Semthex's Propaganda

[Swad]

apparently people can now make money of free speech.

 

Really I see the forum/website, as a piece of software, to be just like skype - it's a means for people to talk to each other. Skype does make money, although it's through direct payment and not ads (see my post on the last page about the difference). It's not selling free speech, it's earning money as a place to facilitate that speech.

[A Nonny Moose]

This forum allows people to talk about what they want to talk about in a free and open way....

 

...apparently people can now make money of free speech.

 

You don't have free speech here. You've never had free speech here. Your speech can be actively censored by the mods for any reason whatsoever. In fact, InsanelyMac can proclaim they own everything you've ever posted on here by changing the user agreement you signed when you came on here (as is with the DC Comics message boards after a brief search for an example).

[porka]

Im in the same boat as Xeon3D, Ive also been a regular reader since the beginning but this is the first time Ive made any input...Its a stupid discussion, Im 100% with Swad on this one..

[Zulu.Walker]

#2: This is (or was) Mash \ Swad's website. He started it. He paid for the servers, domains, etcetera. It's HIS.

#3: If he wants to sell what's his, he's all in his right to do it, as I am, in case I want to sell anything that's mine.

 

I agree with him paying for the server, he initially paid for it from his own pockets. The server is his but most of his content is not of his own creation. The OS is Steve-o's but has been heavily modified and not by him, so by your definition can he do anything he wants with it?

 

 

Here's a little bit of "fiction" from the mind of an overworked man:

 

It's like a car rebuilding project. A man found a really good chassis to start from and plan on fixing it up in his own garage, but he doesn't know how to put it together, just an idea on what it'll turn out: 100% working and hella fast. Then a buddy comes over and sees the car and says, "Hey, I think the V8 from that rust-bucket in my backyard will fit." So he goes and puts it in and everything looks perfect, except there's no locally available tranny that'll fit his engine, the body can't take the torque, and they have some serious wiring and tuning problems simply because they don't have the resources. Lucky enough, a buddy knows another buddy who's great at working with these kinds of things. So he comes over, realizes some bodywork has to be done as well as making custom mounts and stiffening the suspension; pretty soon, they have the garage full of gearheads collaborating together on a car that they know will be cool and fast when it's done and will cram a ton of dust down his Pinto-driving neighbor's throat. Plus, they know what they're doing has never been done before and will be an attraction wherever it is. The chassis guy, knowing nothing of the innards of his soon-to-be-blazing vehicle, simply decides to join his buddies in Vegas, knowing his competent "crew" can hold the fort; and upon coming back, sees that the car is finished with just some slight touches needed. And so he thinks a while, concludes that all that is needed now are some rims, a shiny exhaust tip, and a ton of gas, and decides to send the guys for a night out. The crew goes ahead to the local bar without even talking about compensation, all fired up about how they finally got every part up and working on their after-school/after-job project that no one thought could be done. After a few crates of beer and a dozen women later, with dawn just breaking, they head back to the garage because in their excitement, they forgot their cash in the garage. Doreen's in the taxi waiting, pissed off because all she wants is her payment.

 

Garage shutters slide up, the car is gone.

 

The next week, they see their custom on TV on a dirt track plastered with McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and Dell ads. Microsoft could be seen on the rear bumper, but because they paid so little, it could only be seen by a drafting driver 8 inches away.

 

Dejected and realizing they could work on their own, the "crew" opened their own shop elsewhere with no intent of any corporate backup or widespread acceptance. They have refused his reality and replaced it with theirs.

 

The End.

 

 

 

...peace.

...respect.

 

 

 

An open discussion is always the best.

[Swad]

Zulu.Walker-

 

Nice allegory, although I think it's a little misguided. Your car could be seen as OSx86 itself - a collaborative effort that if someone tried to sell would be terribly upsetting. This forum, though, is much more like a pub.

I bought the pub, the building, the names, the beer glasses, etc. Then people started hanging out here. They liked the place and they wanted to fix it up a bit. Some people who did a lot of work got paid for it (ignorantcow, etc). Others just wanted to do a few things to make sure it remained a place to hang out. A few beer coasters had ads on them that weren't obtrusive. In fact, you could click on the coasters if you saw something that really interested you (ok, a little bit of stretch here with the "pub" metaphor, but you see what I mean).

 

One day, as owner of the pub, I realized that school wasn't going to give me enough time to keep up the place. I decided to sell the pub (the building, etc) and the archives of all the conversations people had while they were here (no pub does this, but keep going with the example...). Another great new group of guys bought it and wanted to keep it basically the same with a few improvements - better drinks, more TVs, a new paint job, etc. The people kept coming since that's what the place was all about in the beginning. Life was good.

I think that's probably a little better metaphor to stick with - it wasn't like I have sold a product we've all been working on. I've sold the building where we all talk about things. Those are quite different.

 

Also, check out this thread for a discussion about how this site does not and has never censored posts.

[Zulu.Walker]

The car was all I could think of lol And yes, the pub idea works better than the car project, it's true. The point I was trying to put across was that those who contributed "in the pub" are now annoyed that the notes they "inadvertently left" in the pub for their "car project" was now in the hands of other people who found it of popular interest, saw its marketing potential, and made the "pub" into a strip joint. Add a few greenhorns, a couple of huge posters on the wall, and with some teens handing out flyers, the joint soars in popularity.

 

I don't have a PSP to sync to with a Mac, so I guess the banners top and bottom of the main page are not relevant to me. But let's not kill each other on this matter alone.

 

No comment on censorship, I still believe in free speech.

[Guest Ramm]

You and your two posts really know what they are talking about......

 

If you don't like it, leave. The site is in good hands. Swad still visits, you know.

[consolation]

The pub analogy is pretty good, except, the guys who made the beer didn't get paid. Then, the pub was sold...

[zedzed]

The pub analogy is pretty good, except, the guys who made the beer didn't get paid. Then, the pub was sold...

 

Without the constant supply of beer the pub would have not reason for existence. No matter how much work is done on the website - the website is basically a support system for the work that is done by the devs. I think that the seller of the site should have given some money to the devs such as Semthex and JaS and other major contributers.

[Swad]

That'd be true if all we got together for was to talk about beer. But that's not the case.

 

Anyway, Ramm bumped this thread that was already 3 weeks quiet, so since we've had 3 replies in the last month, I'm closing the thread. Thanks for everyone who let their opinions be heard.