Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Techdirt

from the lots-of-anonymity dept

This week, one of the stories that got the most response was the extreme claims by the IAB chief that using an adblocker means you hate free speech. One anonymous commenter took first place for insightful with a simple explanation of this common fallacy:

Like many people who wish to impose their views on others, he is confusing free speech with other people freedom to ignore his speech. Free speech rights do not guarantee an audience, let alone permit someone to force an audience to listen to them.

In second place, we’ve got a comment from TechDescartes which examines a particular statement from Kuwait regarding its mandatory DNA database:

Yet

The DNA will not be used for medical purposes, such as checking for genetic markers of disease, which will avoid issues of whether people should be told about their predisposition to possibly serious illnesses. Nor will the DNA database be used for “lineage or genealogical reasons.”

Followed by the unwritten word “yet”: “It won’t be used for these purposes…yet.”

For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we start out with an anonymous response to the senators complaining about the FCC’s 25 Mbps broadband standard on the basis that nobody could need that much:

I like that excuse of ever possibly need. That is something that could easily be turned right back around. Why do they need $174,000 salaries? $50,000 is more then they will ever need.

Next, we’ve got TKnarr with some musings on reforming the adversarial justice system:

Thought: apply an old solution. Force the state governments to fund 2 offices for prosecution and defense. An accused who cannot afford an attorney gets to pick which office will handle his defense, with the other office handling the prosecution (if the accused can afford his own attorney, the state can assign prosecution to whichever office they want). Any crossing-over between the offices during a case would result in a mandatory dismissal with prejudice of all charges. The problem should solve itself after that.

Over on the funny side, we start out with this year’s perennial funny story: the monkey selfie copyright fight, which the monkey recently lost on account of being a monkey. Capt ICE Enforcer declared this a travesty of the highest order:

This is absolutely horrible. Now monkeys will not have any incentive to create masterful artworks. It was bad enough that the life of a monkey is usually less than 20 years. Which means that a monkey would only get 90 years max for copyright protections. If I was a monkey, I would go on strike. They should be compensated for all their hard work writing books, singing hit songs, and creating masterful artwork thru the use of brush and photograph. We are about to experience a new dark age.

In second place, we’ve got yet another anonymous comment, again in response to those broadband-fearing senators:

While we’re at it, what’s up with phone numbers that are 10 digits long?

PEnnslyvania 6-5000!

For editor’s choice on the funny side, we start by returning to the IAB chief’s anti-adblocker speech, where one anonymous commenter suggested adding an audiovisual component:

I think it would be poetic if his speech were constantly interrupted by random loud invasive ads projected on the wall behind him.

Finally, we’ve got Crazy Hong Kong Monkey with a response to the unfolding legal fight over the apathetic honey bear:

I guess “Honey Badger Does Care”

That’s all for this week, folks!