OFF:<<== see? WARNING! the word NAPSTER appears in this post!-_-

[Paul Mather]

On Sat, 13 May 2000 DASLUD at AOL.COM wrote:

=> my main concern regarding napster [in my post from yesterday,] involved the
=> potentially-sinister implications of the phrase "hunted down and
=> blocked".....to the tune of over 317, 000 computers.
=>
=> ==>>and _none_ of y'all are troubled by this?

Not really, as it appears to be par for the course for Napster.  I guess
most people usually ignore MOTD files, but these two little lines in the
MOTD for the official site caused my eyebrows to raise a tad:

>>>>>
-- NO BOTS ARE ALLOWED ON THIS SERVICE.  IF YOU RUN ONE HERE, --
-- IT WILL BE BLOCKED AND YOUR IP WILL BE PERMANENTLY BANNED. --
<<<<<

I find it amusing that this routine blocking policy is quietly brushed
aside by Napster whilst rigtheous indignation surrounds those "hunted
down and blocked [for copying illegal files]."  (The thing is, bots can
be benign as well as harassing, but apparently they're all evil
according to Napster, so expell them...)

Besides, did they ban 317,000 computers or 317,000 users?  If the
latter, surely the 317,000 can simply re-register under a new name and
carry on business as usual?  If the former, then they are unfairly
discriminating against people on multi-user systems and those behind
firewalls!

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production
 deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
        --- Frank Vincent Zappa