Pixeleen Mistral Files Legal Response to Venkman’s DMCA Abuses
by Alphaville Herald on 06/02/10 at 6:58 pm
Herald news Idoru pseudonym sacrificed in free speech fight
by Peter Ludlow (aka Urizenus Sklar), Herald Founder
Sometimes we all have to take a stand. In this case Herald Editrix Pixeleen Mistral, facing an outrageous abuse of the DMCA by Kalel Venkman, has, pursuant to Section 512(c)(1)(C) of the DMCA, filed documents disputing Venkman's claims of copyright infringement on screen shots and snippets of chat from the Justice League Unlimited wiki. As reported earlier in the Herald, the JLU wiki amassed vast amounts of (often false) information on Second Life denizens, including massive chat logs that were in cases recorded without the consent of the parties involved. In effect, the JLU was running an enormous surveillance program against Second Life users, and were using the DMCA to try and cover up those abuses to keep the public from understanding the full scope and frightening nature of the abuses. More troubling still is that much of the material Venkman requested be taken down appeared to implicate the involvement of Linden Lab staff member Plexus Linden in the activities of the JLU.
This can only mean trouble for Venkman. It is illegal under Title 17, United States Code Section 512(f) to knowingly send faulty DMCA notices, and doing so can result in serious legal liability. Forexample, there is already established precedent in the Northern District of California (where YouTube is located) holding that when a company knew or should have known that use of copyrighted material is fair use (and therefore, non-infringing), it is a violation of Section512(f) and the DMCA. As a result of that violation, thecompany responsible paid over $100,000 to the parties affected.
Title 17, Section 107 explicitly says that "the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies… for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." As I said, Venkman is in trouble.
Some commentators have suggested that Venkman's real interest in filing bogus DMCA notices was to force targeted individuals to reveal their real life identities to Venkman, and this in turn has raised questions about the security and safety of those who do reveal their identities. I doubt that this is true, or at least I hope it isn't true, but in any case it takes some courage to put oneself at risk, and Pixeleen should be commended. In general, though, this shows another flaw of the DMCA: It can be used as a tool for the malicious to undermine the privacy of virtual world residents.
As for the identity of Pixeleen's real life typist, Prok was right: Pixeleen is Mark McCahill.
The text of Pixeleen's response follows.
—
TypePad Copyright Agent
Six Apart Ltd.
548 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Fax: 415.344.0829
Email: copyright@typepad.com
February 4, 2010
Mistaken Removal RE: Ticket #9805: TypePad Terms of Service Violation
Dear TypePad Copyright Agent;
Please find attached to this letter a list of material removed by you pursuant to 17
U.S.C. Section 512. I have a good faith belief that this material was removed or disabled
in error as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material. I declare that this is
true and accurate under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of
America.
For the purposes of this matter, I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District
Court for the judicial district in which I reside. I also consent to service of process
by the person providing notification under Section 512(c)(1)(C) or that person’s agent.
However, by this letter, I do not waive any other rights, including the ability to pursue an
action for the removal or disabling of access to this material, if wrongful.
Having complied with the requirements of Section 512(g)(3), I remind you that
you must now replace the blocked or removed material and cease disabling access to it
within fourteen business days of your receipt of this notice. Please notify me when this
has been done.
I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any questions about
this notice, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mark McCahill
[address and phone number elided]
Email: mark.mccahill@gmail.com
Enclosure:
the reproduction of Typepad's letter in the post here:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
From the post:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the image: http://foo.secondlifeherald.
From the post:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the image: http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the text:
[disputed chatlog text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
From the post:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the text starting with:
[disputed chatlog text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
through the last line of the post:
[disputed chatlog text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
From the post:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the image: http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the entire table which starts with the item:
[disputed text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
and continues through the end of the post.
From the post:
http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the image: http://foo.secondlifeherald.
* the text which starts with:
[disputed text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
through the last line of the post:
[disputed text elided to prevent another Typepad takedown while DMCA dispute continues]
Judge Joker
Feb 7th, 2010
Filed an AR with a Linden Name, and listed Kalel Venkman lower down in the hope it would be seen by someone who is not in bed with Kalel Venkman eg. A Linden or multiple Lindens who allegedy delete it on the spot based on his name?
Harassment > Solicting/inciting others to violate ToS + Multiple TOS violations – Too many to list.
And then sent it to M Linden < “pointless” but that’s how I roll, with another full explanation and the JLU wiki link.
Judge Joker
Feb 7th, 2010
@Darien Don’t forget to add the wiki is there to store the data ready to be pulled back into Second Life, any time one of the group decides to investigate you all “with in” Second Life, premeditated and ongoing disclosure of Second Life residents.
Debi Dastardly
Feb 7th, 2010
I have looked for the first time on Kalel’s sl profile and this is what I noticed.
“Note: I do not comment on SL in any third party web site.
Note: ‘Justice League Unlimited’ operates no similarly named groups. Be wary of counterfeit groups.”
I found that to be interesting as one who says he stands for justice is clearly lying here we have all seen or read most of the secret JLU wiki.
GLE I know your still here reading, I remember your days in the Merczateers and remember fondly several pleasant conversations with you. I have always thought of you kindly and respected what I knew of you but……I was at an event back in Nov of this past year and JLU was acting as security on the request of the sim owner when I asked Kara Timtan if you was still with JLU she acted like she didnt know who you was. Was this some way of trying to keep people from knowing about other JLU members? The reason this occupied my mind the past few days is because of seeing how your group operates I find it to be a bit scary myself and I don’t think you do yourself justice by being connected with such a group anymore.
I really think boys in girls its time to pack away the super hero costumes and just play sl and not try to be a controlling force within it. It is clear to me as it has from the start that groups like this are far more dangerous than the supposed greifers they say they are defending us from. I defend myself and my own estate if I need help one of my friends is always there. Kalel and the others have shown their hand both inside their wiki and with these questionable DMCA filings.
I congratulate Pix on her stand against such tyranny I hope you will be successful and prosper from this counter filing.
deadlycodec
Feb 7th, 2010
You guys keep talking about LL disclosing chatlogs, but before I came forward and revealed by OWN identity I was outed by Plexus Linden. That’s right, a Linden Lab staffer disclosed my identity in 2008. Griefer or no (at the time), that is one of the most egregious actions on the part of the Lab that stems from this whole affair, as far as I am aware. I am astounded that it has been completely ignored.
If someone is disrupting your game, you hand their information over to law enforcement if you think you have a case. If you don’t have one, you DO NOT hand over their information to spandex-wearing jackasses who think they’re superheroes. That’s bullshit. And if these assholes were dangerous and something happened to me because of it, my family would be filing a HUGE lawsuit right about now. JLU isn’t the only organization that has a lot to answer for. The Lab had better be fucking answering too. I’m still pretty annoyed over that situation, on principle.
@Jahar Aabye
Computers and IT are really pretty broad fields to work in. I assume Mark has the specialized prerequisite knowledge for his respective area in that field.
The level of knowledge will normally be based on where an individual’s area of interest is. Some people are hardcore programmers, but that doesn’t mean they know how to setup a network and secure it, or how to find vulnerabilities in web applications or source code for c-type languages,etc,etc. Likewise, someone who is interested in security may not have the same knowledge that a hardcore coder is gong to have. Furthermore, you’ve got network-level penetration testers who know how to exploit memory corruption (buffer overflows,etc.) and DNS cache poisoning, and then some who only know how to pentest web applications. No one on the planet knows it all, and people who are generally pretty well-rounded as far as IT knowledge goes are actually pretty rare. It takes an enormous amount of time and dedication, and it stays that way because the industry is constantly evolving as people develop new technology. Keeping up is practically a full-time job in and of itself. You can even further divide programmers based on programming languages. Some only know c/c++, some Visual Basic, some are strictly into web applications and only know PHP. Then there are some who know a little of each, and others who know a lot of each, or a lot of several. There is a lot to learn out there. Way more than people are going to know with a BA in compsci – the BA only really scratches the surface.
I made the same mistake you did, and likewise assumed that Pix couldn’t be McCahill. Truth be told, until this was published I was actually still convinced that Pix was Ludlow. I denied it for ages, because I felt like it was the source of bad blood between the Herald and I, and because who Pix was in real life had long since stopped mattering to me. Didn’t really have any bearing on the impact he had on my life.
Imnotgoing Sideways
Feb 8th, 2010
So… Who wants nachos for the show? (^_^)
Popcorn is so passe. =^-^=
Vaneeesa Blaylock
Feb 8th, 2010
Mean people suck.
I <3 Pix
Bubblesort Triskaidekaphobia
Feb 8th, 2010
@ Pix:
You’re awesome! It’s great that you’re taking a principled stand like this. Thank you for helping make the internet a better place.
Is there any chance that in the future you might do a scathing expose on this Mark McCahill character? I hear this arrogant Mark character claims to control everything you do.
@GLE, re: “The next step in the process is for Kalel to sue to have the material removed.”
I think you are misreading the situation. Note the part where Ludlow says:
“… there is already established precedent in the Northern District of California (where YouTube is located) holding that when a company knew or should have known that use of copyrighted material is fair use (and therefore, non-infringing), it is a violation of Section 512(f) and the DMCA. As a result of that violation, the company responsible paid over $100,000 to the parties affected.”
I read this to mean that whether Venkman likes it or not, at this point they’re gonna take him to court. Nobody sounds alarms as high as Lessig and then says “oh, never mind, I guess he didn’t want to go to court anyway.” Lessig and his people specialize in test cases like this. I think this could result in a ruling on ownership of chat logs and on surveillance in VWs. I don’t think people like Mark, Ludlow and Lessig would pass up an opportunity like this. I don’t think there’s anything ordinary about where this process is going.
I’m no lawyer, so I could be misreading this as well, but I think Venkman is going to wind up in a courtroom no matter what he does at this point. He’s already committed the crime, IMHO.
BTW, one thing that seems lost in this mess is a conversation about vigilantism. The JLU is a good example of why vigilantism is a bad idea. Vigilantes break the laws of normal society to pursue “justice”. This works great in comic books where super heros have a solid understanding of what justice is (I know there are numerous examples to the contrary, but in general this seems to be the case). In the real world when people engage in vigilantism you get people like the JLU doing it and they amount to little more than self-righteous bullies.
“Everyone knows who Kalel really is, so it’s only fair that Pixeleen’s secret identity is revealed too.”
You seem to miss the point here. Pixeleen is giving up a lot by giving up her anonymity. If you think anonymity is no big deal then prove it by giving us your real ID.
Gaara Sandalwood
Feb 8th, 2010
I don’t got nachos but burritos are fine too.
deadlycodec
Feb 8th, 2010
“BTW, one thing that seems lost in this mess is a conversation about vigilantism. The JLU is a good example of why vigilantism is a bad idea. Vigilantes break the laws of normal society to pursue “justice”. This works great in comic books where super heros have a solid understanding of what justice is (I know there are numerous examples to the contrary, but in general this seems to be the case). In the real world when people engage in vigilantism you get people like the JLU doing it and they amount to little more than self-righteous bullies.”
Well, this is true, but the problem is that the criminal justice system is about as borked. The punishment seldom fits the crime. Some people get off easy, and others get arrested for things they should never have been arrested for in the first place. Still others are arrested and receive much more heavy-handed punishments than they should. In the early 90′s, a hacker in Atlanta known as TheProphet was arrested for swiping a proprietary 13-page E911 document from Bellcore. The telcoms (and the prosecution) claimed it was worth over $76,000, even though it didn’t really contain anything that could possibly be worth even close to that amount. None of the data was even useful for penetrating their networks except perhaps for the fact that it contained some telcom lingo that I guess could be used for Social Engineering. The series of raids that this document triggered is astounding, and a lot of people got prison time for it and MASSIVE fines in excess of $100,000. In fact, this little fiasco birthed a certain organization which you may have heard of, called The Electronic Freedom Front. The feds attempted to prosecute one of the Phrack editors for publishing parts of the document (clearly fair use, and the editor had not participated in any illegal activities…it was just passed on to him by the responsible party). In the end, Phrack won the case. A lot of people were not so fortunate.
The other thing is that sometimes the bad guys are pretty good about not leaving evidence laying around. What happens when a murderer, rapist, or child molester goes free due to lack of evidence? That’s horrific, but it does happen. What about other crimes, maybe civil crimes, like libel? What happens when a reporter abuses the trust that the community has given them, because of their position, and uses it to wrongfully damage the reputation of another person through unofficial and non-print channels? What happens when all of their friends and family are prepared to lie for them and cover it up and the victim has no recourse? What can they do then?
This also applies to the JLU. I was never wrongfully banned because of them, because I WAS wreaking havoc, but many others were. They have no recourse. What can they do? Our system is basically screwed no matter how you flip it.
I sincerely hope that the Herald does take the JLU to court over this though. More examples need to be made whenever it is possible to do something under our system, to deter people like these.
NebulaCS
Feb 8th, 2010
I am loving every second of this. the fake bread crumbs and thrust leading up to this shit is priceless. can anyone say the JLU got played and will shit bricks for awhile to come. now if this can get media attention. SOMEONE CALL FOX NEWS! holy shit lol fox news would love to report on something so frivolous. i see it now. gay man dresses up as virtual super zero and massively spams residents in the world false claims then stalks them in real life.
WIN!
Niam Yiam
Feb 8th, 2010
Ugh! no updates on this yet??? Mmmmm was expecting something to have happened by now :S
Btw, I think it needs to be clarified what they are claiming to be the copyright infringement. as far as i understand what they say is that among the information in
their wiki there is some discussions related to the development of some kind of abuse reporting tool or something kind of application, anyway, something they would be working on and rightfully register as their creation, and that by making that info public their
plans were being damaged. nothing else and i have no idea if they are even right on
their claims. but as far i understand thats all, and those fragments were the ones that were asked to be taken down. on the other hand, what this website
and sl users least care about i suppose is that info but about the fact that they collected their private details and were in apparent contact with ll (yet they didnt really make the users private info public, which i think would really be against the tos, not simply collecting it) and in a way being harassed by them. a possible question in here would be what does it mean to make that info public? for how many people does that info have to be accessible to consider it has been made public? Ironically i think it has been this site and others that published it the ones that ‘really’ made the info public by making it accessible online, not that group, which for all the lame and laughable it seems i dont really see it as having done anything against the rules. as i see it, if it did go to court, which i doubt, it boils down to the issue of the ownership of the ideas for the development of their software. Of course that claim could be something they simply made up in the first place.
On a side note, i think this site and others writing on virtual worlds should also show some respect and not go happily around publishing logs of private conversations without asking for the authorization of those involved when it is evidently not necessary for reporting on the event, also considering that some avatars are connected with the users real identity. The same as screen shots. Is the name of the avatar not necessary for ur ‘news’ piece? then leave it out. But i suppose its easier to lazily pass copy pasted chatlogs and screenshots as ‘news’. Set an example of respect for users privacy.
icallbullshit
Feb 8th, 2010
“I sincerely hope that the Herald does take the JLU to court over this though. More examples need to be made whenever it is possible to do something under our system, to deter people like these.”
when x-PN start sounding like this, you know the whole thing is turning to shit fast.
the crap people get excited bout on the interwebs when life is at an end, faultering or just plain pathetic.
where’s the lulz monster when you need him, to take us all away like a Calgon bath or some shit? LOL
Jahar Aabye
Feb 8th, 2010
@ Deadlycodec,
Heh, I’ve even less formal education in computers, my BA in Poli-Sci included a single semester of JAVA programming, and most of what I’ve learned about computers came from doing tech support for beer money…basically just learning how many different ways a computer can crash, or network connection settings can get screwed up, etc
I wouldn’t even have considered myself a programmer until I had to leave my prior job due to severe health problems, discovered SL, and I promised this cute brunette that I could script her a set of networked vendors from scratch. I figured if I can learn how to read an MRI in two days, I could program a vendor in a week. Sorta went on from there, hung out with a few scripters like Kayla, picked up knowledge here and there, etc, and figured since I wasn’t going to be healthy enough for any other work any time soon, might as well try earning money by scripting. But yeah, for me most of my programming abilities are SL-specific (although in terms of network stuff, I’ve got some prior experience from the tech support gig, since it involved a large college network). I generally approach computers from the aspect of a policy analyst (it’s just a system, let’s try to make it work efficiently) or look at code as just another language, since I’m pretty good with RL languages (verbal IQ above the WAIS ceiling).
But on the flip side, there’s assloads of IT stuff that I have absolutely no experience in. In some ways, I envy the older people who were there from the beginning, since there were fewer expectations back then, and a much smaller repertoire of knowledge required. As your comment makes quite clear, anyone nowadays moving outside of their niche winds up with complete information overload when trying to think about all the other areas of the field. The only way I know how to learn it is to step in, roll up my sleeves, and learn on the fly.
If Plexus did disclose your RL identity (in an unauthorized manner), that should have effectively ended his employment at LL. I could understand handing that info over to law enforcement if served with a warrant, and I think that we all sort of assume that’s the only situation in which LL would do such a thing, but this really calls all of that into question. Perhaps we need people to press Linden Lab to issue a statement regarding the privacy of RL information that they hold, and spelling out exactly the terms under which it will be disclosed, and to whom, and making clear the consequences for employees who violate that policy.
@bubblesnort,
You are absolutely right about vigilantism. I mentioned in another comment that most people in RL who actually have the requisite training that would allow them to act as vigilantes are usually the least willing to do so. Part of that is because with training comes discipline, but also because I think there’s a certain amount of common sense involved. Being a civilized individual means that you take steps to end a situation in the best manner possible, ensuring that no one is harmed, and then let our system of laws that civilized society has set in place do its work.
In RL, only the state has police powers for a good reason. In SL, the ToS spells out what powers are granted to which individuals (ie Estate Owners, Land Owners, etc). This is part of what allows “civilized” interaction in a virtual world.
I will admit that there was one time in RL where I was tempted to engage in vigilante justice, because someone had tried to hurt my sister. When I entered the room, he was sitting in a position that put his head at just the right height, I could feel my fingers trembling, wanting to clinch the back of his head and slam my knee through his face. But I didn’t. The situation was handled without anyone getting hurt. I am quite glad that I did not engage in any violence, and everything worked out fine in the end.
In RL, vigilantes have the same legal status as criminals, regardless of their intentions, and for good reason. Civilization depends upon having a stable system of rules and upon the legitimacy and transparency of the establishments that enforce those rules.
For a virtual world to achieve the same level of civilization, it is imperative that both the residents and the established authorities have a similar agreement and set of rules. The ToS/CS of SL aren’t perfect, but they’re pretty decent. I also think that as more and more exploits are fixed, and as griefing requires more serious effort (rather than some cager, orbiter, or script-kiddie “defense” HUD that any idiot can buy for a few lindenbux), the vigilantes and griefers both will find themselves bored silly and will go off and play cops and robbers in Blue Mars or on some OpenSim grid.
Not that griefing or vigilante-ism will disappear overnight, or would ever completely disappear, but I do think that just as the PN and other griefer organizations have largely evaporated (although perhaps this has more to do with their membership finally hitting puberty and discovering girls), we will also see more of these “grid cops” like the JLU go by the wayside.
deadlycodec
Feb 8th, 2010
Just wanted to add that you guys shouldn’t be too heavy handed if you do take Kalel to court. 100k is more than a little bit excessive. I don’t know how they come to these figures, but hopefully it’s income based. Paying court costs and $500 in restitution will be enough to deter the average joe. The punishment should fit the crime and that would most likely be punishment enough, for both his wallet and his pride. I’d wager he’ll actually hurt more from the damage to his pride.
I forgot to mention that when the gov doles out these heavy-handed six-figure fines and a person can’t pay them, they end up right back in jail. Now, I realize that everyone in here is pissed at the JLU, but what if the shoe was on the other foot? Do you really want to encourage the sort of prosecutorial misconduct that results in these sorts of unfair financial sanctions? That would be pretty un-American, for a country that prides itself on liberty and freedom (which has become increasingly scarce).
Jahar Aabye
Feb 8th, 2010
@Niam,
“On a side note, i think this site and others writing on virtual worlds should also show some respect and not go happily around publishing logs of private conversations without asking for the authorization of those involved when it is evidently not necessary for reporting on the event, also considering that some avatars are connected with the users real identity.”
Hmmmm, that’s all well and good to talk about asking for authorization to republish private conversations, but note that this database contained a large number of conversations that were recorded and published without the authorization of those involved.
As for the supposed designs of the ban system, it’s just BanLink by another name. Hell, plenty of other people have coded ban systems in SL as well. I was discussing with another individual about a completely unrelated matter for making a more efficient way to let his sim managers ban people from all of his sims instead of having to manually go to each one (since Estate Bans are borked and they’re using parcel bans).
The code is really not that complicated, but there isn’t any code that was published. It was literally just “let’s make a system that will allow people to share ban lists, and let’s make sure these people automatically get added without telling them first.” It’s the last part that was important to report. I can assure you that virtually nothing that was reported contained any sort of secret information. It was vaporware, not even in the developmental stage.
deadlycodec
Feb 8th, 2010
Just wanted to add that the concept of justice is completely independent of the so-called ‘justice system’. A lot of people use the law to attempt to justify their misdeeds when they do things that are wrong, claiming it was okay because it ‘wasn’t illegal’. The legal systems screws up too, A LOT. Be careful when fighting tyranny, that you do not become the very thing that you are fighting against. Imposing excessive financial sanctions, and infringing on another person’s rights as a HUMAN BEING is wrong. I hope the Herald would not do that. There should be balance, or else your ‘justice’ is just vengeance, no matter who carries it out, within the legal system or not.
I am all for fighting oppression and for free speech. It’s a noble endeavor, but it’s too easy to for justice to become vengeance, and then your cause is no longer noble. Such a pattern often does more to harm society at large than the person responsible for wrongdoing did in the first place.
“the crap people get excited bout on the interwebs when life is at an end, faultering or just plain pathetic.”
I think more along the lines of pathetic would be a person attempting to make a derisive comment about another person’s life threatening medical condition, and failing miserably at organizing their thoughts enough to convey what they are actually trying to say. The only thing I got from that statement was that you may have been trying to insult me. And that you were referencing my medical situation. Congratulations, you’re a douchebag.
deadlycodec
Feb 8th, 2010
“I figured if I can learn how to read an MRI in two days, I could program a vendor in a week”
Oh wow, you learned LSL and managed to write a networked vendor, all in one week? That is impressive.
On the education thing – don’t feel bad. Hehe, I never finished the 9th grade. Regretted it later, but meh, I’m good at what I do. Companies that can’t see past the paperwork aren’t worth my time IMO, because I have met plenty of IT people who had degrees that I could talk circles around.
“In some ways, I envy the older people who were there from the beginning, since there were fewer expectations back then, and a much smaller repertoire of knowledge required.”
I agree 100%. Would give a lot to experience more of the culture in the late 80′s and 90′s. Before people started hacking to steal people’s identities…back when the pursuit was pure and well-intentioned more often than it was overtly malicious. Those were the golden days, not just for IT and computers in general, but for a subculture that has been inundated with a new generation that is far less interested in knowledge, and more interested in profits. They have ruined it for everyone in a lot of ways. Difficult to find a good white or grayhat community that is more or less old-school. They’re all overrun with code kiddies and their rbot source code and poison ivy RATS.
marilyn murphy
Feb 8th, 2010
yay, pix! see? i shoulda been your gurlfriend all along you dog. kudos on your stand.
Nelson Jenkins
Feb 8th, 2010
Just as a note, the G-Team (or whatever moniker they are operating under now, the Conflict Resolution Team or something along those lines, I forgot) are pretty much methodically trashing every AR that is currently being filed by members of the JLU, and they have issued an official statement that nobody except Lindens can proactively enforce the ToS. Most of the Lindens have shunned the JLU and even its Linden supporter(s).
Orion
Feb 8th, 2010
@Nelson – Would you happen to have a link to their announcement? As usual 20 minutes worth of shuffling through that shit of a mess that LL calls a website has proven to be futile and has made my brain sad.
All Seeing Eye
Feb 8th, 2010
If “JLU” was smart they would have already vanished into thin air by now.
Neo Citizen
Feb 8th, 2010
Very interesting commentary – too bad all of it – including the article itself – is based on wishful thinking.
It’s perjury for “Pixeleen” to try to claim fair use if there’s any reasonable doubt that that’s what was going on – but there’s no penalty for Kalol to do so. All he’s gotta do is say that it was his good faith estimate that he was right and that’s the end of it. It’s unfair. It’s unbalanced. But that’s how it works. And all this handwaving about Fair Use is mostly bunk. Fair use isn’t a right, it’s a defense, which means you can’t use it as a counter-attack, only to defend yourself. If Pixeleen actually thinks he’s on the right track, he’s very likely got an idiot for a lawyer.
At0m0 Beerbaum
Feb 9th, 2010
@Neo Citizen
Shut the fuck up Kalol.
I love how you keep trying to cast this doubt around the whole idea that you may be vulnerable.
You arent Superman. You’re susceptible to the law like everyone else. You arent Warner Brothers either. Stop laying claim to everything superhero related in SL.
I like how you refer to yourself as Kalol now. Good, you learned what your name is now.
If your fellow vigilantes are smart, they’ll distance themselves from you quickly, you’re becoming a big target. Oh, and it isnt because of your quest for justice and the Villians just hating. No, it’s the people getting tired of the Villian who thinks he’s a hero doling out “justice” in the form of backstabbing and skirting around the law, much like a common criminal.
In short, shut up, it’s now for the courts to decide.
verbena pennyfeather
Feb 9th, 2010
Hey neo/Kalel, quick one. Know that DMCA paper you filed? Rememver this line? “”Also, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of (state) and under the laws of the United States, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.”"”
There’s nothing about good faith in there bucko. Pretty black and white.
thanks again
Feb 9th, 2010
I hope that when all the contents of the JLU wiki are splayed open for inspection as part of this prescident setting upcoming lawsuit, that it becomes clear to the court that Cyber Stalking was occuring and being performed by Venkman and the Prosecutor will be instructed by the court to investigate that situation for possible further charges. That charge, Cyber Stalking, will probably also include other JLU members as the investigation grows.
And unlike our suddenly verbose ‘codec, I say hit that d-bag with 100k PER each false DMCA that he filed.
Tux Winkler
Feb 9th, 2010
@Niam,
“On a side note, i think this site and others writing on virtual worlds should also show some respect and not go happily around publishing logs of private conversations without asking for the authorization of those involved when it is evidently not necessary for reporting on the event, also considering that some avatars are connected with the users real identity.”
Having personal experience of this, LL shrugs off chat log and IM use on external sites (unless you caught them saying something really bad – then they threaten to remove all your accounts). Chat is public and can be used. In reality, people will use them to suit their needs. But it should be said these are to be taken with a pinch of salt. Some modify the logs so they become fiction (I have had experience of this too).
@icallbullshit
“the crap people get excited bout on the interwebs when life is at an end, faultering or just plain pathetic.”
Actually the JLU thrive on just that. They thoroughly enjoyed publishing private and personal information (including illnesses) on their wiki. It is disgusting what is included there. One entry says “DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION TO CONTACT . . . “, yet the RL address was wrong. When told it was wrong by the actual person Kalel said “we know when we called we spoke to some old airman and figured it wasn’t you”. It is nothing less than stalking.
@Neo
“Very interesting commentary – too bad all of it – including the article itself – is based on wishful thinking.”
Super powers are imaginary, Superman holds no more power here than in RL. I you think the powers are real then be warned the Herald uses liquid Kryptonite as its ink!
TBH the idea of the JLU as a group helping and advising is a good thing. Note I said ‘idea’. The funny uniforms are a non threatening ice breaker (if a little outdated, only the older folks remember the like, you would need pokemon or yugioh now I think). But when the line is leaped over in grand Evil Knievil style, its another thing. You cannot Enforce the TOS in one breath then use push weapons in the other! Your array of weapons are nothing short of modified PN scripts, therefore griefer weapons. And do not for one moment suggest good intentions make any difference, the TOS does not include a good intention clause. AR Party’s? Wiki’s? Opinions? Disclosure? Come on guys, when did you stop having fun and begin loosing yourselves in this fantasy vendetta against everything?
Senban Babii
Feb 9th, 2010
@Deadly Codec
“I am all for fighting oppression and for free speech. It’s a noble endeavor, but it’s too easy to for justice to become vengeance, and then your cause is no longer noble. Such a pattern often does more to harm society at large than the person responsible for wrongdoing did in the first place.”
Excellent philosophy Mr Codec. I wish more people had your wisdom.
I doubt very much that Pix is the kind of person who intends to take Kalolcakes to the cleaners and leave him living in a cardboard box in the street. From my perspective, it’s about the freedom of speech and the freedom to prevent someone abusing the system to hide his wrongdoing. In essence, it’s about justice. Something the supposed “Justice League Unlimited” has always failed to understand. As Peter Ludlow says in opening this article – “Sometimes we all have to take a stand”.
Jahar Aabye
Feb 9th, 2010
@Codec,
I had a long post written out, but then had to get up and take meds and the whole thing got deleted, but I’ll try re-writing what I remember. Anyways, was going to say that he very well might have been referencing my comment in another Herald story on this subject, about how natural causes would be more likely to kill me before a stalker could…although I probably have a lot more time than you, presuming that I can get through the next few weeks without any more episodes of status ep. So he could have been talking about either (or both) of us.
I also mentioned that the user “Icallbullshit” doesn’t get it. Having looked into that void (admittedly in a completely mindfucked ictal state), I can say that it’s just boring. No “light,” no calmness, no life flashing before your eyes, just boring nothingness. But by contrast, that means that life is exciting, it’s about laughing at spandex-clad superhero wannabes getting their rightful “justice,” or smelling the air in the desert right after it rains, or looking out your window to find your world covered in snow. And whether you’re just out of the hospital or a few weeks from death, there’s nothing like working on code, debugging it, and finally “It WORKS!!!!”
“Icallbullshit” probably thinks that death is like in the movies, where the hero makes a courageous stand and then says some deep, moving final words…but that’s what movies have trained a lot of people to think, so maybe it’s not just these superhero freaks who expect that sort of thing. Dunno about anyone else, but I think I crossed off most of my “bucket list” back in college.
Aside from a desire to watch Dr. Strangelove again, a hope that my last words would be a prayer for peace, and the desire for Springsteen’s Jungleland (the Hammersmith performance, preferably: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aRhqVWUPPs ) to be played at any memorial service, I don’t think I’m going to care whether I was wasting time reading and commenting about some story like this. Sure beats laying on the floor, thinking that you’re shouting out for help…only to realize that the seizure has spread to the area that controls your diaphragm, and you’re barely whispering. That’s another reality that “Icallbullshit” doesn’t get, and it’s another good reason to try to laugh at everything, in the most literal sense: it proves to yourself that you can breathe.
I think I also wrote about what you said about programming. I actually think that SL gives us a chance to go back to those golden days a bit, where we have 16kb code limits, and efficiency is more important than flashiness. LSL is all about doing more with less, and I hope those skills would translate to other areas of IT, even if knowledge of LSL itself may be useless outside of the realms of SL.
But I do think that SL does and will attract “non-traditional” programmers who might otherwise have gone on to do other things. It gives us the ability to program in real-time, and “object-oriented” literally means 3D objects. There’s a steep learning curve, but there’s also such a fast turnaround from writing code to making it “DO SOMETHING!” And that feeling of watching code turn into creation…hell, either you get it or you don’t, I’m guessing you do, and I don’t have to explain further.
As griefing becomes relegated more and more to scumbags trying to make a quick buck off the latest exploits before they become patched by LL, I think that you’ll see more of these non-traditional programmers finding productive niches in SL. There are a lot of us who grew up with computers but were intimidated or put off by traditional computer science classes, and I kinda wonder if SL will foster, and is fostering, those communities. Maybe the only difference between me and some script-kiddie griefers is that I was lucky to hang out with some good people in SL, who taught me about how to script ethically (and efficiently). That “efficiently” part is important too, because I hear so many people bemoaning how they could script all this cool stuff if only SL weren’t so restrictive/primitive, etc, when the “restriction” in those cases usually lies between the keyboard and the chair.
As for this particular court case, I’m sort of in agreement that 100k would be a steep fine, but I doubt he’d be paying that much. That was more likely an example, to demonstrate the severity of knowingly filing false DMCA claims. Kalel wasted a lot of people’s time, effort, and money here. Pix/Mark, Ludlow, Typepad, Prok, and countless others. Pix/Mark and Typepad specifically most likely had to spend money out of pocket for legal expenses, if at the very least to keep a lawyer or lawyers on retainer, but I suspect they’ve spent more than that.
I’d guess a couple thousand in punitive damages, court costs, attorney’s fees (plus his own attorney’s fees, since no attorney will take a case on contingency when there’s no chance of winning and no real monetary amount at stake). It’s not worth an excessive fine that will ruin a man (and his family’s) life, but it is important for the courts to send a message that false DMCA filings, especially for the purpose of harassment, is not acceptable. Besides, if Kalel is the one who files a lawsuit, he has only himself to blame for that, he should know the risks, and any attorney should spell them out for him very clearly.
That being said, I do hope that this gets settled without going to court. This would most likely wind up in the 9th circuit, and they’re known for some cowboy rulings. Granted, that bench probably has the most IT case experience of any in the country, but I still get a bit worried about putting IT issues in front of a judge, you never know what ruling you’re going to get…that’s true with any (non-IT) trial, just ask the guys who initially prosecuted Escobedo or Miranda.
And of course, LL is going to need to be going into damage-control mode. Firing Plexus is going to have to be a start, along with trying to portray the JLU as a bunch of griefers and downplaying any connections that they might have had with any LL employees. I think I had a few other suggestions for LL to follow, but my brain has been a bit scrambled lately, so you’ll have to forgive me.
In the end, these sort of databases and these sort of tactics are bad for LL and for the SL community. Griefers have been a problem, and may always be problematic, but the average SL user is going to care far more about who has access to their payment info that’s on file, to their RL private info when they registered, and how much they can trust LL employees to guard it. I’d expect in the next few weeks we’ll see some announcements from LL about improved privacy procedures, etc.
and btw, codec, feel free to IM me in-world if you want to discuss any of this outside of the Herald….or not, I’d understand that, too
Gaara Sandalwood
Feb 9th, 2010
“Very interesting commentary – too bad all of it – including the article itself – is based on wishful thinking.
It’s perjury for “Pixeleen” to try to claim fair use if there’s any reasonable doubt that that’s what was going on – but there’s no penalty for Kalol to do so. All he’s gotta do is say that it was his good faith estimate that he was right and that’s the end of it. It’s unfair. It’s unbalanced. But that’s how it works. And all this handwaving about Fair Use is mostly bunk. Fair use isn’t a right, it’s a defense, which means you can’t use it as a counter-attack, only to defend yourself. If Pixeleen actually thinks he’s on the right track, he’s very likely got an idiot for a lawyer.”
Translating…………..
Translation complete: “You’re wrong, we’re right, get over it and stop trying to overthrow our benevolent cause, please don’t take me to court, my mother will get so angry at me”
Hehehehehe
I agree with Tux here completely. JLU crossed the line. No matter how self important they are, their self proclaimed status as SL’s super hero watch is no excuse to try and do whatever the hell you want.
deadlycodec
Feb 9th, 2010
“Excellent philosophy Mr Codec. I wish more people had your wisdom.”
Thanks Senban, it’s based on my own mistakes, as a guy who has taken ‘justice’ too far, many times. But also as someone who has been very disappointed with the so-called justice system.
@thanks again
Hey there, intlib(?). Sounds like you’re hinting at yet another conspiracy theory there. Am I a member of the JLU now, because I am ‘suddenly verbose’? Please say it outright, under your SL pseud so that you can be restored to your rightful place as the laughingstock of Second Life – I could use a good laugh. FYI, I read the Herald all the time, but only generally comment on things where I feel that I have useful things to say. Many times I do it under a pseud that is unknown to everyone else.
You can ignore the advice now, but ending up on the other side of the law may be much easier than you would think. I know this from experience. I’ve been to jail twice as an adult, and both times it was for something that was extremely stupid. When you perpetuate attitudes like this, later on you usually regret them. I’ve done it, and found myself wishing I hadn’t when those very attitudes affected me in some way later on.
Just remember, a wise man once wrote:
“an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind”
His name was Gandhi. What you’re talking about is worse though. It’s an arm and a leg for an eye. $500 and court costs, and the dude learns his lesson and his pride gets hurt. After that, he won’t be doing it again. So why take it further?
deadlycodec
Feb 9th, 2010
@Jahar Aabye
I’d IM you but I haven’t been in SL for quite some time. I know a lot of people don’t seem to believe that, but I read the Herald more for nostalgia, and because I think it’s interesting. And even though I don’t always agree with them, I have immense respect for the people that run it. You can contact me via email if you like though, @ h[/dot/]samantha529[/at/]gmail[/dot/]com. I wouldn’t mind correspondence.
As far as your medical situation goes, I feel for you. I wish I could say more, but for some reason it’s extremely emotionally volatile territory for me right now. I have times where I am so certain about what life is about that I am comforted on some level, and others where I am so disgusted with the world at large that I am anxious to leave it all behind. I have never dealt with something so maddeningly complicated in my entire life. You know, I’ve been told that I am dying because I refused to take the toxic antiretrovirals. Maybe that is true, but with the side effects (hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, among others) and some of the social problems that stem from the disease, I seriously question what quality of life I would have and whether or not it would be worthwhile to extend it for another 10 years or so. I have been completely ostracized in the community in which I live after being open about the disease because I was naive enough to believe that I could change the way people saw it. Many friends stopped speaking to me altogether when they found out. My former best friend’s family, which included well-known local journalists, told him that I would turn him gay and give him the disease, that if he ate off of my dishes or drank after me he would get AIDS and die. They (the journalist couple) pursued a personal vendetta against me just because I was friends with him (their brother/brother-in-law), even though they didn’t know me, and made concerted attempts to undermine other friendships and business relationships in which I have been involved.
Other people stopped hanging out because they were afraid they would get it from sharing a bong with me. When my parents (whom I don’t even live with) had a guy (straight and married btw) move into their home (renting a room), they volunteered the info to him because “they thought he should know”. My former best friend’s family always pestered him asking how I got it, which seems to be everyone’s focus, and here in the bible belt it is widely believed that AIDS automatically means a person is gay, a prostitute of some sort, or an IV drug user. People are shunned for all of the above here. They have a “serves your right, fuck you” attitude about it. There are other things too, but they’re more personal (sounds impossible right?) so I won’t discuss them here.
After I figured out that I could not fight them or change their minds, I just locked myself in my home and began avoiding people altogether. At this point, I have lost most of the use of my right hand which has gone numb. When I get stressed, I end up becoming physically sick and bed-ridden for days at a time with flu-like symptoms. I had gotten my weight up to 200ibs as of July of last year, but now I’m back down below 150 and skin is peeling off of my face. I have oral thrush, and find myself having to take breaks even from using a computer more and more often due to nausea and lethargy.
It’s a terrible disease. And it’s wrong for anyone to use something like that, that is beyond a person’s control to attempt to insult a person, whether it be epilepsy or AIDS. I know it was my fault in part that I got it in the first place, but I can no longer help that I have it any more than you can help yours (I know you know that, not saying it for your benefit btw).
On a sidenote, for those who believe that there wasn’t ever any ‘justice’ for my misdeeds, there you have it. I didn’t pay with jail time or fines, but I have paid in other ways. And I will continue to pay, as long as I am breathing. I paid because my misdeeds (talking about griefing in Second Life, I stick to my guns as far as my work in the media goes with the exception of the story on Pixeleen) damaged my credibility and hurt my reputation, and I paid by experiencing the discrimination which I in some ways helped to foster towards other groups. I paid in spades, with sweat, blood, and tears, and profound suffering that I could never even begin to describe. So for those who would rub it in my face – you don’t even have to. I have to live with it, every single god-forsaken, excruciating day. I would rather have paid with jail and fines.
Jumpman Lane
Feb 9th, 2010
@greenlanturnexselsior You still fuckin snitchin! we KNEW pix was an ol coot from duke! but Jumpy went to Duke goddamnit! So we down with Pixeleen. Carolina goin to the NIT! And hopefully the JLU will gets whats comin to it!
Nelson Jenkins
Feb 9th, 2010
@Orion
This comes from a personal friend of most of the G-Team, not from an official announcement. Usually it is only utilized during one-on-one interviews or support tickets. Except that part about the Lindens using the silent treatment, that’s obviously not very public info.
Also, holy shit you people type to much.
Pierce Kronos
Feb 10th, 2010
So, how do I donate to Pix’s DMCA defense fund (if any)? Is in-world L$ acceptable?
All Seeing Eye
Feb 11th, 2010
So what happened? Did this entire thing fall into one of LL’s “memory holes”?
Jessica Holyoke
Feb 11th, 2010
@All Seeing Eye
Its not the Lab, its Typepad and Six Apart that has to respond. They have to take action in putting the material back up between 10 business days after filing the counter notice, which would be the 19th if you count President’s Day in the U.S. as a holiday, and 14 business days which would be the 25th, in order to allow time for KalEl to try to sue to keep the material off the website.
Jahar Aabye
Feb 12th, 2010
Now, if Kalel decides not to file a suit contesting copyright, what happens then? Obviously the Typepad would have to put the material back up. What about the post on Prok’s blog that Typepad took down in response to Kalel’s DMCA request? Would Kalel’s lack of response to this counterfiling, which indicates that he either does not own the copyrights or does not intend to pursue them in court, mean that Prok’s post gets put up again as well? What about other people who have received DMCA requests?
Does everyone who receives a DMCA request have to counterfile, or would Kalel’s lack of response indicate that he no longer intends to pursue this matter?
Also, in the event that Kalel elects not to file a motion to keep the material off the website, does that leave him open to any liability, or would it be more like the civil version of an Alford Plea? In other words, does he have the option of accepting that the counterfiling provides enough evidence to get the material placed back on the webpage, without admitting that his DMCA filing was false or factually misleading?
All of this presupposes that Kalel does not intend to file any further legal action. Rationally, it would be a very bad idea for him to do so, given the enormous expenses, the fact that the Herald’s legal defense team would likely submit the entire leaked portions of the JLU wiki as evidence (and I doubt that a judge would allow it to be sealed), plus the potential for the Herald’s defense team to subpoena the actual Braniac wiki from whatever site Kalel is currently using as his host. Hell, maybe Plexus Linden’s RL persona would receive a subpoena and at the very least be asked in deposition about what information he might have given Kalel.
If I were M Linden, I would be putting every ounce of pressure I could find on Kalel not to file a suit on this one. Barring that, I’d quietly find an excuse to give Plexus a two-week notice, and advise the RESI team to direct JLU reports to the waste bin, as some claim they are already doing.
Verbena of the Pennyfeathers
Feb 12th, 2010
@Jahar:
IANAL, but from my reading of DMCA, Kalel HAS to bring it to court. If he fails to do so, he’s guilty of filing a frivolous DMCA, which can carry criminal penalties.
Civil side, if he fails to take it to the proper venue, he becomes liable to sixapart for costs incurred with dealing with this mess (think lawyer consulting fees), and liable to SLHerald for similar.
Basically, he’s up the creek without the paddle.
Judge Joker
Feb 13th, 2010
This is pathetic…. Stop posting totally retarded articles, that distract from the main issue we were all focused on, do we care “Bill Gurley Discovers Virtual World Bean Counting”? Hell NO and NO it does not “Has to Be Said: It Has to Be Said”.
Do some more digging on this Venkman scandal Jessica Holyoke
What has to be said is we need more about this situation ok? This is prime-time! srs bzns.
Step up and Join the .JLU WIKI OPT-OUT. group in Second Life or step down and don’t pretend to care about Mr Venkman.
And if you do care? and can’t convince DC Comics to get rid of him try starting a fund to actualy pay for the rights to use the name “Justice League Unlimited” and the costumes in Second Life from DC Comics and force Linden Labs to hand over his group name throw his costumes into the asset server incinerator.
And FYI to those of you who subscribe to the Internet is srs bzns, stop trying to use the .JLU WIKI OPT-OUT. group as just another griefer group to hand out your replicating lollipops and srs bzns JLU wiki signs.
If they cause you to get banned for a legitimate protest then you’re doing it all fucking wrong.
I realise we’re all waiting for Typepad and Six Apart to respond but come on we need more, keep up the pace and pressure on Mr Venkman.
Tux Winkler
Feb 14th, 2010
@Jahar
Kalel sent a DMCA against the wiki being hosted on my server. I stated from the start I would not remove any data. In the UK our laws may be different but we have the right to review the claim and refuse it. They claim of copyright was found to be inaccurate and therefore refused.
Now, Kalel can still attempt to have it removed. The process is simple. He contacts me (actually my solicitor) and tries to sue under British law. This requires a public hearing with RL information. The use of psuedo’s is not permitted unless they are below legal age (which means they shouldn’t be playing SL). This of course would bring the wiki as evidence, publically. And would of course generate a much larger readership than thought possible linked to his RL name and address. The media loves stories like this (remembers SKY NEW’s coverage of the Lalinda Lovell/Wonderland thing). My solicitor is hoping for this as he wants to retire this year – XD.
@Pix/Herald
By all means link to the wiki subpages this way you are not hosing the content and are excluded. Until Kalel gets laughed out of the US too that is!
@Everyone
I founded the group .JLU WIKI OPT-OUT. to express my feelings about being listed in the wiki. We all know how the JLU check profiles etc, so if the group is there they shouldn’t include you in the wiki (which we shall find out on the next leak). It is free to join, and chat etc. I see some lanterns joined lol. Anyways all are welcome. Its a great tag to show in sandboxes etc. As soon as an update comes out I will check all members names!
(BTW – I have no idea what srs bzns means? /me feels old)
Tux Winkler
Feb 14th, 2010
Ok, I just looked at the wiki (something I have been trying to avoid for fear of getting hooked) and found this (vowels deliberately removed from JLU related stuff (everything else is LL so is OK) to hopefully allow the Herald to show):
- 1741056
- Vivix Expunging
- K#h#k# #w#t#ts#m#
- 2009-12-23 21:11:42
- J#st#c# #sl#nd
- J#st#c# #sl#nd
- Harassment > Solicting/inciting others to violate ToS
- Founder of “Griefer Armory”
So a group founder can be AR’d? Maybe this is why I have been banned a few times ^.^
This could easily be applied to Kalel and his groups. Lets face it the JLU members are incited to break TOS to ‘protect the innocent’ – XD.
Pot and Kettle methinks!
We
Feb 14th, 2010
@Tux Winkler
I’ve already been banned for “Disclosure” twice (still waiting out the second one), once for putting out a link to your site, and the next for putting a link to the Herald (even though there was no disclosure of any kind there). I’ve put in a dispute for both, and despite the site claiming it takes no longer than 3 days, it’s now been 10 days with no response. So it goes to show that LL doesn’t really look hard into abuse reports if sent en masse.
I’m still looking forward to developments on this, seems TypePad is stalling over it because I imagine if they had gotten a response back they’d have written an article by now; either to criticize TypePad or to declare victory.
Jahar Aabye
Feb 14th, 2010
After digging a bit further, I believe that the relevant issue is Title II of the DMCA, the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA), which is Title 17, Section 512 of the United States Code, which is the “512″ mentioned in the article. This creates the “Safe Harbor” provisions as well as the takedown and counterfiling protocols.
Ludlow correctly cites section 512(f), which states:
“(f) Misrepresentations.— Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section—
(1) that material or activity is infringing, or
(2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification,
shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner’s authorized licensee, or by a service provider, who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.”
This means that Kalel could potentially be liable for any damages, costs, and attorney’s fees in this case, provided that he knowingly materially misrepresented that the material in question was infringing. However, this would likely require the Herald and/or Typepad and/or Six Apart to file an action against Kalel.
The law does not appear to specifically require Kalel to file a suit, but it does state that the service provider reinstate the material within the given timeframe if Kalel does not provide notice that he is filing an action seeking a court order to have the material taken down.
So filing a legal request for a court order to have this material taken down would be Kalel’s only option for keeping this material off, provided that the counterfiling is accurate and valid. However, there is no legal requirement for him to do so, only that the material will be restored unless he does so.
USC 17 512(f) would leave Kalel liable for damages, depending on the circumstances, but I think that it might require more than simply Kalel’s decision not to file for a court injunction to keep the material off. As I read 512(f), the party filing for damages (Pix/Mark, the Herald, Typepad, Six Apart) would have to show that Kalel:
“knowingly materially misrepresent(ed)…that material or activity is infringing”
Unfortunately, this would appear to place the burden on the injured party to prove that Kalel acted in this manner. Presuming that Kalel decides to keep his mouth shut and doesn’t file a court order for the material to be taken down, the ball would be in the Herald’s court (and Typepad’s court) as to whether to pursue damages under 512(f) and to show that Kalel knowingly materially misrepresented information in his original DMCA filing.
All that’s been happening so far has involved the “Safe Harbor” clause that affects the service provider hosting the material, regarding whether or not it can be displayed. To my knowledge, there has not been any direct legal action taken by or against any of the other parties involved.
Tux Winkler
Feb 15th, 2010
@We
I am sorry to hear that. I would be on the phone to Linden Lab to get it resolved. They can only enforce disclosure within the confines of their servers, ie: in Second Life. If you linked outside tell them. I have found (in all fairness) the Lindens do eventually clear the incorrect bans from your account (I have had a few – XD). Unfortunately it usually takes longer than the ban itself.
As to the G-Team/RESI, there is not enough of them I don’t think and they are riddled with personal views and opinions. A few are good, the rest should be sacked (IMO). It seems the mass AR’s are heard by a few Lindens who support ‘Men In Tights’.
However, through all of this, I have only had passing comments from a few friendly Lindens. Perhaps it is because the DMCA was thrown out, or because the times I am reported the sensible (no derogatory intention in this word) Lindens choose the actions, I don’t know.
BTW, when in sandboxes, the new or obvious alt accounts IMing me, trying to get me to say things that are untrue or against TOS. Or trying to probe me to find out who rents the server space (come on guys a 0day account asking for a name?) just simply is out of order. If the members of the JLU cannot ask me directly, I sure as hell am not going to tell an ALT. I should report you all for alt abuse – XD.
We
Feb 15th, 2010
@Tux Winkler
“I am sorry to hear that. I would be on the phone to Linden Lab to get it resolved. They can only enforce disclosure within the confines of their servers, ie: in Second Life. If you linked outside tell them. I have found (in all fairness) the Lindens do eventually clear the incorrect bans from your account (I have had a few – XD). Unfortunately it usually takes longer than the ban itself.”
Yeah I’ve been considering it, I did flag down a Linden (the one who returned the items and therefore presumably did the ban), and he seemed confused what the ban was even for before going off into the “use the proper channels” mode. Next time I’ll try the sign without any links at all and see if they still Abuse Report it, and if I still get suspended for disclosure.
“I should report you all for alt abuse – XD.”
Make sure to get 14 other people to report as well.
Senban Babii
Feb 15th, 2010
@Judge Joker
“And FYI to those of you who subscribe to the Internet is srs bzns, stop trying to use the .JLU WIKI OPT-OUT. group as just another griefer group to hand out your replicating lollipops and srs bzns JLU wiki signs.
If they cause you to get banned for a legitimate protest then you’re doing it all fucking wrong.”
Interesting point. I spent quite some time tonight with the owner of a sandbox and a builder looking at these signs to see how they were created etc. In all fairness they’re pretty sneakily created so kudos for your evil creativity. But from what I’ve heard tonight, they’re pissing off more people than they are raising awareness/support and so I have to question whether they’re ultimately doing more harm than good. I can understand the thinking and the motive but surely there are better tools and methods available to get the job done?
We
Feb 15th, 2010
@Senban Babii
Mine, for the records, are not the sneaky ones. It’s just a megaprim with a texture I created on it, one per sim, and at first a link to the JLU wiki (then I got banned 2 days for disclosure), then I changed the link to one of the Second Life Herald articles (and I got banned for 5 days for disclosure).
Judge Joker
Feb 15th, 2010
I’m sure you could call me crazy but perhaps a legitimate unbannable protest would be to congregate at Linden Meetings, so no other users can get in but without all the images, placards or anything apart from us in those once favorable
“I have not rezzed yet” plain gray skins.
With No speaking to the Lindens just sitting legitimately taking up their meeting space they might start to legitimately ask why and perhaps someone can talk for us and explain the situation as opposed to just banning us all everytime someone opens their mouth.
If there is no talk, then there is nothing new to add to the JLU chat logs of the meetings and I would guess JLU could not even get in to the meeting as well and that would benefit SL more than just us.
Senban Babii
Feb 16th, 2010
@We
“Mine, for the records, are not the sneaky ones. It’s just a megaprim with a texture I created on it, one per sim, and at first a link to the JLU wiki (then I got banned 2 days for disclosure), then I changed the link to one of the Second Life Herald articles (and I got banned for 5 days for disclosure).”
Thanks for the clarification
Tux Winkler
Feb 16th, 2010
@Judge Joker
You are right but they would still report everyone. There is a little known rule (it is kept quite because it would put the JLU in yet another situation of breaking the rules).
- “abusing mass-teleporting is disturbing the peace per our Community Standards”
Seems there is little clauses that can be applied to some when needs must!