You don't actually need to DDOS their servers. Just let the pirates ALL attempt to login/authenticate at the same time: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/04/demigod-hit-by-massive-piracy-review-scores-take-beating.ars Probably after this they'd have learnt that lesson though.

Small retailers: "Our earnings/profits are going down! Now we have to close!" RIAA: *points finger at piracy*

You made a really good point there. How many accidents could be avoided if people just bothered to check where they were going before changing lanes/cutting traffic? As of now, those idiots are driving hazardously yet get away scot-free just because everyone else seems to be 'speeding'. As long as they're the ones who get rear-ended.. which isn't hard as long as they go 'oh, I didn't see anybody there'.

That's all well and good until you have a LAN party which has a crappy/non-existent connection to BNet. I'm certainly not taking a hit on my own experience to give Blizzard a bone to protect their IP. Not especially since there are so many other better ways to tackle piracy.. And don't get me started about me being a pirate, I've bought pretty much all of their games since SC1. Except WoW which I refuse to play.

I'm not a fan of the loli-genre of manga/anime (and definitely not of the 3D equivalents), but I don't really see how being "in possession" of those drawings could harm anyone. I mean, those drawings could well be keeping people with those tastes too occupied to do anything beyond the confines in their own room, away from the children (hopefully)... and that can't be that bad of a thing, right?

I set up my OS X with all the hot corners activating the expose function, and set the touchpad to very high sensitivity. Hilarity ensues, and few want to borrow my laptop just to check email (unless they're kind of desperate). I also become an anti-mac evangelist as people perceive it to be too hard to use.

"A respected American think-tank, Nemertes Research, reports the Web has reached a critical point."

Given the content of the actual article, the past tense is really appropriate now.

I'm fairly aware of that. Just that the FAQ doesn't actually seem to say anything about it going to disappear. It was implemented "in order to allow for certain joke achievements, but the system itself is a real one". So maybe some of the joke achievements may disappear, but the rest of it actually might stay. Maybe.

nothing indicates that it would be gone April 2nd..?

It's better than all the limited availability nonsense the movie industry tends to pull.