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XBMC's Piracy Stance: Draft
While not exactly piracy related stuff... but the XBMC FAQ Rule #9

"Don't ask how to get or copy/backup games, videos, music, (even if you own the original)!"

is violated by this thread... http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=52615

I have wondered why nobody has ever objected to it, from the standpoint of the rule in the FAQ....
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ndeshmukh Wrote:While not exactly piracy related stuff... but the XBMC FAQ Rule #9

"Don't ask how to get or copy/backup games, videos, music, (even if you own the original)!"

is violated by this thread... http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=52615

I have wondered why nobody has ever objected to it, from the standpoint of the rule in the FAQ....

Maybe because it does not ask just tells you how to do it. Smile
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ndesh, I can't speak for the rest of the team on that one, but in my opinion our entire piracy stance is to indicate our complete willingness to support content producers. In my opinion, software to strip DRM is perfectly moral and ethical, and if it weren't, iTunes should be morally wrong as well, given that iTunes enables a person to "rip" a CD. In both situations, the goal is to honestly pay for the original content, and then simply use it as you see fit.

As we know, XBMC is a US Foundation, and so we cannot host an addon like the one in question that rips DRM in our repository, but such software is totally legal and reasonable in numerous nations and ethical in all of them, as far as I am personally concerned.

It is for that reason that we are taking the very narrow stance that we are taking with these forum rules. Our goal is to limit the connection between XBMC and the acquisition of content that a person has not acquired the copyright license to personally use via the development of software, while at the same time doing as little as humanly possible to stifle creativity surrounding XBMC. That's it. We have no desire to limit the actual way in which a person uses his or her content.

Like it or not, the only known purpose of icefilms is to provide direct access to so-called pirated content. Virtually every other addon for XBMC is creative enough to get around being an addon created exclusively for the purpose of providing direct access to pirated content. The lummel addon has absolutely nothing to do with accessing pirated content, and so it's not in any way a part of the discussion.

As for deleting threads: Once again, I speak only for myself, but I simply don't think it's necessary. Once again, I am speaking only for myself, but pretty much the entire goal of this policy is to distance XBMC from the development of piracy software. This is accomplished by telling people, "You will not be developing any more piracy software in our forum." Boom. Done. We point them somewhere where we don't have to be the host anymore, and, with luck, everybody leaves each other alone. Deleting old threads is just beating an already dead horse.

I am choosing to leave this thread open, because I have absolutely no doubt that that there will be quite a lot of people trying to figure out exactly where our line is drawn. Who knows, there may even be some smart people able to draw an even finer line that will allow us to allow yet more creative software in.

tl;dr: Just so long as you understand that the entire goal is to encourage as much creativity as possible, while discouraging actual piracy within an addon, you should see exactly where we are drawing the line. Hopefully that helps.
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macf1an Wrote:yes there is piracy content there, no - it isn't its main goal. It contains what users publish in their playlists. I'm wondering if you're really going to bend your own rule just to get it out of the system.

Edit: Since I'm not sure how deep would you go in analyzing - have in mind that what you see in terms of user submitted playlists/items are just the ones marked as public. There are lots and lots more private playlists available/visible just to the authenticated user - think personal videos, photos etc. uploaded online in one or more of the supported hosts.

Sounds basically like Youtube, which is certainly good enough for me.
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I, personally, am glad that XBMC is taking this stance.

I can't name how many times I've had to tell NEW users that give Feature Suggestions:
Quote:XBMC walks a thin line. It will play anything, no questions added. However, by promoting this feature, it would be condoning piracy. After that there would be going back to the current status quo.
This keeps idiot/morons from asking for feature or addons that endanger XBMC
Image
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Has anyone looked into addons which stream from sites who require a monthly fee, yet are serving up illegal streams?

IMO these are rather dangerous as they look legit to the average user, but the site has no rights to re-distribute, but yet is there making a profit.. these sites are fairly obvious to spot with their not so legal disclaimers

As far as piracy goes, I have big problems with profiting - charging money (ad revenue aside) from users, which potentially puts those users at risk since they are handing over credit card #'s etc. transaction records would be snagged the minute a site is busted

XBMC addon's helping gain more paid subscribers could be very dangerous
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Good for Team XBMC taking a stance against piracy. I hope they don't go around pointing fingers at who will get their blessings or not when it comes to open discussion of development on their platform though... that would be heading towards bureaucracy and I'm no fan of that.

iRoNBiLL
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Okay so:

iceFilms accessed through iceFilms plugin = not okay
IceFilms accessed through Navi-X plugin = okay

There is clearly no actual standard being used to make these calls, at least not one based on the new policy. Anyone who claims otherwise is flat out lying or not understanding of the definitions and reasons given by the TEAM.

I UNDERSTAND MAKIN THE CALL. I don't understand not standing by it.
will always be grateful for XBMC and XBMC.ORG
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Dude, icefilms is just a fraction of Navi-X. Not its's sole purpose. Didn't you read the thread?
ATV2 4.3 8F455 Seas0npassed / XBMC 11
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Apparently not.

BTW what is stabel?
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Abrasher Wrote:Okay so:

iceFilms accessed through iceFilms plugin = not okay
IceFilms accessed through Navi-X plugin = okay

There is clearly no actual standard being used to make these calls, at least not one based on the new policy. Anyone who claims otherwise is flat out lying or not understanding of the definitions and reasons given by the TEAM.

I UNDERSTAND MAKIN THE CALL. I don't understand not standing by it.

You can access icefilms however you want, but you just can't talk about it here.
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macf1an Wrote:Dude, icefilms is just a fraction of Navi-X. Not its's sole purpose. Didn't you read the thread?

Indeed it is just a fraction, in fact Navi-X provides a many more sources of illegal stuff to download, if anything it is a worse offender than the Icefilms plugin.

Are you saying that if the Icefilms plugin also provided access to legal streams such as the Abbey Road and Niagra Falls webcams, then it would be okay?

This difference in stance between these 2 plugins alone goes to show that this policy simply isn't going to work and need a rethink.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16642369

Quote:Megaupload, one of the internet's largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US.

The site's founder and others have been charged with violating piracy laws.

Federal prosecutors have accused it of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue. The firm says it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

and this is why you can't rely on sites like icefilms, now that addon is completely useless since 99% of links were from megaupload.

I know some people even bought accounts on there! now they are screwed.
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And it's a good example of why this thread was started. We don't want the same thing to happen to XBMC!
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rofl
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