why is t-orrent a censored word

[anonymous_user]

Its sarcasm.

[tain]

He was referring to anonymous_user's sig.

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[Yzöwl]

T******s aren't the problem. They are just a distribution method

The same could be said about guns!

The guns aren't the problem, even though there may be 'legal' uses, the majority use them 'illegally'. Its usually the bullet that kills, the gun is just the distribution method!

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[skizo]

T******s aren't the problem. They are just a distribution method

The same could be said about guns!

The guns aren't the problem, even though there may be 'legal' uses, the majority use them 'illegally'. Its usually the bullet that kills, the gun is just the distribution method!

I think you'd have a difficult time time justifying that statement.

For instance, in the USA there are millions of gun owners and it's a gross miscalculation to say that the "majority" are using them illegally.

Besides, the bullet is just as innocent as the gun or it's manufacturer. The person pulling the trigger is solely responsible for it's target and any damage done.

Same with computers and torrents: Both are innocent objects of hardware and software, but can both be used together or independently to break the law in a number of different ways.

[DonDamm]

@Yzöwl I didn't intend to get into a debate on guns, and though we probably agree fundamentally on the issue, I don't think the analogy holds very well. As a network communication system the internet is more like an expanded and enhanced telephone system. Indeed, it relied and still does to some degree on the existing telephone network. While we know it is technologically easy to eavesdrop on a given phone conversation, it is still illegal to tap into it without a warrant, the Patriot Act aside for the moment. The same for the mail system. there is an inherent approach taken by the lawmakers that the individual is due a certain level of privacy.

So, if you and I conspire to commit a crime using a telephone, it is certainly not the obligation of the phone company to either listen to us, report us, or interfere with us in any way. Nor are they liable for any damage that may result. They are merely a distribution system for our conversations and that has long ago been established and even tested in the courts.

It is this historical precedent to which I'm referring when I say that torrents are only a way of distributing bits in a more equitable fashion as oppposed to the single server many user model. I don't believe this is in any way equivalent to the "distribution" of bullets. Secondly, "guns" are not a singular and easily definable item because they range from the smallest derringers to fully automatic sub-machine guns to Big Bertha, not to mention the variety of ammunition types. It would be necessary to confine the range to say just handguns and maybe single shot bolt action rifles, and even then, the history development and multi-use of firearms doesn't really compare to torrents as a distribution method.

Broadcasting radio waves is a distribution method and I suggest that you'd be uncomfortable with the idea of someone coming up to you while listening to the radio and informing you that you were not allowed to listen to that particular station. You would likely protest that whoever said that is an id*** - and rightly so. After all should listening to broadcast music or speech be against the law? Should the broadcasters themselves be held responsible, or even those who allowed them to broadcast? Where exactly should the "blame" lie?

I don't claim to have legal knowledge on any of this, but it is still clear to me as a layman that there are raging inconsistencies floating about. Even in the issue of guns. I believe Canada has a high gun ownership, but has no where near the same problems of their children getting shot up in schools aas we see in the US. Both Switzerland and Austria have a high gun ownership level comparable to that in the US, and also without the corresponding level of shot up kids. Are guns themselves the problem? No. But access, training, and education, along with national temperment and cultural background play a big part in the results. In both Germany and here in Austria the public transport systems rely a great deal on a level of compliance (tickets are only checked occasionally so it is possible to ride without paying - sometimes). It doesn't work in France or England and would never work in New York because it would be abused to death, so they have to use a check every ticket for every ride system in those places.

Blaming torrents for "illegal" sharing is something our sadly clueless legislators are very good at. It is up to us to educate them.