Blog - /Personal

I could not sleep for some reason, possibly due to my recent fascination with MXPX and the reception of some new (to me) CD's by them. Thus, I finished the book Free Culture, by Lawrence Lessig while listening to music in this little nook with a mirror and a door so that my noise-sensitive roommate can get some sleep.

I have become interested in the topic of Internet Radio lately, as it was one of the topics brought up in Free Culture. I figured out how to do it. Now the question remains: can I share with others? I can tell people how to set up Internet Radio, as long as doing so does not become a DMCA or "causal for piracy" issue.

Can I publish links to my Internet Radio experiments or in any way encourage you, the reader, to use my content? The answer is a clear no on legal grounds. On moral grounds, it is not quite clear. Morally, I have decided that it is right for me to share. I have also decided that it is morally wrong to steal, deprive, and dishonor. So I have to make a balance. Currently, since the moral issues are cloudy, but the legal aspects clear, I was forced to make the aforementioned judgment.

Another question: can I share with friends? I have decided the moral answer for this to be a clear yes. Since the moral aspects are clear, but the legal aspect is a bit foggy, I have decided in the vague sense to share. With whom? I tried putting a link on a channel (but not in such a way as to violate my domain name or one of my two internet hosting agreements). While I made a friend that way, I feel too nervous about it. So, I have decided to pretty much restrict mention of any Internet Radio service that might exist, and to make said service uniquely ad-hoc like a real radio show might be.

Reading about how perversely the law has been changed to favor the current generation of content providers almost makes me sick. If a thought or piece of news alone could make me sick, hearing about all the RIAA litigation definitely would. I mean, suing college students that make content-neutral purpose-neutral search engines? Suing a 12 year old who lives in a housing development? Taking all of their earthly savings in order to "settle" the suit? That's a completely irresponsible and reprehensible use of the legal system to bludgeon individuals. Corporations and people who persecute minors and innocents should be heavily penalized and should have their power removed from them by any reasonable means.