They shut off my internet. Now I have no porn. Help me please. (1163 hits)
Category: NoneRating: -0.13 on 40 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (View user info) at 2007-01-27 06:23:03 EST
So I have a quick question for all you law-literate Uberites out there.
Right after the UberMadness shenanigans today, the internet in my dorm got shut off, because apparently they found out I "pirated" some stuff. The material in question was four episodes of Saturday Night Live.
Before I go into any more detail:
1) Yes. Piracy is bad. I'm an idiot. No need to go into that.
2) It was new SNL, which is actually OK, now that Horatio Sanz is gone and Josh Myers took over as head writer. Plus, I must honor my love of Andy Sandberg.
Anyways. I immediately fired off an email to the guy in charge of internet access, asking how he could punish me for downloading what is in essence a free show. As it comes in on basic network TV, flying through the airwaves right now, it doesn't seem to matter whether I download it or just record it with my VCR. Either way, I can have a copy of the show, and it really doesn't cost anyone a dime.
He argued that while I'm not stealing anything now, in essence I'm stealing future DVD sales away.
So my question is, does the copyright infringement, in this case, have any real merit? Basically, it seems like I'm being punished for stealing something that doesn't exist yet. Hardly seems fair.
So yeah. Anybody with any true knowledge on the matter have an insight?
User Reviews
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-01-29 17:12:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-01-29 09:49:25 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2007-01-27 17:10:07 (#)
Ranking: 0
P2P traffic takes up a ridiculous amount of network bandwidth, creates a lot of work for administrators, and gets in the way of other people trying to do real work. As a campus policy, P2P usage should generally be disallowed, although shutting off your account seems a bit extreme unless you're a repeat offender.
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dont you have homework to do?
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2007-01-29 13:07:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2007-01-29 03:01:29 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2007-01-28 20:20:16 (#)
Ranking: -2
You should have known better, all university's monitor bandwidth usage and single out those using P2P software. I know a few people who had their accounts "restricted" to usage in computer labs only, and that was undergrad and four years ago.
_________
And this is relevant because?
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It's relevant because I was stating an example of how this is nothing new, and anybody intelligent enough to get into college should know better. The whole gist of the post expresses surprise that these kinds of policies are in place and enforced harshly. When, in fact, it is well known that many institutions don't take kindly to P2P usage, and will be what many consider "heavy handed" in their tactics when dealing with offenders.
Idiot
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-01-29 09:49:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2007-01-27 17:10:07 (#)
Ranking: 0
P2P traffic takes up a ridiculous amount of network bandwidth, creates a lot of work for administrators, and gets in the way of other people trying to do real work. As a campus policy, P2P usage should generally be disallowed, although shutting off your account seems a bit extreme unless you're a repeat offender.
Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2007-01-29 03:01:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2007-01-28 20:20:16 (#)
Ranking: -2
You should have known better, all university's monitor bandwidth usage and single out those using P2P software. I know a few people who had their accounts "restricted" to usage in computer labs only, and that was undergrad and four years ago.
_________
And this is relevant because?
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-01-29 02:34:58 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2007-01-28 20:20:16 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
You should have known better, all university's monitor bandwidth usage and single out those using P2P software. I know a few people who had their accounts "restricted" to usage in computer labs only, and that was undergrad and four years ago.
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2007-01-28 06:16:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, up in the C9 apartments the wireless is really horrible, but can be done if you're devoted enough.
Took me a while, but I got that going too.
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2007-01-28 01:34:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
hmm I didn't read beyond the title so my reply has nothing to do with your question, but heed my advice anyway
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2007-01-28 01:32:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
well since you go to my school and I live with a resnet employee, I'm the only one you should listen to. if you have a wireless card, use that to connect to a wireless router, that will sidestep the ethernet ID ban. if you don't have a wireless card, google how to change your MAC address and do it. I got banned twice in the last week, once through my ethernet and once through my wireless card, yet I'm still posting
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2007-01-27 20:54:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Shit like what bart and Cyrus are telling me is what I was after. And I guess the commercial-based logic makes sense, though I wish the admin had actually said that instead of what he did.
Most people on campus have come to the conclusion that he's a fucktard anyways.
Anyways, whatever. We set up a router from a different account, so the situation has been effectively circumvented.
Thanks to you guys who have legitimately been trying to help. If I had to keep going back to that stupid computer lab with the Apples from 2001, I woulda died.
Submitted by Cyrus (user info) at 2007-01-27 18:03:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2007-01-27 17:10:07 (#)
Ranking: 0
This doesn't have anything to do with copyright law. The guy in your dorm is not the federal government, so he cannot be responsible for determining whether you are or are not in violation.
Either way, in this instance, you are not necessarily responsible for any copyright infringement. The person who had it available for download is breaking the law because - originally free or not - you can't redistribute copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder.
In reality, nobody would sue you for downloading last week's SNL, so it doesn't really matter whether it's legal or not. The campus network probably (justifiably) has a more stringent stance on the issue than federal law does. P2P traffic takes up a ridiculous amount of network bandwidth, creates a lot of work for administrators, and gets in the way of other people trying to do real work. As a campus policy, P2P usage should generally be disallowed, although shutting off your account seems a bit extreme unless you're a repeat offender.
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1st paragraph: Off base. The federal goverment? What do they have to do with it, other than copyright law being "federal" law? The federal government doesn't pursue copyright infringement, copyright holders pursure copyright infringement.
2nd para.: "The person who had it available for download is breaking the law because" I'm not following you. Is there a third party involved? I don;t see that from FAC's post.
3rd para: True dat. The network administrator(s) are just being fussy. Although it probably has less to do with bandwidth and more to do with university policy about donwloading stuff from the web and piracy.
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2007-01-27 17:35:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
bart, as always, is the voice of reason.
either way you need to do what the bobs tell you.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2007-01-27 17:10:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
This doesn't have anything to do with copyright law. The guy in your dorm is not the federal government, so he cannot be responsible for determining whether you are or are not in violation.
Either way, in this instance, you are not necessarily responsible for any copyright infringement. The person who had it available for download is breaking the law because - originally free or not - you can't redistribute copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder.
In reality, nobody would sue you for downloading last week's SNL, so it doesn't really matter whether it's legal or not. The campus network probably (justifiably) has a more stringent stance on the issue than federal law does. P2P traffic takes up a ridiculous amount of network bandwidth, creates a lot of work for administrators, and gets in the way of other people trying to do real work. As a campus policy, P2P usage should generally be disallowed, although shutting off your account seems a bit extreme unless you're a repeat offender.
Submitted by Cyrus (user info) at 2007-01-27 15:51:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kaioken (user info) at 2007-01-27 10:39:42 (#)
Ranking: 0
If I remember the law correctly on this, you are allowed to timeslip television and radio, meaning you can record the show yourself for viewing later. You are even allowed to make copies of cds, dvds, etc. you have purchase for backup purposes. You are NOT allowed to distribute this media in any form.
With that said, the university owns your internet connection is allowed determine what they constitute as means for removal of service. The law is rather cut and dry on that. If the university was singling you out and shut off ONLY your internet connection while others got away with it, you would have a case. I seriously doubt that is what's happening here though.
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This is the only cogent advice you've recieved so far and it is essentially correct.
Otherwise, with the possible exception of nanman99, the advice has been massively stupid or completely off point.
Submitted by Still-Life (user info) at 2007-01-27 15:45:12 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:34:25 (#)
Ranking: 0
Call his boss. Give him the line that bob below stated over and over, while acting all indignant like the cavemen in the Geico commercials.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:12:06 (#)
Ranking: 0
tell him you need the fucking internet for school and youre not paying $20,000 per year so that you couldnt complete youre fucking classes.
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That doesn't mean shit. If you get caught doing something wrong, you're punished.
If I run around and murder people, my rights as a US citizen are revoked and I goto prison. Right?
If I run around pirating shit from my dorm using their internet connection then get caught.. I'm going to get my shit revoked, right?
That's like buying a car, redlining it all the time, missing the maintenance scheduled, having it break down and blaming the dealer when they wont deal with you because you're an idiot and you fucked up.
So what's the problem. Don't stick your cock under the guillotine unless you understand the risk of getting it cut the fuck off.
At the very least be discreet about it or know your Admin so you can bribe with beer/pot/women.
Submitted by kaioken (user info) at 2007-01-27 15:33:15 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Buy a verizon aircard and quit being a baby.
Also, read the contract next time. I bet a hundred bucks the university made it VERY clear this wasnt allowed when you signed up for the service.
Submitted by homer42 (user info) at 2007-01-27 15:02:10 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Yes you're an idiot for getting caught. Pirate everything, fuck the record companies and movie studios.
What you did is still pirating because you circumvented all the commercials those assholes are trying to ram down your throat. They own the copyright so they are allowed to authorize or not authorize certain types of distribution. Downloading from the internet is not authorized.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:57:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Last night I fell in love again and I didn't think I could
I thought by now I was probably over that for good
With too much on my mind, too many things to do
Then last night I fell in love again with you
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:54:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
My logic says you're fine. The law, however doesn't follow my logic. You probably wouldn't have bought the dvd anyways, right?
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:34:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Call his boss. Give him the line that bob below stated over and over, while acting all indignant like the cavemen in the Geico commercials.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:12:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
tell him you need the fucking internet for school and youre not paying $20,000 per year so that you couldnt complete youre fucking classes.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:11:05 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Are you attending Porn University, or trying to get an education?
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2007-01-27 12:06:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Doesn't matter if it's legal or not if it violates your ToS
Submitted by lechuza (user info) at 2007-01-27 11:52:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
blow the admin already and get over with it
Submitted by NANMAN99 (user info) at 2007-01-27 11:45:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I dunno but you certainly are a tedious cuntoid.
So you felt you needed to rush off to the internet cafe to post this shite.
I think you should go without internet for a while. It will do you the world
of good - give that tossing arm a break, heh?
Submitted by DeathJester (user info) at 2007-01-27 11:43:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-01-27 08:26:21 (#)
Ranking: 0
What I wanna know is how the fuck did they know you downloaded those files? If they are monitoring your internet usage in your dorm i'm pretty sure its a violation of privacy.
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They knew because the uni OWNES (posession, now PWN) the connection he's using. He just leases a portion of the bandwidth. His T&C's will state he mustn't use the connection to use P2P networks or download copyrighted material he's not the right holder to or licensed by the rights holder to have a copy of.
Submitted by kaioken (user info) at 2007-01-27 10:39:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
If I remember the law correctly on this, you are allowed to timeslip television and radio, meaning you can record the show yourself for viewing later. You are even allowed to make copies of cds, dvds, etc. you have purchase for backup purposes. You are NOT allowed to distribute this media in any form.
With that said, the university owns your internet connection is allowed determine what they constitute as means for removal of service. The law is rather cut and dry on that. If the university was singling you out and shut off ONLY your internet connection while others got away with it, you would have a case. I seriously doubt that is what's happening here though.
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-01-27 10:03:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
steal wireless
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2007-01-27 09:21:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I got sick of reading your shit and made one phone call. Case closed.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-01-27 08:48:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
FaC- While in this case it sounds like it's still a school issue and not a legal one, you can probably find information about your rights (and maybe some insight on how to defend yourself to them) here:
http://www.eff.org/
Submitted by pannerplant (user info) at 2007-01-27 08:29:53 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
no admin is going to waste their time checking out with porn sites this little freak and his dorm buddies have been viewing, they don't actively monitor anything, they would have gotten a letter from the studio saying he was downloading the part of the torrent file off a dummy seed set up by the studio, would have given the date and time and possibly the machine name of the computer doing it, and threatened the admin with a lawsuit unless he deals with it on his end
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-01-27 08:26:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
What I wanna know is how the fuck did they know you downloaded those files? If they are monitoring your internet usage in your dorm i'm pretty sure its a violation of privacy.
Submitted by DeathJester (user info) at 2007-01-27 08:15:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Big corporations really only ever go after other businesses or universities over copyright infringement, as they have the money to actually pay out the outrageous figures they claim as "consequential loss" instead of just declaring themselves bankrupt and giving the business the finger.
I'm afraid you're boned, mate. Those "free" network channels are funded by advertising, and by not allowing adverts to be shown (i.e. watching the show without adverts) you're effectively stealing the money made by those commercials being sold.
Now, if it was off a channel that you paid a subscription to... You'd still be shafted legally, but depending on the cost of the subscription you may feel better morally.
Either way, your internet is gone and it's up to The Man if you get it back. Check your usage policy.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2007-01-27 07:37:30 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
oh, and also: Nobody really cares.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2007-01-27 07:36:45 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
of course it does. Whilst you may say that network TV is 'free', every time you sit through a commercial you are, in a roundabout sort of way, 'paying' for it.
And I'm guessing your downloaded episodes of SNL don't include the adverts.
Submitted by pannerplant (user info) at 2007-01-27 07:34:00 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Piracy is theft, you are stealing from those artists while enjoying what they contribute to the world, I hope you get the chair
Submitted by frankthebear (user info) at 2007-01-27 06:49:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
that guy is full of shit, "dvd" sales my ass, they only ever make compilations of skits featuring certain cast members, not whole episodes. FIGHT THE SYSTEM! NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT FOR TRULY INDEPENDANT CINEMA!
Submitted by Ducky (user info) at 2007-01-27 06:41:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No clue, but that sucks.
Submitted by 8track (user info) at 2007-01-27 06:37:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
college is for fags anyway
Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2007-01-27 06:24:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I have no knowledge if thats legit or not but tell him to fuck off