Re: Forwarded Invite to Discussion of EME at the European Parliament, Oct. 15, 11:00-13:00

On Oct 14, 2013, at 13:07 , Duncan Bayne <dhgbayne@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>>  I certainly get that sense from your frustration.
> 

No, my frustration is that we rarely get beyond a rather vague "I don't like it", or "it's contrary to some [rather unexplored] principles."

I think it has fallen to *me* to point out some of the downsides to DRM, as well as pointing out some of the reasons for its existence, for example.  Yes, the restrictions on fair use are troubling, yes, for some people, the lack of arbitrary device portability is a concern, and so on.  Until we can get a reasoned exploration of the problems we don't like, and an analysis of what's needed, I doubt we'll see a better idea.  And without a better idea, I don't see this conversation going anywhere.

Nor does imputing motives to others help, or roping in other (mostly unrelated) problems, or other questionable debating techniques.  In fact, they look like attempts to bolster a weak case.

David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.

Received on Tuesday, 15 October 2013 00:08:47 UTC