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Rutgers Objectivists

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Atlas51184

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I go to Rutgers University in NJ. I know MinorityOfOne does, too. I think I read someone else mention that they go to Rutgers also, but I can't remember who and I can't find the post. So, is there anyone here besides me and Matt who goes to Rutgers? I'd be really interested in knowing.

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What did the other Rutgers students think about the University cracking down on "Direct Connect?" For non-Rutgers students, Direct Connect was a huge file-sharing hub that operated within the local University internet system. Did you all think Rutgers waited too long to disband the system? Do you think the administration knew about its existence even before an anonymous email supposedly brought it to their attention?

Personally what I found interesting about this entire incident was that the amount of students who came out to support file-sharing beat any other public display of interest (for political and ethical issues). ;)

Today's issue of the University newspaper (the Daily Targum) has multiple articles and opinion columns/letters discussing filesharing, Direct Connect, etc. www.dailytargum.com

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Hmm. I don't know much about it, since I live off-campus and haven't really used the Rutgers network. But, from the article:

Rather than prosecuting the students involved, the University decided to issue a warning in order to educate the community about the illegality of file sharing and its consequences.

"It was so widespread we wanted to get word out to educate everybody - it's widespread, and it needs to stop," Jordan said.

And again:

Yes, this server is technically illegal but very few students who used it recognized their actions as illegal.

This is ridiculous. Who doesn't know that piracy is illegal? And how can you educate people about the consequences of theft by refusing to provide any consequences?

(For the record, I doubt the server itself actually was illegal, but the students' actions certainly were.)

The evasion in these articles is enormous:

The Pirate Act is allegedly being created to "protect intellectual rights against theft and expropriation." However, the wording of this law is very misleading. Many renowned recording artists spanning a diverse array of styles and genres - including Ben Folds Five, The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy front man Chuck D, Cypress Hill, Limp Bizkit, Radiohead, The Grateful Dead and the Offspring - have come out as strong proponents of file-sharing services. Many artists like Metallica, Dr. Dre and Eminem - who have spoken out against file-sharing - are believed to be strongly influenced by their strict contractual obligations. In many instances, recording artists receive around 15 percent of profits from record sales. Most of their profits are garnered from tours. So, if the artists are creating this "intellectual property" and aren't stepping up against file-sharing, then whose "intellectual rights" are our new copyright laws aiming to protect?

If a recording artist has any integrity, he will not encourage others to rip off the companies which whom he freely signed a contract. One of the most common tactics used by piracy-supporters is to claim that the recording industry is itself inherently immoral, because it only gives a small percentage of the profits from an album to the artist. They say that the artists make all of their money from touring. That's probably actually true, but how did the people who buy tickets for their concerts hear about them? Might that have anything to do with the immense amounts of money the recording industry pours into distribution and promotion of albums?

And if the recording industry is so bad for artists, why do they keep signing recording contracts???

I'm going to look into this a bit more, and probably post something on my blog about it. Maybe send in a letter to the editor. This sort of thing really pisses me off.

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Some people I know used it frequently, so I've seen what it was. It was enormous. Literally anything you wanted was on it. Movies, music, TV shows, etc. I know they shut it down, but it will probably resurface in another form soon.

Question: If all of this file sharing is being done on the Rutgers network, and Rutgers does nothing about it, would it proper for the RIAA to go after Rutgers?

I think yes, since Rutgers knew about it for some time and allowed it to go on. In a way aren't they aiding and abetting theft?

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