Re: [dvd-discuss] Geeks in government: A good idea?

[Tom <tom(at)lemuria.org>]

On Fri, Aug 16, 2002 at 09:02:48PM +0200, Tom wrote:
> specific, individual data point, you can see the impact. However, on
> the warez scene as a whole, the Drink-or-Die arrests had little to no
> effect. And on .mp3 trading, viewed seperately or in conjunction, the
> demise of Napster had no effect at all. Rather on the contrary, P2P is
> now much stronger than it ever was while Napster was still something
> besides a RIAA zombie.

Actually, when I think about it in more depths, I believe a good
argument can be made that there IS an effect - contrary to the intend.

When the FBI busts Drink-or-Die, what happens? For a few days, there is
a vacuum. Then, all the other warez groups who ever competed with DoD
jump at the chance to fill it and become the next big player. The smart
ones also realize that they shouldn't repeat DoDs mistakes. So they
make themselves harder to trace.
In the end, it's survival of the fittest and all that the BSA and FBI
get is stronger enemies. Which may not be entirely to their
disappointment as it also means more funds for them, which means the
warez dudes have to upgrade, too...


Don't you just love positive reinforcement feedback loops? :)

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