Why global mode should be compulsory!

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dafman

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#171196 9-Apr-2015 16:37

The same week Mediaworks introduce the Paul Henry buffoon morning circus, today there are news reports that they are looking to ditch Campbell Live.

Is there no end to the dumbing down of our local news content?

And these are the very people that want to deny us access to global streaming, so they can control our viewing habits? Maybe global mode should be compulsory to protect us from these morons?

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#1279825 9-Apr-2015 16:46

What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

raytaylor

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#1279826 9-Apr-2015 16:46

Clarification:
Global mode is not something you can mandate on ISPs to offer as it does some technical re-routing in the background that can break other services.
But laws could be changed around the monopolistic practices of content providers.

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SaltyNZ

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#1279849 9-Apr-2015 17:11

NonprayingMantis: What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

Well, they may not (yet) be going after people who have Unblock-US etc., but: they *are* attempting to restrict your choice. You *can* choose to use Unblock-US, but why should you *have to*? By what right, or law, do they force you to do so?

If they win, costs for those who want US Netflix but don't pay for Unblock-US go up. Not a lot, sure, but they have no right impose that cost on you.

Furthermore, a win here strengthens their position if and when it does come to a legal showdown. Precedent is... Well, precedent. Stronger position here gives them a better chance of convincing a judge when the time comes, and if they win, they've won forever unless Parliament enacts a new law overturning it. Would you care to lay odds on the chances that would happen today under either major party?

This is not a silly thread. It's a threat that, while currently low, needs to be quickly and thoroughly beaten down lest it grow out of control and everybody loses before they even realise. I don't use an ISP with Global Mode. I use Unblock-US. But I still think this needs our attention. Because Unblock-US and the like *will be* the next step.

Sky and co are legally obligated to maximise their profits. That's why corporations exist. They cannot *not* take action to protect those profits if there is a reasonable chance that action would succeed. This is the first step. The next one will come inevitably if we don't punish them for taking this one. They have to lose, and they have to lose big time.

Global mode shouldn't be mandatory, though: I agree with that.

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#1279850 9-Apr-2015 17:14

dafman: The same week Mediaworks introduce the Paul Henry buffoon morning circus, today there are news reports that they are looking to ditch Campbell Live.

Is there no end to the dumbing down of our local news content? ...

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dafman

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#1279853 9-Apr-2015 17:22

NonprayingMantis: What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

Silly thread = slightly tongue-in-cheek.

That said, when presented with ongoing rubbish from the likes of Mediaworks, you can understand why so many are looking at options like global mode to avoid.

NonprayingMantis

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#1279856 9-Apr-2015 17:26

SaltyNZ:
NonprayingMantis: What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

Well, they may not (yet) be going after people who have Unblock-US etc., but: they *are* attempting to restrict your choice. You *can* choose to use Unblock-US, but why should you *have to*? By what right, or law, do they force you to do so?

If they win, costs for those who want US Netflix but don't pay for Unblock-US go up. Not a lot, sure, but they have no right impose that cost on you.

Furthermore, a win here strengthens their position if and when it does come to a legal showdown. Precedent is... Well, precedent. Stronger position here gives them a better chance of convincing a judge when the time comes, and if they win, they've won forever unless Parliament enacts a new law overturning it. Would you care to lay odds on the chances that would happen today under either major party?

This is not a silly thread. It's a threat that, while currently low, needs to be quickly and thoroughly beaten down lest it grow out of control and everybody loses before they even realise. I don't use an ISP with Global Mode. I use Unblock-US. But I still think this needs our attention. Because Unblock-US and the like *will be* the next step.

Sky and co are legally obligated to maximise their profits. That's why corporations exist. They cannot *not* take action to protect those profits if there is a reasonable chance that action would succeed. This is the first step. The next one will come inevitably if we don't punish them for taking this one. They have to lose, and they have to lose big time.

Global mode shouldn't be mandatory, though: I agree with that.

I actually agree with you to an extent, which is one of the reasons I am very annoyed that slingshot launched global mode in the first place. Before that, use of smart DNS was more or less under the radar for sky etc. they knew about it, but it wasn't big enough to become worthy of attention.
Those of us smart enough to use the services had a pretty good thing going on. We had illegitimate access to Netflix etc, and nobody really cared enough to do anything about it.

I don't blame sky for what they are doing, it makes sense for them to defend their rights and try and protect their profits, even if I think the business model is flawed.

With slingshot stupidly launching it and making a big fat target of themselves, they have opened up *all* of us to potential problems. If they lose, and sky etc win, it will be slingshot I will blame for making it too big a target to ignore.

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old3eyes

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#1279933 9-Apr-2015 19:01

NonprayingMantis: What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

Don't worry. If the the media bullies win this then the DNS re-routers will be next..

Regards,

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NonprayingMantis

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#1279947 9-Apr-2015 19:21

old3eyes:
NonprayingMantis: What a silly thread.

Nobody is trying to deny you access to global streaming. They are trying to stop ISPs from offering it as a service. They haven't taken any action against the likes of unblock-us, and are fundamentally unable to do so even if they wanted to.

I don't know why people use global mode from their isp anyway, it's far worse than unblock-us or unotelly.

Don't worry. If the the media bullies win this then the DNS re-routers will be next..

how exactly? The good ones are based overseas, likely with offices in places totally untouchable by Nz law. (and they are hardly Kim Dot Com so extradition is going to be pretty tough :P )

At most, Spark could maybe somehow block any of their own customers from using a DNS that isn't theirs. That initself would be problematic but they definitely can't block VPNs without massively hurting their business, and of course every other ISP wouldn't be interested in blocking it. We don't live in America where you have only one choice of ISP. In Nz, if your ISP blocks something, you can easily switch to one of dozens of others.

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#1280020 9-Apr-2015 21:11

NonprayingMantis:

At most, Spark could maybe somehow block any of their own customers from using a DNS that isn't theirs.

They could. But if they did, even though I don't currently use an un-blocker, I would change my ISP pretty quickly. On principle I wouldn't want to use an ISP that pulled such a sleazy trick to protect their own streaming service. Ultimately, that type of practice leads back to the walled garden approach for their customers that Compuserve et al used to try back in the day. I pay them to provide me with a data connection. It's none of their business what data I choose to move across that connection.

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#1280046 9-Apr-2015 21:43

NonprayingMantis:

With slingshot stupidly launching it and making a big fat target of themselves, they have opened up *all* of us to potential problems. If they lose, and sky etc win, it will be slingshot I will blame for making it too big a target to ignore.

You keep saying this but what you are really saying is that Global Mode should remain the private plaything of a small tech-savvy elite. What you are talking about here is control of information, which is essentially the same thing the media companies are attempting. Knowledge is power. It is also liberating. The last thing I want is to be part of a medieval society where only privileged monks are able to read books. I say the more people who know about Global Mode the better, and while they are at it, they can learn about copy protection circumvention, Tor, HDCP stripping, and everything else that attempts to control people and restrict their freedom to be curious by limiting their access to information.

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#1280114 10-Apr-2015 04:26

dafman: The same week Mediaworks introduce the Paul Henry buffoon morning circus, today there are news reports that they are looking to ditch Campbell Live.

Is there no end to the dumbing down of our local news content?

And these are the very people that want to deny us access to global streaming, so they can control our viewing habits? Maybe global mode should be compulsory to protect us from these morons?

The main point in this post was against Mediaworks recent policies.

I do think a decent news service is well under threat.

Campbell Live is one of the last independent news/interview shows left.

I don't care if you dislike Campbell. But, he doesn't show the open bias of Henry or Hosking.

I have voted many ways in the past. But, I don't want some arse on TV constantly telling me how to vote.

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#1280139 10-Apr-2015 07:26

JWR:
dafman: The same week Mediaworks introduce the Paul Henry buffoon morning circus, today there are news reports that they are looking to ditch Campbell Live.

Is there no end to the dumbing down of our local news content?

And these are the very people that want to deny us access to global streaming, so they can control our viewing habits? Maybe global mode should be compulsory to protect us from these morons?

The main point in this post was against Mediaworks recent policies.

I do think a decent news service is well under threat.

Campbell Live is one of the last independent news/interview shows left.

I don't care if you dislike Campbell. But, he doesn't show the open bias of Henry or Hosking.

I have voted many ways in the past. But, I don't want some arse on TV constantly telling me how to vote.

The ratings would indicate the NZ public at 7pm are not interested in fact or in depth news, they want to blob out in front of egotistical baffoons like Hoskings and Henry.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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#1280154 10-Apr-2015 08:23

KiwiNZ: The ratings would indicate the NZ public at 7pm are not interested in fact or in depth news, they want to blob out in front of egotistical baffoons like Hoskings and Henry.

+1

Seven Sharp - aprx. 500,000 viewers
Campbell Live - aprx. 150,000 viewers

Sad.

"In the last week of March, when Campbell Live celebrated a decade on air, it also saw some of the worst ratings in its history. According to analysis by throng.co.nz, it averaged an audience of 154,576 per night for that week - a week in which Seven Sharp exceeded 500,000 viewers for the first time."

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#1280192 10-Apr-2015 09:07

Sideface:
KiwiNZ: The ratings would indicate the NZ public at 7pm are not interested in fact or in depth news, they want to blob out in front of egotistical baffoons like Hoskings and Henry.

+1

Seven Sharp - aprx. 500,000 viewers
Campbell Live - aprx. 150,000 viewers

Sad.

"In the last week of March, when Campbell Live celebrated a decade on air, it also saw some of the worst ratings in its history. According to analysis by throng.co.nz, it averaged an audience of 154,576 per night for that week - a week in which Seven Sharp exceeded 500,000 viewers for the first time."

No doubt Campbell Live will be replaced by either Jono & Ben, the 7 Days team, or any combination thereof. TV3 does comedy very well, but this has coexisted alongside great news and current affairs as well. It will be a real pity if (correction: when) the two are merged for 'ratings' effect. Each to their own, as long as I can opt out for quality pickings offshore.

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#1280251 10-Apr-2015 09:39

KiwiNZ: ... The ratings would indicate the NZ public at 7pm are not interested in fact or in depth news, they want to blob out in front of egotistical baffoons like Hoskings and Henry.

"Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the public." P.T. Barnum (founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus)

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