Operation Payback Continues Pestering

Operation Payback is an initiative to fight back on the continued push from the RIAA/MPAA/etc for more copy protection and rights removal on purchased entertainment. The site styles their motivation as Robin Hoods of the electronic frontier and while I agree with some of it's gripes concerning entertainment usage and consumer rights, their actions are not a positive movement.

What the site proposes is an organized, distributed DDoS attack on certain sites in order to protest whatever flippant remark the sites owner may have made towards DRM or even the movement itself. To participate, you install a client which will add your computer to a hive-mind enabled bot-net meant to bring down a target and redirect it's traffic to The Pirate Bay. It is important to point out that the people behind this are not affiliated with TPB and have gone to multiple lengths to say so, the truth is subjective as crossover is obvious.

I agree with the idea that I should have first sale rights to whatever media I purchase, I agree that I shouldn't be forced to submit to a worse customer experience than the pirates do via draconian DRM techniques. I don't agree with the idea that defacing a website will do anything positive for the loosening of DRM measures and I certainly don't agree with their alignment to the "poor" and especially to college education.

The "poor" don't need entertainment, they need better jobs. Entertainment is just a way to escape the unhappiness of everyday life - you know, teach a man to fish... Entertainment is cheap everywhere, libraries have books and video that can be borrowed for free. Used book stores and video shops also carry very cheap entertainment. The idea that the companies OPB is targeting want to destroy this venue is ridiculous, no court will allow any company or faction to destroy the library, and hence the educational system, over some greedy precedent. Video, especially educational video in libraries, would also fall into this category. College students are not going to run the risk of not being able to purchase second-hand books, just second-hand software. Software that college students require are sold at an educational price, are given a student loan based on their needs. Their desire for a gaming laptop instead of Office and CAD is their priority issue, not a DRM issue.

The problem is, the "poor" don't want educational videos, they want junk food mainstream garbage. The students don't want to spend money on needs, they want to spend it on wants. We are a selfish and indulgent species and will take whatever opportunity we can to get what we want, regardless of income. The problem is not a lack of money, it's the greed of wanting more than can be afforded. If OPB want's my vote, remove the greed, pride and childish tantrums from their actions and learn to fight on a field that will make a difference.