9 ms·

"We've recently discussed the fact that HBO severely limits the availability of its shows to non-subscribers..." Really?! How dare they!

sophacles 14y ago
Cut the disingenuous crap. The next 3 sentences state that beyond that, they are now, without warning, requiring paying subscribers to upgrade equipment to handle the HDMI encryption. The first sentence was merely contextualization. Further, the context of that sentence (via the link) was how difficult it is to legally pay HBO for the thing they are supposedly selling.
- guccimane 14y ago
  I know. I don't make any bones about this HDCP stuff being bullshit. They are screwing their own, paying customers. That's terrible. It's just that I really have no time for this entitled attitude that content owners are obligated to sell their wares to us when we want, how we want, at the price point we want.
  - sophacles 14y ago
    It's not entitled bullshit, that is a false dilemma and a strawman. It is pointing out hypocrisy. If they make it very hard to give them money, why the fuck should it be valid when they complain about not getting money? It's like a bum complaining it isn't enough when you give him your spare change. edit: accidentally a word
  - homosaur 14y ago
    They aren't obligated. And let me check.... yep! Turns out my computer still can reach the Pirate Bay! So there's your choice, philosophical discussions are worthless.
  - tomjen3 14y ago
    They are certainly not obligated to sell me anything. I just take my business elsewhere. Monopolies are bad, right?
  - voyou 14y ago
    I find it pretty hilarious that people are calling the basic operation of a free market "entitled bullshit."
excuse-me 14y ago
>Really?! How dare they! How dare the executives lose shareholder's money by refusing to allow new customers to pay for the content and so make profit. Preferring instead to stick to cozy little cartels where they sell content only to the same cable stations that they used to work for, and will go back to when their bonuses clear. Remember it's not 'their' company - the company belongs to my pension fund - 'they' are supposed to be working for me.
- guccimane 14y ago
  Interesting angle, I've never seen someone come at it from the POV of the shareholder. If you're unhappy as a shareholder with HBO's strategy, I can understand that. Do whatever shareholders do in that scenario, I guess. (Vote? Sell?) From the consumer side though, HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet who think they understand HBO's business better than HBO does think they should do.
  - excuse-me 14y ago
    >HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet True - but any company that refuses to listen to existing and potential customers has to raise concerns. unless you are Apple of course and then you can do what you want ;-) I don't know if I am a shareholder. But most shares are held by pension funds so when the boss of a company like RIM/Nokia/Sony do something stupid it's not the CEO that suffers.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    > HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet who think they understand HBO's business better than HBO does think they should do. They have no legal obligation. Currently, anyhow. But you forget who makes the laws, and how the content gets delivered, and what people make this content out of. Copyright is a temporary and limited monopoly granted by the people to encourage the production of intellectual property. The laws we have are an artifact of the economics and politics of their time. Information technology has radically changed both the economics and society's views. The laws will likely change as well. HBO didn't invent dragons or kings or sex. They didn't create the Internet. They don't own the public airwaves or the public land over which the cables run. They don't own the fans. They didn't make the social media sites and bar tables where they get their word-of-mouth publicity. HBO and all involved should be fairly compensated for their hard work and creativity. But the property rights you treat as absolutes are just convenient fictions we created together. People shouldn't feel entitled to the Game of Thrones. But neither should Time Warner executives feel entitled to use the public courts and police to ruin people's lives for sharing things they like. We're living in the greatest revolution in information production and distribution since Gutenberg. Things will change.
loudmax 14y ago
The frustration isn't that HBO is demanding money for content. Many of us would happily pay for episodes of GoT as they're released, or even signing up for HBO online and paying a monthly fee. What I won't consider is a cable subscription, and lots of us feel that way. I don't want all those other channels. I just want HBO. Or better yet, just certain shows. I have money, they have content. Let's trade, yes? If not, torrenting episodes as they're aired is an attractive proposition while we're waiting for the season 2 DVDs to go on sale.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  torrenting episodes as they're aired is an attractive proposition while we're waiting Because you can't, you know, just wait until they are legitimately available?
  - DanBC 14y ago
    A few people torrent, and then buy when available.
    - MartinCron 14y ago
      Just a like a few people actually wait to buy when it's available. As has been said before, the "I deserve to have something RIGHT NOW" entitlement mentality is just infantile. If something is worth watching, it will still be worth watching in a few weeks/months.
      - joelmichael 14y ago
        There is an important social element to watching a show. When a new episode comes out, you can chat about it with friends and coworkers. That isn't true if you have waited weeks or months to watch it.
      - emp_ 14y ago
        Or, you know, this is a trend on how consumer markets have evolved/are evolving.

sophacles 14y ago

Cut the disingenuous crap. The next 3 sentences state that beyond that, they are now, without warning, requiring paying subscribers to upgrade equipment to handle the HDMI encryption. The first sentence was merely contextualization. Further, the context of that sentence (via the link) was how difficult it is to legally pay HBO for the thing they are supposedly selling.

guccimane 14y ago
I know. I don't make any bones about this HDCP stuff being bullshit. They are screwing their own, paying customers. That's terrible. It's just that I really have no time for this entitled attitude that content owners are obligated to sell their wares to us when we want, how we want, at the price point we want.
- sophacles 14y ago
  It's not entitled bullshit, that is a false dilemma and a strawman. It is pointing out hypocrisy. If they make it very hard to give them money, why the fuck should it be valid when they complain about not getting money? It's like a bum complaining it isn't enough when you give him your spare change. edit: accidentally a word
- homosaur 14y ago
  They aren't obligated. And let me check.... yep! Turns out my computer still can reach the Pirate Bay! So there's your choice, philosophical discussions are worthless.
- tomjen3 14y ago
  They are certainly not obligated to sell me anything. I just take my business elsewhere. Monopolies are bad, right?
- voyou 14y ago
  I find it pretty hilarious that people are calling the basic operation of a free market "entitled bullshit."

excuse-me 14y ago

>Really?! How dare they! How dare the executives lose shareholder's money by refusing to allow new customers to pay for the content and so make profit. Preferring instead to stick to cozy little cartels where they sell content only to the same cable stations that they used to work for, and will go back to when their bonuses clear. Remember it's not 'their' company - the company belongs to my pension fund - 'they' are supposed to be working for me.

guccimane 14y ago
Interesting angle, I've never seen someone come at it from the POV of the shareholder. If you're unhappy as a shareholder with HBO's strategy, I can understand that. Do whatever shareholders do in that scenario, I guess. (Vote? Sell?) From the consumer side though, HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet who think they understand HBO's business better than HBO does think they should do.
- excuse-me 14y ago
  >HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet True - but any company that refuses to listen to existing and potential customers has to raise concerns. unless you are Apple of course and then you can do what you want ;-) I don't know if I am a shareholder. But most shares are held by pension funds so when the boss of a company like RIM/Nokia/Sony do something stupid it's not the CEO that suffers.
- wpietri 14y ago
  > HBO has no obligation to do what a bunch of people on the internet who think they understand HBO's business better than HBO does think they should do. They have no legal obligation. Currently, anyhow. But you forget who makes the laws, and how the content gets delivered, and what people make this content out of. Copyright is a temporary and limited monopoly granted by the people to encourage the production of intellectual property. The laws we have are an artifact of the economics and politics of their time. Information technology has radically changed both the economics and society's views. The laws will likely change as well. HBO didn't invent dragons or kings or sex. They didn't create the Internet. They don't own the public airwaves or the public land over which the cables run. They don't own the fans. They didn't make the social media sites and bar tables where they get their word-of-mouth publicity. HBO and all involved should be fairly compensated for their hard work and creativity. But the property rights you treat as absolutes are just convenient fictions we created together. People shouldn't feel entitled to the Game of Thrones. But neither should Time Warner executives feel entitled to use the public courts and police to ruin people's lives for sharing things they like. We're living in the greatest revolution in information production and distribution since Gutenberg. Things will change.

loudmax 14y ago

The frustration isn't that HBO is demanding money for content. Many of us would happily pay for episodes of GoT as they're released, or even signing up for HBO online and paying a monthly fee. What I won't consider is a cable subscription, and lots of us feel that way. I don't want all those other channels. I just want HBO. Or better yet, just certain shows. I have money, they have content. Let's trade, yes? If not, torrenting episodes as they're aired is an attractive proposition while we're waiting for the season 2 DVDs to go on sale.

MartinCron 14y ago
torrenting episodes as they're aired is an attractive proposition while we're waiting Because you can't, you know, just wait until they are legitimately available?
- DanBC 14y ago
  A few people torrent, and then buy when available.
  - MartinCron 14y ago
    Just a like a few people actually wait to buy when it's available. As has been said before, the "I deserve to have something RIGHT NOW" entitlement mentality is just infantile. If something is worth watching, it will still be worth watching in a few weeks/months.
    - joelmichael 14y ago
      There is an important social element to watching a show. When a new episode comes out, you can chat about it with friends and coworkers. That isn't true if you have waited weeks or months to watch it.
    - emp_ 14y ago
      Or, you know, this is a trend on how consumer markets have evolved/are evolving.