Linus tech tips "pirating" OCCT - answer from the dev [Reddit thread]

[kumicota]

9 minutes ago, Jaesop said:

Sure. But there is no law which makes what they did illegal. By that logic, Adobe would be suing people who make online classes for using their products.

There's law because companies already did it:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/xilinx-sends-lawyers-after-online-educators/

 

And a lot of universities receiving letters from companies like microsoft from using pirated software

 

[Egg-Roll]

4 hours ago, tikker said:

Replacing the battery was said to require specific tools and risks damaging your device, both true in devices nowadays with how tight they are built and again nothing of him being against user-replacable batteries. He even goes on to say that moving back towards user-replacable batteries is practically the only way something can be done about it.

Nice selective hearing you have there!

I even created a topic here shortly after calling him out on his bold faced lies too and wouldn't you know it he didn't even acknowledge his mistake.

 

However it isn't moving backwards now is it? It would be moving forward with user reparability in mind. Equally by claiming going backwards he is in fact condoning the unfreindly nature of non-removable batteries. He said himself these exact words which are I'll repeat again a bold faced lie:

Quote

so unless the smartphone market as a whole moves back towards bulkier phones with user replaceable batteries and away from slim sleek and animoji machines that need to be replaced every couple of years

 

So I'll break this down for you, he said backwards already covered that, he then said they are bulkier I also covered that. Then he said sleek and animoji, first I proved at the time of the publishing sleek is a lie, and second he is inferring that all replaceable battery phones are incapable with animoji, well for one obviously it's a Apple thing... For 2 WHAT? No it doesn't the limitation is not the backing of the phone or user friendly replaceable batteries, that's 100% BS my phones backing is plastic it's not melted so tell me what's the difference? IP rating? Yea the S5 proved that is also possible. Finally that last part he is clearly on the side of throw away tech with the "need to be replaced every couple of years", and now somehow when everyone is talking about needless e-waste he "magically" turns around? People don't change like that.

 

Oh for your "tightly built" nonsense the V30 for LG proved that wrong, and every time Jerry tears down a phone proves you wrong as well most of the time. The battery is isolated in the phone for stupidly obvious safety reasons, non-removable batteries is simply put fear mongering with IP rating and profiting from people who don't want to bother with dismantling their phones or getting others to do it for them.

 

FYI my current plastic backed phone is 8.8mm without a case. vs my last replaceable phone the Stylo 3+ of 7.4. Battery size difference? 400mah and that's NOT including the camera bump as it really should. So CLEARLY there is some lying going on here, phones are NOT thinner because they no longer have removable batteries but in fact they are thicker or as thick (S21+ is 8.7mm) as their removable counter parts... Besides we all hate the camera bumps right? Removable batteries fix that issue with Linus's logic.

 

Simply put do your own research into a matter instead of believing someone who clearly has an agenda to uphold.

[Fasterthannothing]

23 hours ago, SlidewaysZ said:

A. Webster's definition of repremand: "to reprove sharply or censure formally usually from a position of authority"

 

You said and I quote "Your just objectively wrong. The price is set by the seller not the buyer. You 'can' steal/pirate it, but then just admit it to yourself."

 

Thats a pretty clear repremand in regards to AdBlock.  

 

B. You also just said that your video is made for educational purposes therefore you do not pay for a license. So either you have a business in which you make money through videos and in that case should be buying a business license for every software you ever touched in a video. OR you actually make educational videos and you should allow others to view them for free and or more freely since you cannot be a for profit or commercial enterprise. In that case you can claim education rights to software. To be able to legally use something under an educational license you must meet certain legal requirements. 

 

 

A good resource for this: 

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/academic-and-educational-permissions/non-coursepack/

 

I'm not going to pretend I'm a lawyer but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize your lawyers aren't going to be happy with your company using software without a commercial license when one is available to purchase. 

@LinusTechYou ask me to respond to your questions you posed yet you can't take 30 seconds to reply especially with an entire thread going off the rails. Seems like you might need more than a simple explanation because many people in this thread are beginning to question your character and the thread is spinning out of control.

[Jaesop]

50 minutes ago, kumicota said:

There's law because companies already did it:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/xilinx-sends-lawyers-after-online-educators/

A C&D is not a law. It's a demand by a company's lawyers. Is there a specific law you're referring to?

51 minutes ago, kumicota said:

And a lot of universities receiving letters from companies like microsoft from using pirated software

Well yes of course, they're using pirated software which is fairly distinct from demonstrating a personal use version.

[ㅤㅤeij298]

On 2/13/2022 at 3:42 PM, LinusTech said:

There are some other aspects of your post that I could probably type out a longer reply to - like the insinuation that (even if we wanted to) LTT could somehow destroy your OCCT business, or that we don't reply to outreach (I searched our public email and we only have two emails containing the characters OCCT, and neither of them are from you), and the fact that honestly I've got a little bit of whiplash right now from how abruptly this went from "thanks for the shout-out" to "I'm upset enough to write a novel on reddit about it".

It's hilarious that as reviewers, you guys point out pros and cons of stuff in a video... yet you're feeling salty that the dev does the same by pointing out the pros and cons of you irresponsibly pirating his software He's just weighing publicity vs his stuff getting pirated, and explaining his thought process.

And while yeah, destroy is an exaggeration, bad PR does hurt businesses. But if you wanna pretend he's insinuating something that's very real in this day and age of cancelling stuff... ok

This paragraph was literally you saying "I could criticize you too, like you're insinuating (LOL) and whiplashing me (LOLOLOL), but I'm not going to." You know what, you're such a good guy Linus.

 

 

Anyways, there's a whole ass video on admitting to messing up the video backup storage. You could do something similar, make a video about this controversy, how you mistakenly pirated, even recommend it if you honestly would recommend it. But nope. You said you wouldn't address this on the WAN show. Like you won't even have the decency to spend a minute addressing and apologizing about this on the WAN show??? Especially since your show has covered multiple controversies and scandals, but you won't even cover this scandal when you're at the heart of it? I can't tell if this apology is genuine or if you just got caught being irresponsible and are feeling salty at the dev and/or yourself.

 

 

"Ok, ok, I bought the commercial license good now?"

"Sorry I did it, but it's not really commercial."

"Sorry I did it, but the site wasn't that good and it wasn't clear to me"

"Am I going to cover it? Hell no, not worth my time"

I don't mean to put words in your mouth, but that's the vibes I'm getting from these indignant responses throughout the thread.

This is such a disappointing response from a longtime fan. It's just sad.

Edited February 15, 2022 by ㅤㅤeij298
fleshed out response

[lostcattears]

ignorance is NOT a crime, not doing anything about it after someone told you otherwise is the problem, but they did self corrected themselves.

 

 

[Spotty]

The discussion in this thread about adblocking has been moved to the existing thread discussing the topic.

 

I do understand that Linus' recent comments on piracy is part of the reason he is facing additional scrutiny for his use of OCCT software in this situation, however debating whether or not it is ethical to use an adblocker here only detracts from the discussion about OCCT, especially when there is already an ongoing debate on adblocking elsewhere. Please keep the topics in their respective threads.

[AgentSoup]

On 2/13/2022 at 3:20 PM, Dillpickle23422 said:

Honestly, after looking at the site, I see how one would assume that there is no licence or whatever for the product, hence the misunderstanding. He bought the pro licence thing after he realized that there was one. If they were doing it maliciously, with knowing it, i would be commending them right now, but I think that this was a misunderstanding.

@Dillpickle23422Did you mean "condemning" rather than "commending"?

[trick2011]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:42 PM, LinusTech said:

Most devs recognize that our use of their software is closer to educational use than it is to commercial use and don't mind us using their software for free if we are demonstrating how to use it and showcasing it to potential customers on the channel. Based on this Twitter post, I assumed you felt the same way. I guess you don't.

 

But assumptions lead to disasters, and we absolutely should have reached out. Hopefully you can understand how the error occurred and we can put this behind us.

Demonstrating how to use it: yes is educational, but doing a stress test and just including the software is commercial use as it is one of the main points of using the software. Suppose FurMark were to be paid software, you would need to acquire a license as you use it to test the systems you are working with to create your videos. This same principle holds for OCCT, you use part of it to test a system to create a video. Maybe you could have contacted the owner and discussed the educational/promotional aspect? Yes. But the discussion is the key for the entry into the educational/promotional domain for this type of use.

 

I'm not saying there is ill will from LTT, someone probably found the software, saw it work well, didn't see the somewhat hidden commercial use licensing and used it. Buying the license is the correct solution now and maybe added policy at LTT to consider the possibility of needing to acquire a license of software used.

[Rex Hite]

Piracy shaming is great content!

 

 

[tikker]

9 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

Nice selective hearing you have there!

I even created a topic here shortly after calling him out on his bold faced lies too and wouldn't you know it he didn't even acknowledge his mistake.

Says the one accusing him of "bold-faced lies"? You are making mountains out of mole hills with that TQ video. You folks don't even consider the possibilities of mistakes and in that topic you mention 4 LG phones and an iPhone out of how many competitors? "many models in India" doesn't count as that is as much of an empty statement or "lack of research" as you accuse LTT of, otherwise you should have mentioned those models.

9 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

However it isn't moving backwards now is it? It would be moving forward with user reparability in mind. Equally by claiming going backwards he is in fact condoning the unfreindly nature of non-removable batteries. He said himself these exact words which are I'll repeat again a bold faced lie:

so unless the smartphone market as a whole moves back towards bulkier phones with user replaceable batteries and away from slim sleek and animoji machines that need to be replaced every couple of years

Situations changing after four years does not turn what he stated into a "bold-faced lie". Times change, opinions change. You are reading between lines where there is nothing to read between. Moving "back towards" is not "moving backwards". If the trend was from bulkier phones with user replaceable batteries to slim ones without that capability then it's a perfectly reasonable to expect we'd need to move back to somewhat bulkier phones. The exceptions you mention in the other thread are great for showing they can be slimmer. The TQ video never claimed every single phone with replaceable batteries was thicker. They commented on the trend that was happening in high-end devices.

9 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

and second he is inferring that all replaceable battery phones are incapable with animoji, well for one obviously it's a Apple thing... For 2 WHAT? No it doesn't the limitation is not the backing of the phone or user friendly replaceable batteries, that's 100% BS

You are graspig at straws here. He did not infer phones with user-replaceable batteries are incapable of such a thing. "slim sleek animoji machines" is just a jest at smartphone usage.

9 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

FYI my current plastic backed phone is 8.8mm without a case. vs my last replaceable phone the Stylo 3+ of 7.4. Battery size difference? 400mah and that's NOT including the camera bump as it really should. So CLEARLY there is some lying going on here, phones are NOT thinner because they no longer have removable batteries but in fact they are thicker or as thick (S21+ is 8.7mm) as their removable counter parts... Besides we all hate the camera bumps right? Removable batteries fix that issue with Linus's logic.

The S21 was released in 2021, that video is from 2018... I'm sure you have the capacity to understand that tech can change a lot in a couple of years.

9 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

Simply put do your own research into a matter instead of believing someone who clearly has an agenda to uphold.

Aah I was wondering when something along the lines of an LTT conspiracy would appear.

 

Anyway, this is not the topic for an extended discussion about this particular video. OP sorry for going on a tangent, back to piracy now.

[Beanyfish03]

Created an account just yo comment on this. 

 

I don't understand why this has gone off the rails. The situation is simple, Linus f'd up, realised he did, owned up to it and tried to put it right. What else do you want him to do? He paid for the licence when he realised he needed one. 

 

What he did wasn't piracy, for piracy he would need intent. From everything he has said, he just didn't realise you needed a commercial licence and thought it was freeware. As soon as he realised he paid for the licence lol

 

This whole thread has become a circle jerk of those angry about his previous comments surrounding piracy and Ad block and this situation is been used like a club to beat him over the head instead. 

 

Let's be really honest with each other, at some point in our lives we have run software that we should of paid for, but hadn't and either decided to carry on using it, or pay for it. Linus took the decision to do the honorable thing and pay for it, in my mind that should be the end of it

[Egg-Roll]

1 hour ago, tikker said:

Says the one accusing him of "bold-faced lies"? You are making mountains out of mole hills with that TQ video. You folks don't even consider the possibilities of mistakes and that topic you mention 4 LG phones and an iPhone out of how many competitors? Oh you don't mention... "many models in India" doesn't count as that is as much of an empty statement or "lack of research" as you accuse LTT of, otherwise you should have mentioned those models.

Mistakes happen? yes, but then why didn't he come forward to admit them then? Equally the point being is I just need to prove he wasn't being truthful about the facts stated, it takes 30 seconds to find information about any phone on the market and I just so happen to of been looking at those specific phones at the time. How reputable is a person is they can't spend even 30 seconds to fact check?

 

1 hour ago, tikker said:

Situations changing after four years does not turn what he stated into a "bold-faced lie". Times change, opinions change. You are reading between lines where there is nothing to read between. Moving "back towards" is not "moving backwards". If the trend was from bulkier phones with user replaceable batteries to slim ones without that capability then it's a perfectly reasonable to expect we'd need to move back to somewhat bulkier phones. The exceptions you mention in the other thread are great for showing they can be slimmer. The TQ video never claimed every single phone with replaceable batteries was thicker. They commented on the trend that was happening in high-end devices.

Opinions rarely change that fast, and yes there is plenty to read between the lines. Tell me why is it he talks about RED batteries being unfriendly to users and not cellphones? Maybe because he simple doesn't care? Also before you bring in Frameworks that's just an investment that is making noise in a market that most people are getting fed up with in terms of reparability. WHAT bulkier phones? He coined that term along with phone makers, are you really that easily manipulated that you fall for such easy tricks? Oh you know what would really suck for you right now along with Linus? You are right they never made that claim, but they made the generic claim that all removable battery phones are bulkier than non-removable which is clearly a lie. Also yes a lie is even when you fail to do proper research and push it out as fact. If he hated anti right to repair wouldn't he have done something about it then, or even now? Makes you think doesn't it, if he didn't care about it back then and doesn't seem to care about it now, has he really changed?

 

1 hour ago, tikker said:

You are graspig at straws here. He did not infer phones with user-replaceable batteries are incapable of such a thing. "slim sleek animoji machines" is just a jest at smartphone usage.

No he totally did when he said animoji machines implying such phones are now outdated as such a device could never handle it. It's a marketing ploy used by companies around the world to manipulate minds into thinking that the older units are now obsolete and you should run out and replace your bulker phones with these sleek new sexy animji ones.

 

1 hour ago, tikker said:

The S21 was released in 2021, that video is from 2018... I'm sure you have the capacity to understand that tech can change a lot in a couple of years.

Ah yes because there isn't a GAPING HOLE WITH GAPS in every phone... However I'm guessing you are a person who is blind and therefore unable to see YouTube videos?

Watch the video for some odd reason I can't upload a screenshot right now, but there is clearly a big enough gap with minimal work needed to make the batter replaceable even in said phone.

 

1 hour ago, tikker said:

Aah I was wondering when something along the lines of an LTT conspiracy would appear.

Ah yes because Linus is perfect and therefore you should NEVER do your own research in to the said topic and believe everything he says...

Reality check he is a human like you and me, except he makes money off of you and me therefore if telling a lie means a purchase (as mentioned failing to fact check is a lie when you push it as truth), he's likely going to do it.

 

Thinness of a phone is all choices done by the manufacture, they can make user replaceable phones as thin as non units but why? That costs them more money and makes their phones have the ability to last longer than the 2-3 years currently, in other words more money for them more frequently, so there is no incentive for them to change. With people like you backing them up claiming there is basically no way it can ever happen (just like how EVs can never work back in the late 90's early 2000's) they see and feel no reason to change, because why would they?

 

The Fairphone 4 is 10.5mm or about 2mm thicker than the S21 shown above, yet it has a user replaceable phone. You tell me is 2mm bulky? Will it break your pocket? Will it no longer fit in your hand? Will it make it uncomfortable to hold? Here I'll answer them for you because I know the answers: No, No, No, Not Likely.

So you keep not doing your own research and believe whatever someone you trust as truth, and in doing so giving phone companies more money for a less user friendly phone.

Jerry hasn't done his tear down of the S22 yet but someone has. All it takes is a little bit of engineering work (extra) to fix the few problems like ribbons etc but all in all a phone shouldn't get bulkier due to a replaceable battery.

 

There are answers to everything in life, to ignore those answers is basically unwilling to learn.

[Memelord4560]

I've posted maybe once and fired up this old account to say one thing. 

Are any of you convinced this was malicious and of a trend?
Are any of you convinced Linus and or LTT should do more than acquire a commercial license (Which they have)

Then what's the arguing about? 

[LAwLz]

25 minutes ago, Memelord4560 said:

Are any of you convinced this was malicious and of a trend?

Did they do it on purpose? No.

Is it a trend? Maybe, we don't know how widespread this is in the company. 

 

25 minutes ago, Memelord4560 said:

Are any of you convinced Linus and or LTT should do more than acquire a commercial license (Which they have)

Have they really? They fixed this issue, but I wonder what they will do in the future.

LMG screws up quite often and every time we get a vague "we have taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen again". In this case I am not even sure we got that. But never any explanations of what has changed.

My guess is that Linus will be more careful in the future, but we have no confirmation of that.

 

 

25 minutes ago, Memelord4560 said:

Then what's the arguing about? 

My issue is with the "sorry but not sorry" response that Linus gave (like trying to argue his use of the software is educational and not commercial, which it isn't), and a lot of his fans that defend him and try to victim blame the developer.

There are A LOT of very mean comments currently being aimed at the developer for no reason. Linus is the one who was in the wrong. Don't blame the developer who is the victim here.

 

 

There have also been some other things brought up that I think Linus should look into. For example illegally distributing pirated movies to Luke by sharing his Plex server with him.

[Distinctly Average]

The question here is, WHAT do all those repeatedly calling out LTT on this thread even after the explanations, payment etc actually want? You can drivel on all day, call people liars, call theft, piracy or whatever. You need to state exactly what you want because continually ranting really is getting you nowhere. Do you want LTT to close down permanently and never soil your viewing again? Do you want a personal apology written in blood from every member of the LTT team? FFS this is between the dev and LTT. Fine IMO to bring it to the attention of LTT, fine to have a little bit of a rant but this is just going around in circles. State what you would like to change and why, be positive and productive and maybe things will change for the better.

[LAwLz]

1 minute ago, Distinctly Average said:

The question here is, WHAT do all those repeatedly calling out LTT on this thread even after the explanations, payment etc actually want? You can drivel on all day, call people liars, call theft, piracy or whatever. You need to state exactly what you want because continually ranting really is getting you nowhere. Do you want LTT to close down permanently and never soil your viewing again? Do you want a personal apology written in blood from every member of the LTT team? FFS this is between the dev and LTT. Fine IMO to bring it to the attention of LTT, fine to have a little bit of a rant but this is just going around in circles. State what you would like to change and why, be positive and productive and maybe things will change for the better.

I am not sure if you include me in the group that calls him "liar, thief, pirate etc" but here are some things I think people want from Linus:

 

1) An actual acknowledgement that what Linus did was wrong would be a good start.

Just a straight and simple "I fucked up. I am sorry. I will do better in the future". Not a "sorry, but actually I was right because...".

 

2) For Linus to admit that he was wrong about the claim that adblocking is piracy, and apologize to the people on Twitter that he was rude to. I know that whole topic isn't allowed in this thread anymore, but it is very related. I think people would be more willing to cut him some slack if he actually admitted that he was wrong, for once. Also, I don't think he has acknowledged that he was wrong about it yet. I guess changing his wording to "privateering" is kind of an acknowledgement that he was wrong, but not directly.

 

3) To give some statement about how he will look into it and make sure it doesn't happen again, and also evaluate if it is currently happening with more software. Actually reading the EULAs for the programs they use might be a good start. Not illegally sharing his Plex server with people like Luke might also be a good thing, if he still does that. Maybe stop using Windows in ways that is against the ToS on his test-benches.

 

4) Start acting like he runs a multi-million dollar company. Not sure about everyone else but I feel like Linus tries to have his cake and eat it too. Whenever he wants to be taken seriously he pulls the "I run a company with X number of employees. I am very important!" card. But then whenever something bad happens he goes back to "I am just a human, cut me some slack".

[Fasterthannothing]

3 hours ago, trick2011 said:

Demonstrating how to use it: yes is educational, but doing a stress test and just including the software is commercial use as it is one of the main points of using the software. Suppose FurMark were to be paid software, you would need to acquire a license as you use it to test the systems you are working with to create your videos. This same principle holds for OCCT, you use part of it to test a system to create a video. Maybe you could have contacted the owner and discussed the educational/promotional aspect? Yes. But the discussion is the key for the entry into the educational/promotional domain for this type of use.

 

I'm not saying there is ill will from LTT, someone probably found the software, saw it work well, didn't see the somewhat hidden commercial use licensing and used it. Buying the license is the correct solution now and maybe added policy at LTT to consider the possibility of needing to acquire a license of software used.

Linus has been pirating stuff for ages. Heck he's shown pirated content in a video! Then he suddenly has morals and begins condemning everyone around him for it. Then this comes out and it's like the nail in the coffin. Honestly if he doesn't address this in a video he should resign from LTT. He has no businesses lecturing us on what do after doing the same thing. He is out of line and thinks he is above it all since he can just use his status as an influencer to take what he wants. Personally I'm getting really tired of YouTubers acting like they run the world. I tried to be nice and answer the questions he posed to me but he has since refused to reply to my rebuttal and has ghosted this thread entirely.

[Fasterthannothing]

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

I am not sure if you include me in the group that calls him "liar, thief, pirate etc" but here are some things I think people want from Linus:

 

1) An actual acknowledgement that what Linus did was wrong would be a good start.

Just a straight and simple "I fucked up. I am sorry. I will do better in the future". Not a "sorry, but actually I was right because...".

 

2) For Linus to admit that he was wrong about the claim that adblocking is piracy, and apologize to the people on Twitter that he was rude to. I know that whole topic isn't allowed in this thread anymore, but it is very related. I think people would be more willing to cut him some slack if he actually admitted that he was wrong, for once. Also, I don't think he has acknowledged that he was wrong about it yet. I guess changing his wording to "privateering" is kind of an acknowledgement that he was wrong, but not directly.

 

3) To give some statement about how he will look into it and make sure it doesn't happen again, and also evaluate if it is currently happening with more software. Actually reading the EULAs for the programs they use might be a good start. Not illegally sharing his Plex server with people like Luke might also be a good thing, if he still does that. Maybe stop using Windows in ways that is against the ToS on his test-benches.

 

4) Start acting like he runs a multi-million dollar company. Not sure about everyone else but I feel like Linus tries to have his cake and eat it too. Whenever he wants to be taken seriously he pulls the "I run a company with X number of employees. I am very important!" card. But then whenever something bad happens he goes back to "I am just a human, cut me some slack".

This is an amazing analysis exactly what's going on and needs to happen.

[kumicota]

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

Not illegally sharing his Plex server with people like Luke might also be a good thing, if he still does that. Maybe stop using Windows in ways that is against the ToS on his test-benches.

I personally don't see anything wrong with that, I'm more of a copyleft guy but I do think he's wrong and a entitled person from pirating stuff and openly saying that he's share his files with his colleagues while condemning it.

 

Also I think he needs to shut up about that, this could be a entire nightmare if someone sues LMG for piracy because he multiple times on videos about it.

[Lightwreather]

12 minutes ago, SlidewaysZ said:

Then he suddenly has morals and begins condemning everyone around him for it.

Forgive my possible ignorance, but I don't remember there being any condemnation.

But that is beyond the scope of this thread

[Dillpickle23422]

4 hours ago, AgentSoup said:

@Dillpickle23422Did you mean "condemning" rather than "commending"?

fuck, yes i did lmao

[LAwLz]

38 minutes ago, SlidewaysZ said:

Linus has been pirating stuff for ages. Heck he's shown pirated content in a video! Then he suddenly has morals and begins condemning everyone around him for it. Then this comes out and it's like the nail in the coffin. Honestly if he doesn't address this in a video he should resign from LTT. He has no businesses lecturing us on what do after doing the same thing. He is out of line and thinks he is above it all since he can just use his status as an influencer to take what he wants. Personally I'm getting really tired of YouTubers acting like they run the world. I tried to be nice and answer the questions he posed to me but he has since refused to reply to my rebuttal and has ghosted this thread entirely.

I think asking him to step down from LTT is too far. I don't think that would be good for anyone except maybe to satisfy some peoples' justice boner (no offense to you).

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this whole thing just blows over in a couple of weeks if Linus doesn't mention it. Then in a couple of years I will bring it up again and Linus will respond with "Lawlz just want to keep dredging old stuff. He should be thankful I don't ban them". I know this because it has already happened.

Spoiler

On 11/20/2021 at 4:54 PM, LinusTech said:

This is fair criticism, and you're right I shouldn't have allowed Lawlz to set me off. 

 

The context you're missing is that this isn't the first time they've dug into me about a bunch of shit that either isn't true or doesn't matter. 

 

The dbrand sponsorship, for example, either wouldn't be required to be disclosed or would be in a grey area at this point because it was a product placement for an accessory rather than a paid message disguised as editorial opinion about the product being covered. It's the latter that most influencer disclosure guidelines are designed to prevent, not the former, which has been prevalent in other media for decades. 

 

With that said, I clearly have moved on from that mindset and have gone out of my way to provide clear and better-than-required disclosure for *years* at this point.

 

The fact is we don't have to do any of it since the Canadian FTC equivalent has no fangs whatsoever. We do it because I agree that it's the right thing to do and I value our community's trust more than making an extra buck. 

 

I own that I've made plenty of mistakes in the past. My own post has these admissions, but I am also constantly working towards improvement. 

 

Lawlz would rather keep dredging old stuff up - even going as far as to acknowledge that we've admitted the errors, apologized for them and rectified the behavior - than engage in good faith, and my reaction was triggered partially by that. 

 

If I actually didn't value criticism, I would just block/ban Lawlz (and similar) from the forum and erase their post histories. This would not only silence criticism, but it would erase basically all searchable record of it since this is pretty much the only place where my business practices get discussed with both depth and regularity.

 

I bit back at a long-time critic who I felt (and still feel) was being unfair and not acting in good faith, but I hope my actions speak louder than my words.

 

I clearly chose (and continue to choose) to maintain transparency and a historical record of my own mistakes because I believe it helps me be better. 

 

  

But even if it didn't blow over, what good would Linus quitting actually accomplish? The Youtube channel would probably become way less popular and things like LTTLabs (which I look forward to, despite being sceptical) would probably not come to fruition. And for what?

Most of his viewers don't care (not saying they should or shouldn't care) so for them it would be a loss. 

For Linus it would be a loss, although his wife and kids probably would like it.

For you it might satisfy some desire for justice, but that's only a momentary feeling.

 

 

45 minutes ago, kumicota said:

I personally don't see anything wrong with that, I'm more of a copyleft guy but I do think he's wrong and a entitled person from pirating stuff and openly saying that he's share his files with his colleagues while condemning it.

 

Also I think he needs to shut up about that, this could be a entire nightmare if someone sues LMG for piracy because he multiple times on videos about it.

I am in the same camp.

I don't see any moral issue with sharing his Plex server with Luke for example. But I am also not a multi-millionaire trying to lecture people about what is and isn't piracy. 

And like you said, he really need to shut up about how he pirates stuff, or for example how he would feel entitled to pirate a remake of a game if it contained improvements he thought should have been in the original game. It's usually not a good idea to announce that you are committing crimes, especially not when you are a very high profile person.

[Legitsu]

I agree that Linus's takes so far have been Shovelriffic 

 

and it doesn't even matter which side of the law he's on here needs to find another hill to die on 

 

he should just eat some crow and let the issue drop continuing to argue his point is fruitless and harmful 

 

That being said, can everybody here stop pretending that they haven't pirated anything ever for a goddam second.

because that makes you just as hypocritical as the rest of the involved parties You literally can't say anything about what Linus has or hasn't done because you are just as guilty. so just stop it you have no MORAL AUTHORITY HERE 

 

he needs to resist the urge to address this on wan-show or Twitter or whatever (unless it's a mea culpa) 

 

if yall need something to wield your pitchforks about I suggest joining the war on Newegg because that is SLIGHTLY more productive then this 

 

 

[Distinctly Average]

3 hours ago, LAwLz said:

I am not sure if you include me in the group that calls him "liar, thief, pirate etc" but here are some things I think people want from Linus:

 

1) An actual acknowledgement that what Linus did was wrong would be a good start.

Just a straight and simple "I fucked up. I am sorry. I will do better in the future". Not a "sorry, but actually I was right because...".

 

2) For Linus to admit that he was wrong about the claim that adblocking is piracy, and apologize to the people on Twitter that he was rude to. I know that whole topic isn't allowed in this thread anymore, but it is very related. I think people would be more willing to cut him some slack if he actually admitted that he was wrong, for once. Also, I don't think he has acknowledged that he was wrong about it yet. I guess changing his wording to "privateering" is kind of an acknowledgement that he was wrong, but not directly.

 

3) To give some statement about how he will look into it and make sure it doesn't happen again, and also evaluate if it is currently happening with more software. Actually reading the EULAs for the programs they use might be a good start. Not illegally sharing his Plex server with people like Luke might also be a good thing, if he still does that. Maybe stop using Windows in ways that is against the ToS on his test-benches.

 

4) Start acting like he runs a multi-million dollar company. Not sure about everyone else but I feel like Linus tries to have his cake and eat it too. Whenever he wants to be taken seriously he pulls the "I run a company with X number of employees. I am very important!" card. But then whenever something bad happens he goes back to "I am just a human, cut me some slack".

Constructive comment is far better than many of the posts in this thread. Whether I agree, or disagree with Linus, you or anyone else on this thread, pitchforks are never the answer.  That was really what my post was about. 
 

Piracy is an emotive subject and one I am sure nobody is innocent of. I am sure we have all been guilty at times whether it is software, music or film etc.But most of us are not doing it for huge profit. More copying games as a kid, something I know I did in the Amiga days. As we gain a decent income most of us will pay, I certainly do now. I an not however a business, but if I was I am not sure the individual me would be able to vanish from business me at times. Sometimes it is not about the cost, but the time available to do the technically right thing. Like registering your windows install for every build even if it is going to be very short lived. The individual in me would say “If they didn’t want me to use the software without registering then they would have made it harder to do so like Vista did.”