Editing 488: Steal This Comic
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
| title = Steal This Comic | | title = Steal This Comic | ||
| image = steal_this_comic.png | | image = steal_this_comic.png | ||
− | | titletext = I spent more time trying to get an audible.com audiobook playing than it took to listen to the book. I have lost every other piece of DRM-locked music that I ever paid for. | + | | titletext = I spent more time trying to get an audible.com audiobook playing than it took to listen to the book. I have lost every other piece of DRM-locked music that I ever paid for. |
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | {{w|DRM}}, | + | {{w|DRM}}, that is, "Digital Rights Management," is a recent (to this day) anti-piracy mechanism that is used to prevent unapproved or unintended use of the program. An example would be a requirement to play the game while online (where the servers can validate the game), or again, allowing only a limited amount of installs. The problem is that there are ways that DRM can be restrictive even upon legal situations. (To derivate from the aforementioned examples, someone may simply want to play the game in an area where there is no Internet connection, or again, someone may had exceeded the amount of allowed installs due to installation problems or hardware malfunctions requiring the purchase of new hardware.) In the situation placed in the above comic, one can not, say, transfer the audiobook or song from an iPod to a Blackberry phone, even if the song was only to share between family, or again, to have a backup. For this reason, DRM has gotten another (rather-accurate) name: [http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ "Digital Restrictions Management."] |
− | [[Black Hat]] | + | Here, [[Black Hat]] proposes two paths: |
− | + | ::If you pirate the audio (that is, download them through other sites), you would not only be breaking the law (more specifically, copyright laws), but neither the publisher nor the performer nor the composer get any money from your gain. However, not only you would have gotten the audio for free (or at least at a substantial discount, since you may have to pay a third-party site for access to the pirated audio), but all DRM would have been broken or simply not present (since defeating the DRM is required to acquire the audio in the first place), so you can use the songs in whatever way you would like. | |
− | + | ::If you buy the DRM-locked audio, you would be complying with the law, plus the publisher, performer, and composer would get money for their work. However, suppose that your computer got lost, broken or stolen. Or again, you could be switching to an operating system or upgrade to a new computer that does not support iTunes. In this case, you would not be able to access your collection due to the new hardware/software. If you try to recover your collection by breaking the DRM, you would be violating the law, albeit a different one, even if the reason you want to break the DRM is to recover the collection for which you paid, thus therefore legally own. | |
− | Since both situations have you end up being a criminal, Black Hat proposes taking the pirate path, which leaves you with a collection of dependable audio for free | + | Since both situations have you end up being a criminal, Black Hat proposes taking the pirate path, which leaves you with a collection of dependable audio for (almost?) free. |
− | + | Of course, there are at least a couple of alternatives to the situations that Black Hat proposes. | |
− | + | ::You can simply re-buy the DRM-locked audio when unfortunate things do happen. That way, you would always be complying with the law. However, not only you would be required to pay multiple times for the same audio you legally own, but there is no guarantee that the audio you want is available the next time you need to make the purchase. In fact, [http://www.naturalnews.com/026675_Amazon_DRM_Big_Brother.html there is always the possibility of the service that provided you with the audio in the first place withdrawing the item you legally bought.] | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | ::You can simply avoid buying the audio, but, if you are inclined towards audio plus there is no other legal way to buy the song, this would not be a pleasant solution (especially if you really like the song). | |
− | + | In light of this, [[Randall]] proposes a 5th option: demanding DRM-free files. | |
− | + | The title is a reference both to Black Hat's suggestion to pirate the audio and the [http://web.archive.org/web/20080913131048/http://www.piracyisacrime.com/ "Piracy is a Crime"] ad campaign, as well as a 1970 pro-anarchy book called ''{{w|Steal This Book}}''. There is some underlying humour: since xkcd [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ is under a Creative Commons license], you can not "steal" the comic, since Randall specifically allowed the comic to be shared. | |
− | + | A note on the site says that [http://www.amazon.com| Amazon] sells DRM-free music files. | |
− | |||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
:Black Hat: Thinking of buying from audible.com or iTunes? | :Black Hat: Thinking of buying from audible.com or iTunes? | ||
− | :Black Hat: Remember, if you pirate something, it | + | :Black Hat: Remember, if you pirate something, it's yours for life. You can take it anywhere and it will always work. |
− | :[There is a flowchart whose paths are (You're a Criminal) | + | :[There is a flowchart whose paths are (You're a Criminal)<-Pirate<-(Buy or Pirate)->Buy->(Things Change)->(You Try to Recover Your Collection)->(You're a Criminal)] |
:Black Hat: But if you buy DRM-locked media, and you ever switch operating systems or new technology comes along, your collection could be lost. | :Black Hat: But if you buy DRM-locked media, and you ever switch operating systems or new technology comes along, your collection could be lost. | ||
− | :Black Hat: And if you try to keep it, you | + | :Black Hat: And if you try to keep it, you'll be a criminal (DMCA 1201). |
:Black Hat: So remember: if you want a collection you can count on, PIRATE IT. | :Black Hat: So remember: if you want a collection you can count on, PIRATE IT. | ||
:Black Hat: Hey, you'll be a criminal either way. | :Black Hat: Hey, you'll be a criminal either way. | ||
:(If you don't like this, demand DRM-free files) | :(If you don't like this, demand DRM-free files) | ||
− | {{comic discussion}} | + | {{comic discussion}} |
− | [[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat | + | <!-- Include any categories below this line--> |
− | + | ||
− | + | [[Category: Comics featuring Black Hat]] |