[mythtv-users] Free US/Canada Listings

Kevin Hulse jedi at mishnet.org
Thu Sep 6 15:03:53 UTC 2007


On Thu, Sep 06, 2007 at 05:03:14PM +1000, Bill Williamson wrote:
> On 9/6/07, Robert Current <robert.current at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 9/6/07, J Douglas <jdouglas70 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi,
> > > >
> > > > Here is a list of free TV listing sites for US/Canada.
> > >
> > >
> > > How many of them are legal to scrape?
> >
> > Unless there is a lawyer present, it's safe to assume none of them are
> > legal.  If 100% in writing legality is the concern, best to avoid
> > them.
> >
> > However, several are used.
> 
> 
> 
> -How many of them have ToS that specifically prohibits scraping?
> -How many of them will start changing their output to a non-scrapable format
> once 5000 people start hitting them?

    How much is certainty worth to you? Do you really want your PVR disabled
for ANY amount of time as a patch is created to address ANY change in the 
format of the web page. 

    It doesn't have to be intentional or "malicious". It could be simply a 
change the web page makes in the course of maintaining itself oblivious to 
the idea that people a dependent on a certain level of consistency.

     You are rambling on about notions of TOS when infact the relevant idea
is SLA. You pay $5 per month to SD for a service level, not just authorization
to use/abuse the data.

[deletia]


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