If you’d actually taken the time to express yourself in a calm and clear manner, people would give you more respect, and be more open to your opinions. Instead you chose to act immature and have no ones respect.

-Even that won’t work… mod chips anyone?

Clue 1: Argues as though digital music is a rival good when, in fact, it’t basically the definition of non-rival. Music can be copied an unlimited number of times without cost and without affecting the ability of the original holder to enjoy it.

Clue 2: Assumes a copyright is property when, in fact, it’s not. Copyright is a power given to Congress by the Constitution as a tool of public policy, to be used to enhance the public good. The specific intent was that it be used to counteract the price tension created by non-rivalness–to give an incentive (a temporary monopoly) to create new works. It is perhaps ironic that for many years after its founding (indeed, until the 20th century), the United States was one of the great centers of piracy of the works of the rest of the world.

Clue 3: Defines copyright infringement as theft or stealing, when it’s not. Although, that thought is a conspicuous part of the RIAA’s disinformation campaign.

Clue 4: Resorts to questioning the goodness of a vague group of people to distract from the fact the rest of his argument is a mindless tantrum.

Clue 5: Immunizes himself against response by writing so obnoxiously that everyone cringes at the possibility of trading emails with this sad sack.

You’re a credit to the “artists” you represent. Keep it up!

The issue here is not whether it’s wrong to steal copyrighted material – I think most of us agree that depriving artists of the money they need to feed their families is a bad thing.

There seem to be two valid points that the anti-DRM people are making:

1. DRM is an attempt to prevent consumers from doing things that are perfectly innocent and morally reasonable. Say I want to copy a DVD so that my kids can play it and scratch it up all they like, while I keep the original locked away. Oh, I can’t. DRM. Or how about if I’d like to listen to that new CD I just bought on my iPod, and maybe load it onto the MP3 jukebox in my car. Sorry, can’t do that, because Sony DRMed the CD. **** that, I’ll have to go download an MP3 of it from somewhere…

2. DRM is never, ever going to do more than slightly slow the spread of copied music via p2p or other means. Until Sony or some other mega-corporation can install DRM into every single recording and playback device (and maybe inside our heads too), it’s always going to be possible to copy music one way or another. File-sharing is so ubiquitous now that people don’t even bother to rip the CDs they own – they just download a copy someone else has ripped. All it takes is one person somewhere with the skill or patience to bypass the DRM. So DRM is really just a last-ditch attempt to claw back some of the revenue being lost by the ‘major’ artists and their labels.

Or maybe not. Geniuses are *so* quirky!

Hmm. I guess the consumer “experience” of having a large blunt stick shoved under your tail while being told you like it is good!

No?