Hopefully you already read Part1 of my tale or Part2 may seem mildly tarded. Remember belief has been temporarily suspended, and you are reading this as intended (about a month ago). Allow me to take you back in time and set the stage. Newzbin was NO MORE, and on that day, the prediction was NZB clones would begin popping up using the stolen codebase from the original site. Now we know that is not how it played out. Reading on Newzbin2's Site News today it appears that closely controlled Clone Wars could indeed be what they are preparing for strategically as a Plan C ...Plan B being in effect right now. Well "Wars" may be the wrong word, since Clones would all apparently be operated, in some manner, by Team R Dogs.
It sounds however like a call to War ...Warrior Starfish threatening, "if you continue to cut me up I will come back multiplied!" Newzbin.com requires an account which usenetSHACK cannot provide, but here's an excerpt from the current Newbin2's "Site News" from June 6th, 2010;
We are prepared for our servers to be grabbed: we have multiple backups of the site and its databases both offsite, and on large USB drives distributed among friends. We are preparing backup sites (though these are not yet functional) and we have plan for new domains if our rented domain name gets yanked. We are in fast-flux mode.
Read into it what you will, but Team R Dogs are dedicated hard-core bad asses. Some might say it's ultimately alt.binaries the Industry wants gone. That equates more to the Industry attempting to battle the Hydra than whacking a pesky starfish, and that makes going after Newzbin equate to trying to defeat the Hydra with repeated kicks to Hydra's crotch, which is just cruel and ineffectual ...but I digress to the familiar. Ok here we go. No 3D glasses this time... come on lets get 1.21 jiga-watty wid it!
~~~~~Hot-box Time Travel Engage~~~~~WhoAoa~~~~~~~~~~~
BoDark - Intro Part2
Dear Survivors,
Greetings again from BoDark your Grief Counselor here on usenetSHACK. Together let us give some respect for the Brave in their passing. The loss and shock of Newzbin closing it's doors cuts deep, so join us in pouring a little beer on the ground for the slain (under appeal) brethren. Walk with us as we progress through the 5 Stages of Grieving, because this 2nd stage, ANGER, is the scariest. So, gather around boys and girls and let PappaBo tell a Tale of Old, about USENET back in the day ...back when they called it a "newsreader", because you actually read and wrote stuff on there. Whaat? That's right kids, I know, it's really scary being old ...so don't pour ALL that beer on the ground. Besides we need to toast the Phoenix rising from the ashes, cheers to the Team R Dogs!
I remember shortly after Windows 95 was released (and pterodactyls flew the skies!), those wacky Netscape guys had come to Market with a stable, usable, Internet "Browser" for Windows that let you see pictures on the Internet via something called HTML (O M G Thar's neked wymen on that Web!) Boxes with Netscape Navigator 2.0 sat on bookstore shelves ready to bring the masses online for $50 US ...until Microsoft offered Internet Explorer as a free download for Windows 95! dOiNk ...a wee bump in Netscape's plan for profitability, and a law suit that went on for years.
What choice did the Netscape crew have, but to move forward, to come up with other financial models for being profitable in the New World they indeed spearheaded? I don't have to tell you how the resulting "Free" business model has mutated over the last 15 years. AcK! What would we do if our fav social networking site decided to charge a monthly fee?
"Want to see those posts on your Wall? Go Gold!" (I told you this was gonna get ScArY~!)
"Free" is rarely free (waving to advertisers) ...OK never, so more about our Group Expectation for "Free" everything in a future article.
Tales of the Undead
Zombie Technology
I could also go on how Sony fought Betamax/VHS for similar reasons, and how in the end, a whole new market for home entertainment was created ...temporarily <waving bubye to B-buster>. You could say it made Sony incredibly rich against their own plans to crush the Home Video revolution. Here's my point; the world is unpredictable, and truly Darwinian. Survival of the Fittest is a brutally fine-tuned process ...if it can eat you, it will, and sometimes you just get plain lucky even against your own best efforts. Other times, just as you think you have it mastered, some new crazy shit comes along to eat you.
The important concept to hold onto here are the words "stable" and "usable", these are the modern characteristics of technological survivability. The real reason Netscape dominated for 5+ years in the late 90's is the same reason folks support Newzbin. It simply works ...but the genius that makes software like Netscape and Newzbin so powerfully simple, should never be taken for granted. They are both examples of our Global Group Creative Conscienceness advancing us, as a species, one notch up the Evolutionary Scale. Well maybe Netscape more so than Newzbin, but yes, that's right, I just said Newzbin shaved one degree of monkeyness off each and every one of us. Because of Newzbin, we were for a time, smarter and faster.
"...I have cubs to feed, but did he just say LAWYER!? Circle C? Is that the Game Preserve where none of the creatures are edible?"
Can we truly legislate against a company's technological challenge or possible demise? Is blocking the evolution of something faster and smarter, or God help us, FREE, even wise!? It's clear that the artistic folks who create music, or write software, or bring movie concepts to life deserve to make their money, and seek ways to retain their somewhat ethereal property, but their world has changed. They have undeniably moved from an Artistic world of paper and canvas and celluloid, to a technologically omnipotent digitized Universe. Piracy is clearly against the law, for obvious reason, but do they get to legislate a guaranteed foundation for an unchallengeable, unchanging old-world business model?
A final verdict is still out on Newzbin (appeal), although the Industry claims a Round One victory. These legal precedents are somewhat new however, and that automatically leaves a gray area open for interpretation and challenge. It seems to me as we traverse this Undiscovered Veldt of Technology, both sides are making it up as they go along. Is this a time for an "Off with their heads!" legal spirit? Can the obvious Darwinism of a "Wild" Technology Market sustain itself under...
"I drew up this agreement that the Sands of Time are indeed concrete!"
That's kinda silly. I cannot condone piracy, but I cannot condone starving furless lions either. It's unnatural. The endgame for all is unforeseeable, but because of lawyers the path is littered with bald anorexic lions ...and that's just sad. Especially when just few weeks ago some were reigning Kings of the Jungle!
So? ANGER you ask? ...no not the visual of the lions (Cat-people! jeeez) The Newzbin crew delivered something we all relied on, but the Market changed and they lost their financial footing and we suffered a great loss. This is a death from which there is no return for the original Newzbin. We are left here with jaws dropped, "Did you see that Gazelle kick that lion's ass?! ...well he had a lawyer." This Newzbin event/trend represents a watershed marker posing a direct challenge to our desire for an otherwise freely evolving Internet World. We have been lessened. Yes, that's right, I just said the MPA has made monkeys out of us.
The Wild trembles at the promise of the coming NZB Clone Wars. Shutting down Newzbin may have been the stupidest thing ever attempted by the Powers-That-Be. It doesn't take genius or X-ray vision to see the gears turning. The opportunity and demand are palpable. They may have lopped off one of Hydra's heads, but is there one free country left to give refuge to Newzbin's multiple successors? A new bastion of (almost) free indexed knowledge and power? Someone brave enough, smart enough, and tricky enough? Time will tell. Stage 3 of grieving is BARGAINING, which I would say we have also passed through. Unfortunately, Stage 4 is DEPRESSION, but don't worry kids UncleBo can find the funny in that too, so come back for more as the usenetSHACK tracks this story as a News item and I shine some of that Dark light on the deeper meaning between the lines.
<Time Machine: /OFF>
Well my peeps, I can't say I'll be delivering a Part 3, as the "current event" feel of this vehicle is dead. In part2, I said Newzbin could not recover. I was wrong ...thankfully. We move forward, wait and watch. You can hear the lions roaring in the distance in this virtual Veldt we call usenetSHACK. Important things are taking shape. Reading on Newsbin2's Site it's clear they are throwing down the gauntlet. They demonstrate the belief that they are only delivering what other Search Engines deliver with impunity, and they are willing to fight tooth and nail to keep their creation alive. Respect! My future Commentary will focus on why Usenet is special, important, and endangered. If you have been paying attention, the Future is bright and the shades are 3D.
Til next time, Stay Legal! ...or at least use SSL
BoDark
[disclaimer: no critters where harmed in the fabrication of this BS.]
0 comments. Tags: commentary, newzbin, opinion, usenet.
Hot-Box TimeMachine part2
Welcome Back!
Hopefully you already read Part1 of my tale or Part2 may seem mildly tarded. Remember belief has been temporarily suspended, and you are reading this as intended (about a month ago). Allow me to take you back in time and set the stage. Newzbin was NO MORE, and on that day, the prediction was NZB clones would begin popping up using the stolen codebase from the original site. Now we know that is not how it played out. Reading on Newzbin2's Site News today it appears that closely controlled Clone Wars could indeed be what they are preparing for strategically as a Plan C ...Plan B being in effect right now. Well "Wars" may be the wrong word, since Clones would all apparently be operated, in some manner, by Team R Dogs.
It sounds however like a call to War ...Warrior Starfish threatening, "if you continue to cut me up I will come back multiplied!" Newzbin.com requires an account which usenetSHACK cannot provide, but here's an excerpt from the current Newbin2's "Site News" from June 6th, 2010;
Read into it what you will, but Team R Dogs are dedicated hard-core bad asses. Some might say it's ultimately alt.binaries the Industry wants gone. That equates more to the Industry attempting to battle the Hydra than whacking a pesky starfish, and that makes going after Newzbin equate to trying to defeat the Hydra with repeated kicks to Hydra's crotch, which is just cruel and ineffectual ...but I digress to the familiar. Ok here we go. No 3D glasses this time... come on lets get 1.21 jiga-watty wid it!
~~~~~Hot-box Time Travel Engage~~~~~WhoAoa~~~~~~~~~~~
BoDark - Intro Part2
Dear Survivors,
Greetings again from BoDark your Grief Counselor here on usenetSHACK. Together let us give some respect for the Brave in their passing. The loss and shock of Newzbin closing it's doors cuts deep, so join us in pouring a little beer on the ground for the slain (under appeal) brethren. Walk with us as we progress through the 5 Stages of Grieving, because this 2nd stage, ANGER, is the scariest. So, gather around boys and girls and let PappaBo tell a Tale of Old, about USENET back in the day ...back when they called it a "newsreader", because you actually read and wrote stuff on there. Whaat? That's right kids, I know, it's really scary being old ...so don't pour ALL that beer on the ground. Besides we need to toast the Phoenix rising from the ashes, cheers to the Team R Dogs!
I remember shortly after Windows 95 was released (and pterodactyls flew the skies!), those wacky Netscape guys had come to Market with a stable, usable, Internet "Browser" for Windows that let you see pictures on the Internet via something called HTML (O M G Thar's neked wymen on that Web!) Boxes with Netscape Navigator 2.0 sat on bookstore shelves ready to bring the masses online for $50 US ...until Microsoft offered Internet Explorer as a free download for Windows 95! dOiNk ...a wee bump in Netscape's plan for profitability, and a law suit that went on for years.
What choice did the Netscape crew have, but to move forward, to come up with other financial models for being profitable in the New World they indeed spearheaded? I don't have to tell you how the resulting "Free" business model has mutated over the last 15 years. AcK! What would we do if our fav social networking site decided to charge a monthly fee?
"Want to see those posts on your Wall? Go Gold!" (I told you this was gonna get ScArY~!)
"Free" is rarely free (waving to advertisers) ...OK never, so more about our Group Expectation for "Free" everything in a future article.
Tales of the Undead
Zombie Technology
I could also go on how Sony fought Betamax/VHS for similar reasons, and how in the end, a whole new market for home entertainment was created ...temporarily <waving bubye to B-buster>. You could say it made Sony incredibly rich against their own plans to crush the Home Video revolution. Here's my point; the world is unpredictable, and truly Darwinian. Survival of the Fittest is a brutally fine-tuned process ...if it can eat you, it will, and sometimes you just get plain lucky even against your own best efforts. Other times, just as you think you have it mastered, some new crazy shit comes along to eat you.
The important concept to hold onto here are the words "stable" and "usable", these are the modern characteristics of technological survivability. The real reason Netscape dominated for 5+ years in the late 90's is the same reason folks support Newzbin. It simply works ...but the genius that makes software like Netscape and Newzbin so powerfully simple, should never be taken for granted. They are both examples of our Global Group Creative Conscienceness advancing us, as a species, one notch up the Evolutionary Scale. Well maybe Netscape more so than Newzbin, but yes, that's right, I just said Newzbin shaved one degree of monkeyness off each and every one of us. Because of Newzbin, we were for a time, smarter and faster.
The Laws of Nature
Making Monkeys Out of Us
When you are bested, should a lawyer be able to jump in and save your hide? Can you imagine a gazelle stopping short in the lioness' path? "Stop! This is Assault! My lawyer is going to sue the fur off you!" Does the lioness take pause? She would if she were a modern-day Corporate Lion, and the gazelle was sporting that © Circle C brand.
"...I have cubs to feed, but did he just say LAWYER!? Circle C? Is that the Game Preserve where none of the creatures are edible?"
Can we truly legislate against a company's technological challenge or possible demise? Is blocking the evolution of something faster and smarter, or God help us, FREE, even wise!? It's clear that the artistic folks who create music, or write software, or bring movie concepts to life deserve to make their money, and seek ways to retain their somewhat ethereal property, but their world has changed. They have undeniably moved from an Artistic world of paper and canvas and celluloid, to a technologically omnipotent digitized Universe. Piracy is clearly against the law, for obvious reason, but do they get to legislate a guaranteed foundation for an unchallengeable, unchanging old-world business model?
A final verdict is still out on Newzbin (appeal), although the Industry claims a Round One victory. These legal precedents are somewhat new however, and that automatically leaves a gray area open for interpretation and challenge. It seems to me as we traverse this Undiscovered Veldt of Technology, both sides are making it up as they go along. Is this a time for an "Off with their heads!" legal spirit? Can the obvious Darwinism of a "Wild" Technology Market sustain itself under...
"I drew up this agreement that the Sands of Time are indeed concrete!"
That's kinda silly. I cannot condone piracy, but I cannot condone starving furless lions either. It's unnatural. The endgame for all is unforeseeable, but because of lawyers the path is littered with bald anorexic lions ...and that's just sad. Especially when just few weeks ago some were reigning Kings of the Jungle!
So? ANGER you ask? ...no not the visual of the lions (Cat-people! jeeez) The Newzbin crew delivered something we all relied on, but the Market changed and they lost their financial footing and we suffered a great loss. This is a death from which there is no return for the original Newzbin. We are left here with jaws dropped, "Did you see that Gazelle kick that lion's ass?! ...well he had a lawyer." This Newzbin event/trend represents a watershed marker posing a direct challenge to our desire for an otherwise freely evolving Internet World. We have been lessened. Yes, that's right, I just said the MPA has made monkeys out of us.
Perhaps it is idealistic or foolish to believe Internet knowledge and power should actually be free. However, if "Knowledge is Power", then are we not empowered if "Knowledge" is kept free flowing? Freedom rates over some guaranteed right to profitability in my book. While this is an oversimplification, this is also a time when many people feel personal power and freedoms being whittled away, making this an unavoidable time to have this discussion. Stealing isn't Freedom, but Fair Use is. Nations attempting to legislate away the evolutionary forces of Internet business might boost short term profits, but will consign it's adopters to the bottom ranks of the Future. I would also suggest this is the foot in the door to kill Usenet alt.binaries, by killing it's usability. By passively allowing this to happen are we not guilty of suckling at the tit of the ©Corporate Chimp?
"The Wild"
Team R Dogs Throw Down
The Wild trembles at the promise of the coming NZB Clone Wars. Shutting down Newzbin may have been the stupidest thing ever attempted by the Powers-That-Be. It doesn't take genius or X-ray vision to see the gears turning. The opportunity and demand are palpable. They may have lopped off one of Hydra's heads, but is there one free country left to give refuge to Newzbin's multiple successors? A new bastion of (almost) free indexed knowledge and power? Someone brave enough, smart enough, and tricky enough? Time will tell. Stage 3 of grieving is BARGAINING, which I would say we have also passed through. Unfortunately, Stage 4 is DEPRESSION, but don't worry kids UncleBo can find the funny in that too, so come back for more as the usenetSHACK tracks this story as a News item and I shine some of that Dark light on the deeper meaning between the lines.
<Time Machine: /OFF>
Well my peeps, I can't say I'll be delivering a Part 3, as the "current event" feel of this vehicle is dead. In part2, I said Newzbin could not recover. I was wrong ...thankfully. We move forward, wait and watch. You can hear the lions roaring in the distance in this virtual Veldt we call usenetSHACK. Important things are taking shape. Reading on Newsbin2's Site it's clear they are throwing down the gauntlet. They demonstrate the belief that they are only delivering what other Search Engines deliver with impunity, and they are willing to fight tooth and nail to keep their creation alive. Respect! My future Commentary will focus on why Usenet is special, important, and endangered. If you have been paying attention, the Future is bright and the shades are 3D.
Til next time, Stay Legal! ...or at least use SSL
BoDark
[disclaimer: no critters where harmed in the fabrication of this BS.]