases.

    The judge doesn't want to hear opinion, he wants evidence and proof to support the opinion. It is this proof, not the opinions expressed in speech, that will make the difference.

    Bah, enough ranting :P

    Nathan
  • Does it really matter if he is? The gesture was a great kickoff, it will bring exposure and very positive press to this side of the issue. Hats off to AC! With this level of commitment hopefully all this mess will end on a good note.

    Never knock on Death's door:

  • Proposal: open source legal initiative (Score:5)

    by bwt ( 68845 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:19AM (#1304646)
    I would like to propose a way for the open source community to participate more actively in legal matters. This would be a way for members of the community to directly assist the EFF.

    We should create an open source forum for the creation of legal briefs and legislation, similar to existing open documentation projects. As a pilot, I recommend writing an amicus brief for the DeCSS case. Two other possible projects would be to draft alternative legislation to UCITA and submit a brief to the 9th Circut for the rehearing of the Bernstein case.

    An EFF lawyer and/or other interested lawyers should take leadership roles in this. The basic idea is that people could do research and submit arguements and supporting cases & evidence. The lawyers would compile these and merge them into a final product and also compile "to do" lists, including questions for further research.

    As with any open source project, individuals could take the output, modify it, and submit it as their own (with proper credit and a different name, of course).

  • Re:Good! EFF needs all they can get. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I am sick and tired of hearing people diss the EFF lawyers. They had less than 8 hours to prepare for this case!!!!! Let's see you "do your homework" for a court case that fast!

  • If you have a credit card handy, you can do it online right now at the Join EFF [eff.org] page. If you want to send a check by snailmail, then get this file [eff.org].


    ---
  • There are two protests going on in the San Francisco Bay Area tonight.

    * 7pm at the Sony Metreon (the Mission and 4th entrance)

    * 7pm at the Century Cinemas on Shoreline Blvd in Mountain View (outside the box office)

    Bring posters, signs, flyers and (of course) the t-shirt :-)

    See you there!

    -- Kinesis, Defendant #2
  • ... showing why he is the #2 man in the Linux Kernel.

    No, he's the #2 man in the kernel because he's a damn fine hacker and contributor.

    The gift might give insight to him as a pretty cool human being, but I for one am glad it means nothing in the kernel uberhacker pecking order. :)

  • Support (Score:4)

    by dattaway ( 3088 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:25AM (#1304652) Homepage Journal
    I just made my little donation to the EFF, but I know money only goes so far. I hope to help in other ways too and wish the best for all involved.

    You see, issues like this affects how others view me as a computer hacker. The RIAA and MPAA are trying to villify anyone who circumvents their method of crappy entertainment distribution. I'm a hardware guy that likes to find better forms of communication. Cassettes suck. CD's suck. MP3's rock. DVD writers with no mafia tax would rule.

    Its not that I like to use new technology for commercial entertainment anyway. Mass storage and playback of multimedia has tremendous utility in almost any field I can think of; however, they wish to make the common tools of playback and recording unreachable. They have a dinosour of a business model and I feel it interferes with what I think is my right to use technology how I see fit.

    Its good to see well organized rights group such as the EFF back principles I feel are important. They have my support and best wishes.

  • That is an EXCELLENT idea. count me in.


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.

  • How about a challenge? (Score:4)

    by kzinti ( 9651 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:28AM (#1304654) Homepage Journal
    I'm going to e-mail and see if they will take a $100 donation pledge. I can't make it in person, but would like to be there in spirit. (Yeah, I know I could just send the $100 direct to EFF. I joined last year in support of their work in the DVD case.)

    But to get to the subject: I would like to suggest that some of the deep-pockets companies like Red Hat or VA Linux make a challenge. For every dollar that us working stiffs donate, they'll donate a dollar or two. Like the pledge drives at your local NPR radio station. Instead of giving out mugs or tote bags, the sponsor can give out the right to put an "I donated" badge on their personal web site, with a link back to the donor's challenge page.

    --Jim

  • Re:GO ALAN!!! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    So if i give $10 to the EFF, can i crash at your place too? I mean, 10,000 is probably equivalent to my $10 in terms of percentage of networth.
  • Generally probation is reserved for a company's management team and not the general population of its employees. Because ESR is part of VA's board, he's restricted from any stock activity, but if Alan is only a 'lowly' Red Hat employee then he'd be free to do as he pleases.

    Maybe he'll send me a sack of cash in the mail?!
    ---
  • Actually, she's at least an honorary geek, so she probably understands :-)

  • All anyone has to do is whip out their credit card and head on over to www.eff.org [eff.org] and fill out the nice form on their web page with your name and credit card number.

    I did it, it really works, it's easy, and all the money you contribute will go directly to them, no muss, no fuss.

  • That is probably true. But $10,000 - even to a millionaire - is a nice chunk of change.

    Then again, if you meet some minimum standards maybe you can crash here too :-)*

    * standards available upon request. JustShootMe reserves the right to refuse anyone for any reason. By invitation only. Your mileage may vary.


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.


  • So why haven't the winners of the beanie awards been posted yet? I thought they were given out last night.

  • you're looking for one of these [fishdot.org], shitheel.
  • That's the spirit, but please don't be harsh on those who have money, but are burdened with obligations that may exceed their liquid net worth. Redhat and VA have an almost unlimited ways of spending money toward a good cause. Should they spend that extra dollar to help replace inbred technology in the office to help save costly lost production of our economy? The hightened awareness of this attack on our freedoms are encouraging many of us to make personal donations and innovative dinners showing support and gathering collections.

    Remember, the entertainment cartel in America can match the liquid cash that we can throw at a legal defense.

    The reason why I bring this up, is that I'm looking for some land to build a house upon. A donation is the right thing to do, but it can hinder those who have a great project ahead and need the funds. Redhat and VA have many great products that my company can use and I hope they spend their money wisely. Matching dollar for dollar against a very bitter fight against the might entertainment industry that's been well established since Walt Disney made it can drain us. Be careful with how much we spend. Give from the heart.
  • Think of it this way: What if this fundraiser got the attention of the local media? If the public saw you in formal attire, don't you think that they would take you a little more seriously? Heck, I would. I know this from the experience of being in business for myself. I do a lot of traveling to seminars and conventions, and a professional look is expected of me at each one of these meetings.

  • Re:Jacket and Tie?? (Score:5)

    by warpeightbot ( 19472 ) on Friday February 04, 2000 @11:58AM (#1304677) Homepage
    You know the geeks are serious when they deliberately book a joint that REQUIRES a noose... this is the moral equivalent of sounding General Quarters, All Hands, Man Your Battle Stations....

    But seriously, dressing up and booking the best damn club in town proves a point. This is not just another Kevin Mintnick case. What MPAA wants to do is tantamount to implementing Thoughtcrime. Giving up our t-shirts and sandals and donning the monkey suits we are so well known for loathing sends a clear message: We're serious. We're in this for blood, and we don't care if it takes wearing ties to get the job done....

    I think Alan sent the loudest message of all. It's not about money, you (MPAA) idiots, although it may take money in the short run to set things right. It's about freedom. It's also about being assumed to be a heinous criminal when all you want to do is have a little harmless, and what should be totally legal, fun, in the privacy of your own computer room.

    The kind of legalistic bullying being spouted forth by the likes of MPAA, Amazon, etoys, and the like, has got to stop. And it will... if enough of us beat on them long enough, each in our own way. Nobody said you in particular had to don a tie and go to Boston. I'm sure as hell not. But dig out the credit card and punch up eff.org, or go down to Kinkos and print some 2600 flyers, or just make your friends aware of the situation. Do your bit... and eventually, like a Buck-Buck line, if enough of us land on top of it with both feet, it will crumble.

    That will be one hell of a party.

    --
    "Hey, hey, HEYYYYY!" -- Fat Albert, the Baddest Buck-Buck Breaker of'em all

  • I think it went to 'Programming Perl' by Larry Wall, Randal Schwartz, and Tom Christiansen.

    --hunter
  • There is a local 2600 group based out of Ann Arbor, Mi.. Anyone know if they are throwing 'festivities' for the MPAA tonight?

    If not, perhaps we can still get some of the local /. crowd out to one of the larger theatres!

  • Hey EFF, are you reading this? How about setting up a little New York City fundraiser??? This is a bigger city.... it'll bring more people and raise more money. Best of all, if its in New York _I_ can attend it.

    *grin*

  • Re:Hey, be careful with that cash now (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Hey, relax. We are not giving money to Hillary's election campaign.
  • But are they supposed to match and stuff?

  • I agree, that is an _EXCELLENT_ idea, I'm sure there are tons of legal-savvy geeks out there who could contribute sometihng, not to mention all the regular geeks who could provide insight into the technical details and history to provide supporting evidence.

  • If you are in the Washington DC area, check here: http://www.dc2600.com

  • donations should end up in the right hands and not the trunk of some shyster speeding for the boarder..

    Hello? All the organizations that are mentioned appear reputable. In principle one should be careful where one donates, but the people who've put thier names to this don't look like they'd be easily taken in. If you're worried about the formal fundraiser, I get the distinct feeling they (i.e. @stake) will make sure the money gets where its going.

    --locust

  • We should create an open source forum for the creation of legal briefs and legislation, similar to existing open documentation projects.
    How about openlaw [harvard.edu]?
  • Actualy it dose mean something.

    Hacking code alone is enogh to write good software solo. However to work on a *huge* team project where all your hundreds of subordinates work for free and owe you zip.
  • Plus, the Harvard club is a dump with lousy food and a nice view.
  • Since I knew exactly nothing about @stake when they merged with L0pht, I was worried that they might not be good for the L0pht. This is a great thing for them to do, because the EFF needs money and lots of it, right now. (Why? Because DVD CCA and MPAA are looking to take the EFF apart in court on the deCSS case, and look at how much money those two organizations own.)

    So, I say, way to go @stake, I'll now count you definitely in the "good guy" column.

    I've already donated to EFF, and will donate more when I've cleared up some nasty debts. I hope anyone who can will do it too. Hey, combine it with the boycott, send the money you would've spent on movies to the EFF.

    (See the below link).

  • Good idea.. Plan a bunch of small, regional fundraisers for one night. It may not have the glamour of the Harvard Club, but I'm sure all of us will party to support the EFF and consumer's rights..
  • How about openlaw?

    I just took a look at their site. It looks good to me. Their FAQ is a little thin, but their idea seems like what I was talking about. If we can persuade them to take up the DVD cases, I think it would be better to use their existing forum than to create a new one.

    I just sent a letter to the EFF asking them if they would support such an activity. Hopefully they will respond affirmatively. I definitely think we need somebody who knows something about the legal process involved.
  • Picture a DVD player that lets you do absolutely anything you want with the film including; cut and past to compare the holes on Neo's shirt when he is "dying" to the ones when he is "resurrected" ( Do they line up ? ). This can be done with an OSS software player and DVD watching geeks sending code in. It won't happen with what exists now commercially. This scares the devil out of the existing licensees.
    Hmm, interesting, this is a new wrinkle to the OpenSource DVD thing that I hadn't thought of before. In fact, this was exactly the reason why Nintendo opposed the 'Game Genie' way back when it first came out. They basically said, "It's our content and you are going to use it the way we intend you to, like it or not." Of course, Nintendo lost on this one, and some interesting and creative things were developed as a result. (Including a device that let's people create their own Gameboy games, I hear.)

    Of course, to the film studios, this could be a huge propaganda negative to get some of the more exacting directors on their side. (Kubrick, for one, would've hated this idea.) Fortunately, they can't point to an actual existing program that does it, yet.

  • Being a girl is so much easier. All we have to do for fancy dinners is wear last year's halloween costume without the makeup. Black, slinky witch dresses always get attention.
    Hate to burst your bubble, but a boy in a black, slinky witch dress will get much more attention at a semi-formal event. It just won't be the same kind of attention. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything...
    --Shoeboy
  • I guess he feels guilty because he bought a DVD player before all the brouhaha :)

    And found out it didn't work? I hate it when something I buy is strategically engineered only to work in a limited fashion. Not only have I been bit hard before from buying proprietary hardware that was to be an eternal secret (much to my dismay,) but I am surrounded by others who ask for help that are in the same position.

    I have been burned with things like video grabbers with patented hardware and software compression that only work with Windows. In my case, the drivers only allowed about four frames or several minutes of operation before the system crashed in flames. A few times required a reinstall of Windows itself. I'm through with that shit. Done that. Buggy DVD players with annoying quirks? No Thanks. It was with great shame that I gave away hardware that didn't work properly due to shoddy closed source software to friends who might be able to use it in some limited capacity.

    Alan Cox and anyone else who has the gift of making great hardware work with an eloquent software solution is a hero to me.
  • I'm expereincing serious cognitive dissonance here. Grassroots? This isn't? :)

    Being politically active in the Boston area, I can tell you that in this town, a 35 dollar minimum donation is grassroots. ACLU dinners cost 100 to 150 per plate, plus they expect you to make a donation. Fenway community health, anything major is the same. I'm working on a first time dinner dance for my group, and was told that more poeople would want to come if it was 50 dollars instead of 35 (my recommended ticket price). Its crazy when you move out of the grassroots.

    Part of this is because there is just such a big population out here, you can apeal only to those who can spend a lot and still fill a room. The other thing is that the cost of living is so high, your veiw of money just changes. I pay 350 a month in rent, no utilities and I have a great deal on an apartment I share with others. $35 is going to this instead of catching a movie and dinner that weekend. A choice I'm fine making.

    Jeesh, you guys want high society goldbricks, try getting an invite to a $150 a plate black tie dinner when you only work part time. And then considering scraping together the money to go because you need to make contacts in the political action world. ugh.

    And as for the tie (I don't own one but that won't be a problem) Most computer geeks in boston have at least one "interview" outfit that will work. And thats what this is really. If these guys have brains, they will be contacting the press, and they want geeks in suits to say "yeah I work for a software startup and code Linux on the side. This thing is blown way out of proportion. I mean, Pirates! *laughs* Its so silly." Its just a different kind of interview.

    So, any boston geeks who want to go but don't own the clothes, let me know and we'll take a field trip down to the big Goodwill Bargin Basement. We'll get ya a blazer, a pair of pants that are supposed to be creased and a tie. Then I'll throw them in my drier with my "home dry-cleaning kit" to freshen them up and wa-la instant respectibilty, 10 to 25 dollars.

    -Kahuna Burger

  • Then organize one in Philly! Call up every geek, techie, and MCSE you know and tell them there will be free beer and pizza at your house for everyone who shows up with a EFF donation in their hand! Then get it mentioned on /.! You'll comb in geeks from the burbs too!!
  • At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000 towards the defense fund...

    Here's someone who just earned himself a big chunk of good Karma -- and not the kind Slashdot moderators give out, either.
  • Aiiiiiirgh. Not the Camel book. God damn it. Would someone care to explain to me how it is that the Camel book, of use only to Perl hackers, is a better Open Source-Related Book than The Art of Computer Programming, the quintessential tomes containing over thirty years of wisdom invaluable to programmer-kind? God damn it, you evil Perl-hacking Slash-weenies.

    *sigh*
  • I'm looking all over the place for the winners of the Beanie awards. I assumed they had been awarded, but I guess this confirms it. What is the deal? Does anyone have a link to results?

    Thanks!
    -kris
  • Restraint of trade.

    Their attempt to make the judicial branch interpret the legislative branchs' abomination (millenial copyright crap) such that reverse-engineering is forbidden strikes at the heart of software design.

    Of course, that's just a guess...

  • Talk to these fine people:

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation [eff.org]
    1550 Bryant Street, Suite 725
    San Francisco CA 94103-4832 USA
    +1 415 436 9333 (voice)
    +1 415 436 9993 (fax)
    Internet: ask@eff.org [mailto]

    I've been following the EFF ever since The Man was putting the beat-down back on the BBS scene. I'm going to be there in person, but if you call or contact them using the above info, I am sure they will have numerous suggestions of how you can lighten your wallet for a good cause. SoupIsGood Food
  • In 1999, Knuth was a nominee [gnu.org] for the fsf award, but he lost it to Miguel de Icaza.

    I can't be certain, but I think Knuth was also nominated for th 1998 fsf award, which Larry Wall won.

    Now, he gets nominated for a Beanie Award, and loses to a Camel.

    "Ha Ha Knuth! you will always be second place in the minds of the Open Source and Free Software communities!"

    "The quality of our software depends on the algorithms which you so clearly explained in your books, our only defense against nasty patents is evidence of prior art, which you also provided much of, and you wrote TeX, the best open source typesetting tool, but you are still second place in our hearts."

    "And by the way, nobody uses Web; 'literate programmer' is a contradiction in terms."

    Don't laugh. It is only funny if your head is screwed on backwards.
  • In the Nashville area come by the local se2600 meeting. I've got about 400 flyers but we can make more.

  • Wow, what a waste of money.

    I would think it is a good cause if DeCSS is a matter of rights. But it is not. You have no right to play DVDs on your computer. You have no right to distribute information (an encryption key) that belongs to someone else who has not given you permission to distribute it. You have no right to pirate DVDs. Yes, the guy's rights were abused by the police, it seems, but the whole DeCSS issue is not about rights, it is about wants. You want to play DVDs on your computer in the manner in which you see fit, despite the fact that you have no right to it.

    That is not worth the attention or the money, to me.

    Oh, and even if I thought it was a good cause, I would never go to a fundraiser that required jacket and tie. I'd send a check instead. Losers.

  • A lot of those do-it-yourself legal services have been shut down for "practicing law without a license".

    I believe you have to walk a fine line when you present legal information for public consumption.

    Perhaps just hosting this type of service outside of the legal jurisdiction its for would be enough.

    ----

  • here ya are... just dumped 100 bones in the bucket... lets see 999 more messages like this, or whatever you can give.. i Iz a Graduat, but rmembre the pancook and macroon & cheez daize.. i think they might need to go into court with some equip. and demonstrate the bit for bit dvd copy to drive home the point regarding ("encryption" ne "copy protection"), also to show that DeCSS does play videos on the Linux platform.. cats out o the bag whats the point on the keys at this juncture?.. i was gonna say, lets just pay for a license to the control board, but the whole concept is to control the player market.. what a smoke and mirror job.. sheesh

    cheers,
    bsqtsnfr

  • The situations you refered to involve FOR PROFIT advice presented in a way that was found to be intentionally misleading.

    I think your statements that there is something wrong with writing a brief or drafting legislation are way off mark. It is quite common for non-lawyers to submit such writings.

    You cross the line only when you attempt to profit from giving legal advice.
  • One place that is trying to create legal arguments in an open forum is:
    http://eon.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/
    maybe they would be interested in using this as a test case?

    While I appreciate the legal effort the EFF has been putting towards the defense, I think the best way to help is to donate time, code or cash to open source code in general, mainly since our opponents will always have more lawyers than we will, we should fight where they can't. To donate cash, the FSF, US tax deductible charity is at:
    http://www.fsf.org/fsf/fsf.html

    By the way, is there an equivalent tax deductible open source software oriented charity in Canada?

  • Where can I have a half dozen pizzas sent?

    (with a bill, of course...)

    Motion Picture Association of America
    15503 Ventura Blvd.
    Encino, CA 91436


    ---
  • Is anybody working on a demostration for the Oscars? They allways have TV cameras outside to show the stars arriving. There are usually a lot of autograph seeking fans in the shots. Couldn't some LA area Hackers join the crowd?
  • Okay, so there is a Dress Code. Just work on making this code be usable also.
  • I work just down the street. I plan to be there though I think I'll drag the suit downtown on a hanger. If anyone want's to meet before hand, let me know...

    srbrown@nyx.net
    Sean Brown
    Linux Evangelist
    "I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours." - Bob D.
  • Keep in mind - the EFF lawyers had just hours to prepare a defense. Read the transcripts: they were basically caught off balance (quite literally; remember they had just completed the preliminary injunction hearing in DVD-CCA v. Everybody) and eviscerated by the MPAA's attorneys, who had several weeks to do their homework.

    This time disparity will go away at trial, and then you'll see the same team in action that helped kill the CDA. It'll be a spectacular fight, and the more cash the EFF has to fight it, the better we'll all fare in the long run.

  • I just mailed openlaw pointing at this thread and asking them to contact the EFF. For what it's worth. A few more mails to both parties might be in order if anybody else is serious about seeing this happen.

    Consciousness is not what it thinks it is
    Thought exists only as an abstraction
  • I'm about 300 miles from Minneapolis, but I'd find time to go to an event there if we could get one arranged. Let's do it!
  • Success, success, success!. Tonight I attended my first 2600 meeting. For many, in Campbell, CA(near San Jose, CA) it was their first as well. Everyone was upset about DeCSS for a variety of reasons. Myself, I felt the MPAA, was committing fraud and attacking the first amendment. If you look at the back of a DVD movie case you will see no mention of the license terms and thus a reasonable person would assume that if they purchase/rent the disc that they can play it back with whatever player they own(be it a $1000 sony unit or an open-source linux player based on DeCSS). So I, being the libertarian, took to the streets to fight against fraud and the assault on the first amendment rights of those seeking to expose this fraud and how to circumvent it. One of my partners in flyer distribution, a socialist, sought to stop the MPAA from creating a monopoly on DVD players. So here were two people, with different points of view on various issues coming together to protest a greater evil. We had no problem distributing the flyers all throughout downtown Campbell in video stores, bars, restaurants, or just to passerbys on the street. We were very polite to people and asked if we could "give them a flyer". Very few people said no. Some wished to discuss the issue further, so we were prepared to present our point of view and we encouraged them to visit the websites to get as much information as possible before they made up their own minds. The only business that asked us to stop distributing flyers was Barnes and Noble. However, they were very polite in their request and we were very polite in leaving. Keep the fight going on many fronts and we should have success.
    Stuart Eichert
  • Why couldn't they make it friday? Plane fares are so much higher during the week! If it was friday, I'd glady fly in friday afternoon, make a weekend of it and contribute $200!
  • Anyone here have a big place in Minneapolis? We could have our own bash and contribute the proceeds to EFF.
  • ESR specifically stated that he would not be giving money to charity except maybe if has to do with guns. I wouln't expect him to donate any money at all.
  • I got a reply email from Wendy Seltzer of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard (which runs Openlaw). She expressed interest in the idea of putting the DeCSS cases into the Openlaw forum. She said she would spread the word around the Berkman Center team and respond back to me soon.

    I also got a reply back from Stanton McCandlish of the EFF saying they were forwarding the suggestions to their legal staff.
  • It would have been nice to see the money go to something that would help more people. I frankly looks like a waste of money to me. Would be like fighting Sky television over illegally decoding pay tv.

    Ofcourse, he can give it any way he likes, but then gates gives away money and it's always "oh, but he has so much money", AC gives it away, and it's like, it doesn't matter, it's Alan Cox!
  • Maybe he'll send me a sack of cash in the mail?!

    Dear An Ominous Cow Herd, I contacted him and he told me that he will send you a bag full of little green things... a bac full ofgrass of course ;)

  • University of MN? I dunno, would they let us have a fundraiser anywhere there?
  • Dear An Ominous Cow Herd, I contacted him and he told me that he will send you a bag full of little green things... a bac full ofgrass of course ;)

    Grass, eh? Did he mention whether it would be a dime bag or a sixty dollar bag?
    ---

  • GPL (Score:1)

    by hoss10 ( 108367 )
    We need some kindof license to stop this corporatism (suits and ties)

    Something along the lines of "we don't care what you were as long as you don't diss our clothes"

    Jon Katz should write something about how this suits are Borg-ising us :-)

    Here's my mirror, where's your's

  • sorry this link was broken the first time We need some kindof license to stop this corporatism (suits and ties)

    Something along the lines of "we don't care what you were as long as you don't diss our clothes"

    Jon Katz should write something about how this suits are Borg-ising us :-)

    Here's my mirror, where's your's [queen-of-outer-space.com]

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