Ah, now we're getting somewhere!

What? Dvorak didn't invent the keyboard!?!

My friend just informed me of the bad news today. For over 60 years, our keyboard cult worshipers have supported the guy who we believed was a godhead and keyboard savior --- then we unearthed this bit:

Concluding that there is some sort of conspiracy afoot among the obviously grass-roots 60-year support for the Dvorak is paranoia, not academic theory. ~ thisistrue.com

Are the Rageboy groupies really cult worshipers? We're not just postmodern cult leftovers, are we? Aren't we really more like monks? Do only the heretics consider us to be like members of a monastic order, devoted to the practice of a recusant hagiology? Others may mistakenly see hints of a quest for a divine theologue or theogonic pursuits and hear what seem to be confessions of fabulous deities and mythological powers. However, some of us just like to screw around a bit and poke fun at a few odium theologicums every now and then. Is this wrong?

I'm normally too timid to post to this group, but the recentMarek J and Sandhill really struck a nerve --- with their unfounded claims about a particular Polish history and talks of a weasel coated Norwegian judge.

In our defense, an essay by Chris Redmond, reprinted from The Sherlock Holmes Review in 1989 clearly states that "the puzzle … is in its last sentence" and … "my address will be in Norway - I'll send particulars later. He does not say why he is going to Norway"… but I think that WE ALL UNDERSTAND WHY HE WAS GOING THERE! This reference in and of itself is conclusive and refutes any of the non nostrum tantas componere lites (what does that mean?) of Marek and Frank.

Sandhill Trek Expresses Solidarity with Polish Ventriloquist Bloggers

In a fraternal expression of solidarity, Johnny Ace - the chief Trekster and power behind the blog - was seen tonight with tears of gratitude in his eyes as he sobbed his heartfelt thanks that perhaps somewhere there is justice in the sport of Olympic BlogSledding. "You'd think the dumb fuckers could use a stopwatch or something. What is this holding up little cards with subjective numbered scores from 1 to 6? And where did the Norwegian judge get that new weasel coat? And if they are going to hold up little cards, why don't they hold up little cards with fishes, say from one to five fishes, with five fishes being the best? And couldn't somebody automate that for them?" There was a lot more mumbling before Johnny passed out, one too many 8 ounce tumblers of fine Polish vodka having been consumed.

Polish Ventriloquist Bloggers Federation supports Jamaican BlogSled Team

'This is an outrage' - was heard from the Polish Ventriloquists Bloggers Federation camp at the Olympic Blog Village in Salt Lake City, referring to Jamaican BlogSled team for having not been considered for '5 Fish Blog' Award. 'This is an outrage and we stand by the Jamaican BlogSled team. Those lads are great. We protest the machinations of the one they call Fishukyamuni. This is an outrage and we side with Sandhill Trek. We hope this matter will be resolved soon. The investigation continues. Stay tuned.

Dvorak: Fishakyamuni's Norwegian Connection

In the latest development in Figure Blogging controversy we have chanced upon an article written by one they call Dvorak, John C. The article is an 'asp' page wich immediately raises a red flag. Dvorak begins with strange words 'review of the book that won't die'. Chris Locke, the first to ever complete a famous Triple Salchow Blog Jump, has crafted a well-reasoned response: 'Blow me, you dumb mothefucker'

What we don't understand is why would Dvorak, a well respected computing guy who doesn't know shit about Figure Blogging, want to review the book they call 'Cluetrain Manifesto?', I ask you dear reader. If he hopes the book to die then why would he want to pen a shitty article about it? Would it not start a conversation about the book right back? (Chief Archeologist note: Since Dvorak doesn't 'get it' about conversatons we need to rewrite this sentence for him: Would it not start people talking about the book again?)

It is at this point that our Chief Archeologist interrupts with these important words: 'Maybe Dvorak is a Fishakyamuni's spy?' - I mean, since Fishrush has advanced the Figure Blogging arena and brought the sport to the eyes of millions, at this crucial moment Dvorak seems to have been used by Fishkyamuni to say some really stupid words to avert our focus from the real thing; namely that Figure Blogging originated in Poland in Kleczwowo village. Maybe Dvorak was drugged? Kindapped? Forced to write this crap by Fishakyamuni? We don't want to quote much here for we fear that reading Dvorak's crap will cause further damage to our brains. However may we say that Dvorak knows how to use theatrical props well. In his piece he reaches for the favorite: Werner Erhard of EST. This, my dear readers, is a sure clue that Dvorak is in fact Fishakyamuni's spy. No one in their right mind would ever envoke the Erhard Vector to score points witht the Business As Usual people. We will investigate furhter. Stay tuned.

And if that isn't what free and protected speech is all about, I'm off to join the Poles :^).

Got it. Go Rageboy.

Then there is Chris's approach: Escalate and eviscerate.

Disintermediation Marches On

Interesting piece by Tig Tillighast in ClickZ about some of the possible effects of Google's new do-it-yourself, cost-per-click advertising:

The implications are huge. In traditional media, the brunt of spending is done by small companies in media such as newspapers and local radio. We tend not to talk much about that kind of stuff in marketing circles, because we have a bias against small advertisers and because online media haven't been transactionally efficient enough to bother with them. But, by opening the door to small advertisers, Google may be multiplying available marketing dollars for everyone online.

. . . and,

Another interesting aspect will be the implications these systems have on people who buy and sell ads. One could argue that with this type of system (especially if it spans multiple sites), the need for a lot of the work an agency does would become moot. Likewise, the sales force might become superfluous to all but the very largest and vainest accounts.

Will this leave those big, vain accounts more isolated and irrelevant? It's nice to contemplate.

John C

I don't think there's any question that your example in all its forms is criticism and fair use. Now, parody, for example, can be a more difficult beast. The estate of Margaret Mitchell did not take kindly to Alice Randall's "The Wind Done Gone" last year, calling it a derivative and infringing work, but an appellate court disagreed and said Ms. Randall's work was a not only a fair use but an appropriate exercise of her first amendment rights (more here). Justice Potter Stewart famously said of obscentity that it was difficult to define, but you know it when you see it. This kind of ad hoc approach creeps into the way the courts analyze copyright disputes as well, as they try to strike an appropriate balance and prevent the wholesale misappropriation of protected materials.

By the way, just what has become of the Klingon figure bloggers? Google has a Klingon interface, after all, and I do note it is impossible to make out the features of the pair on the IBU home page.

Hmmm...

So, to take a topical example, Dvorak is trolling for pageviews today by quoting the first 10 Cluetrain theses and making banal but inflammatory comments on them. If I quote his article in its entirety here, interspersed with my commentary, is that fair or not?

If I elide his more boring comments, does that make it fairer?

If I elide his comments to the emphasise his fatuity?

John Dvorak writes:
But, of course, "I don't get it." I imagine all these folks holding hands in a large circle, rolling back and forth, with some in the middle of the circle, spinning and chanting and hugging, all naked. How about this for a thesis: "People walk on two feet."
I'm waiting for a blog written in Klingon. That would be something. People are changed fundamentally? Third eyes? Extra toes?

Don't feed this troll.

When blogs cry

Wow.

Before I can be accused of putting myself too frequently under Lee's care, let me clear up the nature of my practice. I actually am an appellate lawyer, and so get involved when someone has won or lost at trial and the case goes on to the next level(s) of judicial review. This means I handle many business law issues, but intellectual property is near and dear to my heart. I work with several copyright law gurus who eat, drink and sleep the stuff, and ride in like the cavalry whenever needed. To answer Kevin, though, your first assumption is not quite right. A copyright violation conceivably can occur whenever a copy of a protected work is made. This is because copyright holders have certain exclusive rights in their works: the rights to copy, modify, publicly perform, distribute and publicly display. The kinds of acts you mention in your second paragraph fall within the "fair use" exception - they meet the test for something the law might consider infringement, but for public policy reasons we (through our legislators and courts) have decided certain types of uses, within reason, should be encouraged and not prevented. Copyright holders thus are "deemed" to consent to use by others for research, teaching, comment, criticism, news reporting and the like. Whether something is a "fair use" depends on considerations like how much of the copyrighted work is used and for what purpose (e.g., does the use detract from the commercial market for the copyrighted work). (You also gain certain rights when you own a copy of a protected work - a book, a cd, etc. You can re-sell the item - think half.com - and publicly display it "at the place where the copy is located.")

The DMCA was Congress' attempt to refine and clarify general copyright principles for the digital arena, and impose stricter penalties for certain kinds of copying. (An overview of the Act is available here from the UCLA Online Institute of Cyberspace Law and Policy.) The DMCA primarily is concerned with means of making a copy which did not exist before powerful computers and internet use were commonplace, or which can only be accomplished by circumventing the manufacturer's built-in copy protections. The DMCA also makes certain activities a crime, and thus provides a whole different type of remedy than those available in a private infringement lawsuits. For example, under the DMCA criminal penalties may be leveled against someone who cracks encryption software. ISP's also are shielded from liability for simply transmitting copyrighted material, but made more accountable if they are notified a user's web site may display infringing works. The DMCA is careful to preserve the fair use exceptions discussed above. The end result for your purposes is still the same: exercise caution and common sense. If in doubt, don't do it or definitely consult a lawyer. Your commentary and limited quotation of another's copyrighted work probably would be a fair use. But if you're using a great deal of the work, without the author's permission, in economic competition with the author - have a care. The reason so many copyright cases are in the news these days is that rights holders and users are trying to fit new practices into the old legal structure and see what the courts will go for (consider what *fun* someone could have, for example, with the rule that you can publicly display your copy of a book or a cd at the place where it is located). No one here wants to be the next headline I assume(?), but in fact that's how the law in this area develops. People on either side of the issue decide something's too harmful or just wrong, and turn to the courts for guidance.

WE WUZ ROBBED!!

Sandhill Trek, proud sponsors of the Jamaican BlogSled team has lodged a protest with the IBU regarding the recent sleigh(t) of hand associated with the omission of consideration for a 5 Fish award for the plucky lads from the islands. The closest we can come to understanding this situation is that perhaps they didn't win a Figure Blogging award because they were entered in the BlogSled competition. Regardless, the Sandhill Board is meeting soon to decide whether or not to return the 5Fish award we've so proudly displayed since our early days of bloggery.

Selling links?

I can't even sell a TV & Video cabinet. (Does that count as Gonzo Marketing? Any micromarkets looking for furniture in the SJ area listening?)

Backing up a bit, as we have a copyright lawyer in the house, can you confirm (or refute) my understanding of copyright law and the DMCA?
As I see it , copyright law is concerned with publication - showing things to people. Copying from one form to another, editing and quoting is not a breach of copyright; it is the act of publication that is. This is a sensible framing that makes it immune from technological innovation (until we get machines that can be classd as persons, I suppose).

The DMCA is all about copying data, whether or not a human ever sees it, which seems to extend the bounds of copyright much further, and to strongly limit the ability to edit and thus read only a subset of a work. Do I have this right, or not?

Norwegian Figure Bloggers conspiracy to silence Polish Ventriloquist Judges

Our first post generated a lot of responses. One of them came from a woman who shall remain AnnOnymous. Let's call her CilAnnTro or AnnDroid to protect her identity for she fears the Norwegians wrath. She asks a thought provoking question which we'll expand upon in this installment of our investigative report into the origins of Figure Blogging.

"Did you ever wonder why there are no Polish judges in Figure Blogging?"

That very notion has been addressed by Fishrush himself, to the blogging world known as the Chairman of Figure Blogging Olympics. It's no wonder that Polish judges have been denied participation in any international level of blogging competitions since, of course, they maintain that Figure Blogging origins are falsly attributed to Norway. Could it be perhaps, that there is some Norwegian generated consipiracy going on? Could it be that the Norwegians, headed by Fishakyamuni, are in collusion with the Chinese and the Russian judges but distance themselves from the French judges, since the free world knows that the French can not be trusted. Could it be then that it was the crafty Norwegians that set the French judges up to take the fall as as to remove the focus from themselves? Perhaps it is the classic 'Fire and Motion' strategy as recently being displayed by Microsoft in the business world with their latest .Net initiative. Who is learning from whom here, huh?

I mean, did you notice the Norwegian spy disguised as a 'man as a woman in figure blogger's dress' representing Russia at the current Winter Figure Blogging Olympics in Salt Lake City? Were the Russians even aware? I mean, no self-respecting Russian female would tolerate that 5 o'clock shadow.It was clearly one of the men from the Fishakyamuni's village that infiltrated the Women Russian Figure Bloggers ranks, as any Polish judge would tell you, but of course they were not permitted to be judging anything outside of Poland, much less the Olympic events. We will investigate further. Stay tuned.

Figure Blogging Origins Questioned

Fishrush is pointing to Figure Blogging's origins to Norway however it may not be entierly true that Figure Blogging was started by a band of nomads in Norway in 1996. Our Chief Derailment Archeologist has a different and quite possible explanation on how Figure Blogging came to be. To our surprise he points to a small village in Poland in the Kurpie region named Kleczkowo which in Polish means 'approach the blog' or so could be loosely translated into English but we know that that in fact Kleczkowo is Polish term for Figure Blogging.

We do not deny a Norway connection; a Kleczkowo villager named Winczeslaw emigrated to Norway in search of a better method of potato picking and chanced upon summer solstice celebrations taking place in Fishakyamuni's village. Winczeslaw, enamored with the display of artful rituals of Norwegian villagers, tried to demonstrate his own village rituals to Fishakyamuni but he was unable to fully explain the meaning behind them since he lacked a crucial skill of Norwegian language. The only way to communicate for him was to move about his legs and hands, here and there jumping up and down to somehow distinguish the finer points of Kleczkowo rituals. He was completely misunderstood further by Fishakyamuni who got drunk and stoned that night and woke up the next morning fully convinced that the gods of his fathers visited him in his sleep and instructed him to start a worldwide movement of Figure Blogging.

We are dispatching our finest team of archeologists to the village of Kleczkowo to further investigate the origin of Figure Blogging and set the record straight. In the meantime Polish Ventriloquist Bloggers Federation has filed a lawsuit with the International Bloggers Union to recognize Figure Blogging as having its origins in Kleczkowo village. We will update you on the above mentioned topics soon. Stay tuned.

Know anyone who's sold links yet? Now you do.

Just one small Point of Order, Jeneane:

I've been self-anesthetising ever since I was informed that the universe doesn't revolve around me!

Lee is our first *professional* anethesiologist.

In light of the current talk around blogging versus commercial news media and amateur inventors waging their guerilla warfare against the corporate patent machine, you shouldn't overlook the enthusiastic amateurs.

We make history, the pros just make money off it.

The Sport of Blogging

And to Denise's "extreme sport" analogy, check out our dear friends at Fishrush, who have made a come back with their own take on the spectacular event of blogging.

"Once this column appears, my authorial control ends and theirs [the bloggers'] begins."

Henry Jenkins has written a thoughtful article about the "extreme sport" of blogging for MIT's Technology Review magazine, in which, among other things, he uses the example of what bloggers will do with his article to illustrate the power of the medium. Mr. Jenkins gets points for recognizing the significance of the weblog as media-intermediary, and for taking on the Dvorak-esque sentiment that "these are simply a bunch of obsessed adolescents with too much time and bandwidth." Thought you all would enjoy.

-Aside: In the hard copy magazine, the editors compared bloggers to "cockroaches after nuclear war" in the table of contents, but were careful to omit the unflattering analogy in the online version. Nibble, nibble...

Don't judge a blogger by their blogsticker

Can't believe it took me 5 months to get round to showing up in here but I'll do my best to live down to Jeneane's expectations.

By the way who ate all the pretzels?

so that's where the public domain is

Amory Lovins talked about the hypercar project, a radically redesigned car that uses hydrogen fuel (producing water as its exhaust) or fuel cells. It reverses most of the principles that have guided car design from the beginning. Most exciting, he has put the design into the public domain so that no one can patent it and many can build them. ~ David Weinberger from the TED conference.

Good. Among other things it works to undermine the frigging nonsense about borders that cause us to believe technology and entertainment are separate spheres that need to hold special events to talk to one another. The public domain is what never somehow manages to be present at any of these occasions. (Fucking over the oil barons is gravy.)

a break in the action

to welcome two new team members. The first, Lee Crocker, wins a special gonzo prize (as if we had any) for his uncovering of my stupid mistake:

At the possible expense of being an idiot (a well established fact in some circles) don't you mean your definition of idiot is really narrow?
Sign me.
blogging at work on my handheld while sitting on a stool passing gas.

So I'm like, holy crap he's right. Politely, I ask if I can blog his email--you know, with the passing gas part and all, maybe being a bit to intimate. Lee explains:

Passin' gas is just my job ma'm. Not realy intimate at all. I'm an anesthesiologist. Thougt you might get a little chuckle over that. I guess this email is good as any. Blogging is a nice little respite from the tedium of brain surgery. Ain't technology amazin?

Yes, Lee, it is. And you have just the right personality to join in the fun here on gonzo engaged. I think you're our first anesthesiologist. Let me know if you have your own blog so I can add it to the blog bog. AND I'll fix the idiot thing too.

NEXT UP....

Gary Blogstickers Turner has asked to join in the conversation. Gary is a new good friend of mine, being the only blogger so far I've actually picked up the phone to call, albiet on the weekend when I knew I wouldn't reach him. Gary is brilliant, and an international sensation in his own mind--I MEAN, on his blogstickers site.

Now, back to the action...

If the local jurisdiction says it isn't theft then it isn't theft. I don't know about Vietnams legal system you understand, but I have to say that I remain deeply suspicious about attempts to enforce western legalities the world over.

I can see that you could sleep quite easily as an author or inventor knowing that is certain poorer parts of the world your property rights don't enjpy the same protection as they do in the west.

(There might be some concerns over offshore duplicates being re-imported into the west, but then that is what treaties are for: "You want to trade with us, you do it our way." There is nothing wrong with that, and I for one would see it as a far better use of sanctions than some others that we've indulged in.)

OTOH, if the local law says it *is* theft, then maybe the problems that keep such countries poor are not unrelated to the lack of a credible legal system that protects the rights of all.

Again, I agree with you that the copyright law may be flawed and something has to be done in helping bridge the divide between those who have technology and education in the world but that isn't what that article is about. It isn't about job seekers either. It is about people making their living selling and hawking illegal copies of software, music, and DVD's. That is theft.

All Rights Reversed

Jordon. Have you, by chance, sashayed to the domicile of my neighbours in Vietnam? Literacy in Mr Ploopy's All-Tux Transparent Graphics Freeware For Freaking Linux is not going to afford the speed of even a penguin to a job seeker in this 'developing' country. (Incidentally, this term is abhorrent and utterly informed by the notion that there is a desirable goal to which one ought develop.) Perhaps the individual user has a legitimate (although not 'legal') motivation for purchasing a bargain basement adobe.
While I commend your efforts to outrun the strictures of proprietary software; I urge you to consider that perhaps the choice users in 'developed' (?) economies have between Standard Operating Environments, applications and, indeed, flavours of that delectable potable 7 Up is a privilege.

Although you appear to hold an essentialist view re copyright law, perhaps a sojourn to this venerable textual antique may deliver distinction between 'legal' and 'legitimate'.

My humblest for fouling the binary air with rancour. I remain aghast, however, that your statement "I read somewhere that outside of North America and Europe, only 1 in 4 copies of software are legal. Does that make us subsidizers of overseas competition" has not been challenged in this locus. I read somewhere that infant mortality, starvation, cerebral malaria, dyssentry and/or First World backed boot rule effects 1 in 4 inhabitants of 'developing' nations. Does that make us subsidisers of glabal misery?

Fear not

Your lawyer saw these posts this morning and she's happy to have gotten a break in the day to set folks' minds at rest about the copyright implications of blogging. The beautiful thing about copyright law in this context is: Jeneane is absolutely right, you create it, you own it. As the folks at Findlaw obligingly summarize, "copyright protects 'original works of authorship' that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device." (Savvy of them to recognize the "fixation" aspect of this form of authorship, wouldn't you say?) Copyrightable works include literary works and graphics, and these categories are very broad - computer programs and most compilations qualify as "literary works." Copyrights are automatically conferred as soon as the work is created. You own your posts, and this blog as a whole is probably a joint work, "a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole" under the Copyright Act (although Jeneane likely would have additional rights arising from her efforts in fashioning such a fine forum). If you thought that a work had to be published or registered in order to enjoy protection, you are not alone; these are common misperceptions that flow from the way copyrights worked once upon a time. Now, a work enjoys protection even if it is never published or registered - although there are advantages to registration as discussed here. One powerful benefit of registration is this must occur before you can sue for copyright infringement. You can register at any time during the life of the copyright, which is during the author's life and for 50 years thereafter (slightly different rules apply to works made for hire, but the protections there are similarly long in duration). Registration costs $20 per application, and is pretty easy to accomplish. It may not be worth it though, unless you think people are out there actively stealing your stuff and you're hopping mad about it. Registration's main benefit is to let you sue, and to make it easier to prove that your copyrights have been infringed when you do (registration creates a public record of your rights, and creates some presumptions that will work in your favor should you ever need to enforce them through litigation). In other words, blog on, tickled that you don't need the likes of me to create your copyrights ;0>.

As for your use of others' copyrighted works, it pays to be cautious, use common sense and give attribution; a reference to another work, like citations or attributed quotes in an article, generally should not rise to the level of a "derivative work" that infringes the author's copyrights. Note that commercial publishers seldom leave that kind of thing to chance, however, and usually insist on getting an author's permission before a quote or other material is used. Also, the various linking practices seen on the web have given rise to all kinds of novel arguments by copyright owners. You could argue, for example, that linked material is incoporated into the linking web site, thus creating a new, derivative and improperly infringing work. Courts continue to wrestle with these issues, which I try to write about whenever something new or outrageous catches my eye (e.g., there were some interesting conflicting decisions involving eBay and Ticketmaster awhile back, and just this month, the Ninth Circuit held it was fine for a "visual" search engine to link to and display thumbnails of copyrighted images).

By the way, I think the Cafepress and blog archive tool ideas are fantastic (with all due licensing, of course)!

Blogarchiving

OK, I'll see if I can hack something together this weekend to archive blogs. Sounds like a fun side project. I could even use Runtime Revolution, like I did for Pocket GoogleWhacker which has the distinct advantage of making runtimes for Mac, Windows and Linux with no extra effort on my part.
Recursively enough, I can claim some part in the GoogleWhack memetic explosion, as I invented the scoring scheme that gave it geek appeal as well as obscure word fan appeal.

Merchandising

Let each participant here start their own Cafepress store, with his or her own take on what merchandise spawned from this site should look like. Link to them all here, and let readers decide what schwag they like best.

and for another thing....

heh.

"Colin Powell told me that acting alone was not in our long-term interests because, as he put it, 'No man is an island,'" Bush recalled. "Of course, I pointed out that America is a nation, not a man, and that lots of nations are islands, so I didn't really 'get' his argument. But I do like to say 'Colin Powell' whenever I talk about foreign affairs because it makes me look diplomatic."

googlewhack puzzle and intellectual property

I don't see anything on the googlewhack site about the story. hmmmm. curious. And I still say, cool! Let's encourage Kevin to make a neat tool, dump our stuff, at least save it for posterity, then see what else we can concoct... If I may say, though, it could bring him more questions and popularity and pandora's box ramifications than he may expect.

To Tom's point, blogs like this one do give rise to the intellectual property issue. When I thought about doing t-shirts and mugs through cybercafe, I was hit with that single thought--who's shit is this? Who'd get the pocket change we'd raise? Gonzo Engaged wouldn't have existed without my hairbrained scheme in the first place, but it's the community that makes the place hum, and now, this place wouldn't exist without our community of brains. So some community or partnership thing would seem to be the natural result of community blogs like this one. But then, that gives rise to notions of percentages, pay for performance, what constitutes a contribution to a community blog, what do you do with hecklers, do lurkers realize any benefits? Lots of these things need answers, but for now, I don't want to answer them. It winds way too deep. I want to have some fucking fun.

However, let's remember, we do have a lawyer on this blog--her perspective would be interesting.

For me personally on Allied, and for Tom and for all of us bloggers with personal blogs, the ownership/property issue seems perfectly clear. Manifest Destiny. What I write, what I interpret, and what I create there is mine.

Those are my initial thoughts, with very little sleep assisting me, on the issues at hand.

Probably should have checked with my counsel before I blogged all this intellectual property crap, huh?

Ah well...

j.