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

[David Brodbeck]

On Sep 6, 2007, at 10:27 PM, kijuhty kijuhty 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?

Was that request even from a Myth dev?  I'm not clear on that.

>
> >> 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?

Oh, grow up.  The software is GPL.  You can use it however you want.   
You can start your own RobertCurrentMythTV fork.  You can even start  
your own mailing list to discuss how you're using it.  Free software  
doesn't guarantee you use of someone else's email forum, however --  
just like freedom of the press doesn't mean you can march to your  
local newspaper office and demand they print something for you.

> 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.

Well, no, it's not.  It's not like that at all.

- You can still download the source code and do whatever you want  
with it, within the terms of the GPL.  It's not as if MythTV has been  
relicensed.

- While Gracenote's commercialization of the data the CDDB collected  
may be morally questionable, Gracenote didn't tell people to "go  
away."  You can still point your software at their servers and look  
up CD data for free.  They *are* asking that people who make  
*commercial products* pay them a royalty, but they aren't asking  
anything of end users or free software developers, last I checked.

> ...this SD thing is really just testing the waters to see if the  
> myth community will pay and not go back to scraping.

Whatever, man.  Remember, the shiny side of the tin foil goes on the  
OUTSIDE of your hat.  Otherwise it will focus the TIA/NSA/ 
SchedulesDirect/MythTV satellite mind control rays, instead of  
deflecting them.