GB wrote:
> Technically, yes, but that's not what the article says. They've
> gone after one specific Usenet provider who happen to be squatting
> on the name '
usenet.com' and who happen to offer a 'binaries' service.
The RIAA says that
Usenet.com encourages its customers to commit copyright
infringement and furthermore, facilitates such actions with its
infrastructure. They've been asked by the RIAA to remove certain
copyrighted material yet have refused to do so. The only outwardly
apparent reaction by
Usenet.com in response to the litigation was to
remove claims on its web site's home page that users can download 'FREE'
music and movies and "all the best software for free".
If individual users can be prosecuted for a small amount of copyrighted
material on their home PC then surely a corporation with thousands of
terabytes of data is subject to the same?
> In practice, very few of the 'genuine' usenet providers (ie: the
> ones that provide it as a service,
The
Usenet.com affiliate 'terms of service' states that "...affiliates
must represent
Usenet.com in a lawful and ethical manner. You must stress
the SERVICE and not the OPPORTUNITY". My interpretation is that they're
concerned with affiliates selling the service for what it REALLY is -- an
illegal (and virtual anonymous) warez server making multimedia and
software illegally available for free. If affiliates sell the 'service',
then they're not making claims about the content. ItÂ’s like getting a
“massage” knowing that the service entails a whole lot more. The operators
of the service can maintain plausible deniability!
Brian wrote:
>> Do you think that there's a market for text Usenet services if binary
>> providers are forced to close shop?
I don't think that binaries will ever 'close shop'. There are plenty of
legitimate binary groups, such as alt.binaries.pictures.aviation.
GB wrote:
> Yes, there clearly is.
Absolutely! We're here at aus.aviation aren't we? The cost of providing a
text only Usenet service is next to nothing and can be run on spare
bandwidth meaning that its core users will ensure its continued
popularity... and for all intensive purposes you can service a few
thousand users at a relatively good speed on a crappy old PC and ADSL
connection.
I toyed with the idea of reselling binary services for a short time - and
still do from time-to-time - but the idea of reselling binary Usenet
providers really is akin to running a torrent search site. I may only be
selling the service (which is completely legal) but I'll still be
providing a gateway for warez-orientated users. People sign up for big
binary accounts for a reason.
Like it or not, I think Usenet as a means for disseminating illegal
content is around forever. Even if
Usenet.com were to close, there are
about a gazillion other Usenet providers that will provide precisely the
same service – often in an environment void of the legislated measures to
prevent such activity.
