[mythtv-users] Myth Developers ban all use of MythTV as a PVR due to IP infringement?

Jens Baumeister jens.baumeister at gmail.com
Fri Sep 7 12:26:26 UTC 2007


Disclaimer: Living in Germany, I'm not even affected ny the DD-SD
switch, but I can't stand this FUD any longer.

On 9/7/07, kijuhty kijuhty <kijuhty at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> The myth devs have not told anyone not to use screenscrapers. Nor have
> any asked anyone to stop discussing screenscrapers.
>
> Quote: So take it off list, just like the Torrentocracy discussions.  Ok?

Subject line of the message you quoted out of context:

"*Why* we'd prefer discussions about questionably legal activities to
go somewhere else."

So "it" did not refer to scraping in general but to scraping that
violates a company's TOS. It's not the devs' fault that most companies
don't allow their listings to be scraped. Discussing illegal subject
matter on this list could have serious consequences, so it's in
everyone's best interest to disallow it.

> >> If you don't like the product, DON'T USE IT.  If you don't like following
> the rules of the list owner, GO AWAY
>
> So now you're against the whole concept of free software?
[...]
>  Now, when we try to even discuss using it for free, which was the whole
> "deal" behind all of us donating our time, you say "GO AWAY".  This is like
> Gracenote taking all the free data the community contributed to CDDB, and
> then telling them go away when they tried to use the fruits of their own
> labor.

Please don't twist his words. He wrote "If you don't like following
the rules of the list owner, GO AWAY." That's got nothing to do with
being able to use MythTv.

Everything that's ever been contributed and accepted into the project
is still there. You can download the source code and use or modify it
in any way consistent with GPL terms. (Which - drastically simplified
- boils down to "do not market an application based on this without
making the source freely available".)

Guide data has never been submitted by users. Myth used to have
built-in support for DataDirect, it now has built-in supprt for SD.
However, you are still free to use EIT data or any other
xmltv-compatible grabber or scraper out there, just like all the Myth
users outside of North America do anyway. If there's a grabber that
fits your needs, great, use it. (If it's one that's usable without
breaking any laws or TOS, feel free to announce it here, as well.) If
you don't know how to run mythfilldatabase with xmltv, there's plenty
of documentation on the web and in the list archives. If there isn't a
grabber for you, write one yourself or ask on the xmltv lists for one.
If you have a problem with SD, take it to their board members, or
their forums or mailing lists.

I'm not asking you to stop complaining, I'm just asking you to stop
complaining in the wrong places. This list is not a forum for name
calling and personal flames, and it's not a list about writing screen
scrapers or the merits of SD's business model. So please, take your
problems and your fights to the appropriate places and do not clutter
this list with them. Thank you.

Jens


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