foxden_racing

They have no scripts, why bother to rehearse?

Speaking of jokes, I've got a friend who never did get the 'No sense of humor, see #xx' on the 3E character traits chart joke.

Well played, sir, well played.

Who're you kidding. They'd create checkpoint beta to screen people before they'd be allowed to go to the checkpoint alpha. That way, no bad guy can get anything dangerous to checkpoint alpha. Problem solved!

Depends on the device, and the type of lock.

There are legitimate uses...the intent of DMCA was to criminalize things like a random asshole breaking the encryption on your thumb drive, or a malicious sort breaking the encryption that lets them listen in when you're giving Amazon your credit card number, etc...as well as to set it up so that your ISP can't be sued if you do something illegal through your internet connection.

But the ridiculously vague wording written by RIAA/MPAA/John Deere and their ilk enables a LOT of super shady, customer-hostile bullshit. The best analogy I have is if a law was written stating that defeating a physical lock makes you a criminal. Seems pretty reasonable on the surface, right? Until...

• Only Kwikset is legally allowed to let you back into your house if you lock yourself out. If you circumvent 'their' lock in any way, you've broken the law.
• You prop your apartment building's door open while moving in/out, or put a piece of tape over the catch on the push bar. The door can't close/latch, therefore you've defeated its lock and you've broken the law.
• Some random troll uses their lock to shackle your bike to the bike rack...even though it's your bike, if you defeat their lock you've broken the law.
• The company who made your car put a 'security lug nut' on each wheel, and doesn't include the key with purchase...making it so that only their dealerships can do things like replace brake pads/tires, if you take the wheel off yourself you've broken the law.

Any lock. Any reason. If you defeat it then fuck you, you're a criminal.

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Take that to the digital realm for why the DMCA is bad:

Trying to make one working Xbox 360 from the two broken Xbox 360s you legally bought, by transplanting the dead system's working DVD drive into the working system with a dead DVD drive? Each console is paired to a specific drive's serial number, and that number is encrypted! It'll refuse to work with the new drive unless you break that encryption, and if you do that then you're a dirty criminal!

Have an old game on disc and itching for a retro fix? If it uses Safedisc it sucks to be you, those versions of Safedisc rely on hardware/driver-level shenanigans that were removed from newer versions of Windows...and even though it's a game you legally bought, on a PC you legally bought, don't you dare remove that DRM you dirty criminal you!

Want to perform your legally-protected right to a single archival copy...say, to take a DVD you legally bought and rip it because you have kids and don't want the disc fucked up by them not handling it with care? If that disc has any encryption on it then fuck you, even though you did it in pursuit of one of your legally-protected rights you still defeated a digital lock you dirty criminal you!

Some shady asshole infects your PC with ransomware that encrypts your drive and demands payment? Technically [as they're going to have a hell of a time pressing charges against you without getting themselves arrested, malware is a separate crime] you better pay up you dirty criminal you, don't you know it's illegal to defeat a digital lock?

BMW wants to sell you a 'subscription service' to the seats in your car? If any part of the software that controls the enabled/disabled status is encrypted, then fuck you if you find a workaround you dirty criminal you.

Any digital lock. Any reason. If you circumvent it in any way, fuck you you're a criminal. That's the shitty part of the DMCA.

Chances are that's just gonna turn into moving the goalposts. Start with fossils A and Z, find find transitional M, 'Nope, still doesn't exist, where's B-L and N-Y, smart guy?' Repeat ad nauseam.