[mythtv-users] Myth Developers ban all use of MythTV as a PVR due to IP infringement?

[kijuhty kijuhty]

>> The myth devs have not told anyone not to use screenscrapers. Nor have
any asked anyone to stop discussing screenscrapers.

Quote: So take it off list, just like the Torrentocracy discussions.  Ok?

>> If you don't like the product, DON'T USE IT.  If you don't like following
the rules of the list owner, GO AWAY

So now you're against the whole concept of free software?  For years all of
us have contributed patches, bug reports and fixes, donating our time for
free, because of the promise that we could always use the software for
free.  Now, when we try to even discuss using it for free, which was the
whole "deal" behind all of us donating our time, you say "GO AWAY".  This is
like Gracenote taking all the free data the community contributed to CDDB,
and then telling them go away when they tried to use the fruits of their own
labor.

>> As I note in another thread, Phill, there *is* a reason.  If we get
Tribune pissed off at SD, we're screwed... again.

The excuse that discussing screen scraping will "ruin it for the SD
subscribers" is ridiculously lame.  If *some* people start screen scraping
that doesn't mean Tribune will cancel SD and thereby force everyone to
screen scrape, and "ruining it" for the SD subscribers.  Why would they?  It
would only make it worse!  To the contrary, if people start screen scraping,
it's going to make Tribune more likely to find a less expensive or less
invasive alternative because they'll realize everyone didn't just roll over
and give in to their demands and pay them whatever fee they asked.
Personally I think that if people start screen scraping and it really is a
problem for Tribune, they'll be more likely to make DD free again or find
some other palatable alternative.  After all, the whole reason they gave us
DD for free was *because* of screen scraping.  It worked before.  Screen
scraping equalled free epg data.  And I still believe that if everyone
hammered their servers with screen scrapers they'd go back again to free epg
data since that solved the problem for them the last time, and this SD thing
is really just testing the waters to see if the myth community will pay and
not go back to scraping.  But no matter what, having some users scrape data
is NEVER going to make them stop taking money from the users that are
willing to pay for it, and it's absurd to suggest otherwise.  When Tribune
announced they were going to "terminate" dd, if they really meant it they
would have just terminated it, rather than started fishing for a way to get
everyone to pay for it.  And if everyone says "no, we won't pay", they
probably would have backed off the termination threat because continuing
free dd service would have been cheaper than working around scrapers.
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