Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Dispatches from the Napster and Gnutella front

Author:Nick Sweeney
Posted:4/21/2000; 8:37:10 AM
Topic:Dispatches from the Napster and Gnutella front
Msg #:16501 (In response to 16486)
Prev/Next:16500 / 16502

I think that Napster is pot for the new decade. It delivers a service for which there is a very high demand (low-cost, per-song electronic acquisitions) and for which there is very little interest in enforcement.

That's a great analogy. My followup: the reason why pot is so common on US campuses is because people can't get into bars until they're 21, and it's an easier way to make your own entertainment than messing around with fake IDs and the like. Or in more abstracted terms, it's because the legal alternative is also prohibited to them, but with much stricter enforcement. The lesser evil. This situation tends to astonish Brits, and especially continental Europeans, who introduce their children to alcohol in a family setting so that they're brought up to treat it responsibly.

So, applying the analogy to Napster and Gnutella: the RIAA is behaving like a bar's doorman, checking IDs, and then complaining about what happens outside when people are turned away at the door. In the long run, it'd be better to work with these tools than have them turned against you.

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