...your summation of this massive intellect is that he was a closeted homosexual because he talked funny.

Oh and they also called him:

"blowhard
brat
queen
heinous
asshole
cannibal
crypto-nazi
slimeball
odious
piece of shit
coward
fascist
pig"

Of course I could level similarly-shocking pejoratives at the posters above, but to what end? Boingboing's community is snarky, posturing, and distressingly left-wing, but at the end of the day it's only a blog about Star Wars Legos and desk slime.

@ 15

Or are there more people that blithely consume, without consideration for the legal restrictions placed upon what they buy, than there are people aware and active against these irritating and unfair restrictions?

I imagine, yes, there are more "blithe consumers" than people who resort to piracy and some kind of "I'll buy a t-shirt" rationale because they simply cannot be prevented from using their new song in a remix album, inane vlog, and on all 17 of their mp3 players.

@ 53

And it's good for the artists, the real artists, because it keeps them creative and producing.

This is so presumptuous and misguided on so many levels. This fundamentally changes the art form... a fact that escapes the coders & naive socialists who back free culture.

@ 54

I spent some time with a co-op gallery here in Mnpls... America is one of the more culturally illiterate countries in the world.

America is a melting pot; there is no longer an easily-discernible cultural heritage. At least not one as obvious as Hispanic cultural heritage, including orangey still-lifes of clay pots.

@ 55

Do we need a music tax?

Oh, dear, god.

@ 56

from now on, whenever anyone says "socialism"... I'm gonna scream "feudalism!" back at them for insisting that the local lords have a basic right to it all.

Most of my favorite artists are on small indie labels that are not owned by feudal lords. Artists have the right to everything they create... not the unpaying public, which is what Creative Commons/ free culture advocates seem to believe.

@ 57

Music is almost the only branch of the entertainment industry that hasn't really exploited this idea.

Because the music album, like the novel, is rarely created by the artists in track-after-track serialized form. And the music industry IS allowing people download options on the day of shelf release, even giving the choice to buy individual songs! But people don't buy when they can get something for free via piracy!!

@ 64

How much would I pay to have my beloved's favourite musician do a custom birthday piece?
As much as I could afford...

And it would be the worst piece of music I had ever heard. The very idea disgusts me.

Socialism. There goes any argument. Labels are so handy, they save so much thinking.

Nope. It's reasonable to assume that erring on the side of "free culture" in a discussion of copyrights will sound to most people like you want to repossess artistic works for the sake of the public, via technology (art is just ideas, anyway! it wants to be free!)

Socialism.

Still not hearing any serious proposals, just attitude.

Not really, it's obvious from what's been said. Also the burden of proof is on the person saying "we can create new economic models." Also you started with the "attitude."

On the largest scale, the RIAA and MPAA should continue to combat orgs like Pirates Bay & What.cd through the likes of Media Defender and legal action.

More close to home, sites like boingboing (increasingly political) should reconsider their self-righteous stance about "Free Culture," and condemn piracy for what it is, and come up with better explanations of how, for instance, The White Stripes or Regina Spektor will get paid when they get sick & cancel live tours (I had tickets to both). Oh, I should re-read Kelly's article? Rambling through a litany of vague, nebulous ideals like "Patronage" is absurd, and nobody will heed it (and he's wrong about "patronage" anyway-- only 38% of listeners paid ANYTHING at all for the new Radiohead).

Of course, people such as Doctorow, whose work isn't even very good, don't care about artists. They care about feeling idealistic.

In a word, socialism.

@ Geof

The cost of taking ideas, which are public goods, and treating them as private goods turns out to be very high - and increasing.

Music recordings, films, and books aren't just "ideas." Each represents the hard work and greatness of individuals, something that shouldn't be stolen on behalf of the "public."

@ Noen

If technological advances make you obsolete then why shouldn't they go into the dustbin of history?

Oh please, P2P isn't some inevitable technology like the printing press. It's useful, but right now it's mostly just being used to steal stuff.

@ The Reverend

Okay, so record companies were a bad deal for the bands, and home recording + a website make self-publishing superior. Nobody's trying to ban self-publishing. If that's why the record companies are failing, so be it!

But no, they are failing because people are stealing from them. This issue really is that trite. The "new technology" doesn't = piracy. I work in computers & a media department, but I don't download music without paying. Why? Because I'm an American. Doctorow wants to hand his stuff out for free, fine, and make it easy for people to mash it up or whatever, fine, but who is he to speak for all the creators of the world?

Wouldn't you be happier back home at Little Green Footballs?

Isn't that the one mainly about Israel? What does this have to do with that?

What has failed and is utterly broken is Chicago School Neoliberalism...

Hi, name drop. Anyway I never said corporations should do whatever they want. But they shouldn't be obliterated and controlled in response to piracy, which is what the anti-DRM herd wants, along with free stuff.

This breaks old economic models but that's ok, we can create new ones.

Who says the old models aren't working well? The people and *smaller* corporations being sued for p2p theft? The tiny minority willfully bricking their iPhones for esoteric reasons? Doctorow's vague theory of "folk-copyright"? Or any of the unconvincing others I HAVE read on boingboing?

"...a fair number of bands have written and performed original creative works that have earned millions for the label, while the company pays them less than they would have made waiting tables."

Then artists should take it upon themselves to sue and go to court and change the corporate model.

The masses taking it upon themselves to take an artist's work without paying them is still theft motivated by socialist sentiment.

"Copyright is SO broken that it just isn't even a good idea anymore."

Many people have said the same about capitalism in general. The alternatives are far worse.

@ Matthew Walton.

How's it feel knowing you, who worked hard to acquire property, were shut out by somebody who didn't work hard to steal property, whilst shedding self-righteous, Marxist tears alongside Cory Doctorow?

Sucks, but unless we beat him, it's the dismal future.

Down with PRM (Parental Rights Management)! I demand the right to parent your daughter in my own way.

@KlokWerk

"I wonder whether I'd have ever heard of him if he had to juggle book writing with his paying job..."

In the post-DRM world, the great minds of our time will watch their creativity stolen and distributed by spoiled, anti-capitalist masses.

The fact is, aside from the publicity some artists (Radiohead) receive by being the first, this WILL eventually destroy the professional artist and writer. Socialism does that.