“zomg russian cyber criminals are using free books to fund their lavish lifestyles!!!1!1!!!1! you should go support corporate rent seeking publishers ‘creators’ by paying thousands for basic knowledge!!!11”
this shit sounds like it was written by a middle schooler making a history presentation. it’s hilarious
Meanwhile, ai companies that are doing exactly the same are allowed to rack up billions in revenue.
“It’s American for profit corporation, not a Russian cybercriminal!”
If the DoJ replaced google.com with a similar scare screen, a message about the AI feature appearing before search results, and photos of CEO yachts, that might actually give me hope for the future.
Maybe include a screenshot of the AI Overview so there’s no ambiguity about what feature was problematic. Something like this:
Tangent - I remember reading a blog post when oink got seized saying that if the guy behind it was trying to make a profit rather than to create a library he would be respected like another Steve Jobs rather than being imprisoned. I still 100% believe that.
RIP oink’s pink palace, I was a member for only two or three years but it opened up the world to me. Got invited from a guy at my undergrad I never met in person or knew his name, there was a local filesharing network on campus with a few hundred students on it and we had similar music tastes so would im occasionally. Hope you are doing well wherever you are now, meowfaceman.
As if money actually goes to the content creators 😂
More hilarious jokes have never been told in history
Not a boat! Not a family vacation! Gasp! An… RV!?!?? SOMEONE THINK OF THE RIGHTSHOLDERS!
Oh no, somebody who might be Russian took a family vacation to go fishing with their loved ones!? What an orgy of indulgence! The audacity!
That boat and RV look middle class at best.
It’s almost as if some desk jockey used photos from their family vacation lol.
They… Own a tiny home? Wow. What luxary.
Oh, no! People are enjoying their lives!
It’s at least reassuring to know that the DoJ values the privacy of these horrible criminals enough to warrant blurring their faces. Hard to believe those assholes were spending the money on beautiful rainbows. A rainbow isn’t a tangible possession someone can just keep to themselves! The idea that some guy can just own this abstract thing is deeply offensive to me and I will not be giving any more of my hard-earned money to library genesis.
Bet it’s a stock image the FBI didn’t pay for
Makes me think of this video of the geneticist Albert Jacquard that tries to show how ideas will always be in the commons. How it’s impossible for people to own a concept of an idea, using the example of “it’s impossible to tell who saw the rainbow the first to own its concept”.
It’s in french but it’s a total masterclass, I should translate it someday : https://effingo.be/2011/05/22/albert-jacquard-demonte-le-concept-de-propriete-intellectuelle/
Isn’t the FBI supposed to be non-political?
Yet here they are trying to own Z-Libs
Isn’t the FBI supposed to be non-political?
😂
No the poor copyright owners I’m so upset
That seems nice. Glad they’re getting something in return for saving me so much money.
I’m disappointed I didn’t see a piracy parody of this before seeing this. Come on internet.
The FBI is trying to trick me into feeling guilty, too bad I was the firstborn of a single mother and this shit does not work on me anymore
THOSE MOTHER FUCKERS BOUGHT A RAINBOW!?
I’m impressed.
I know right? They don’t come cheap from the Rainbow Factory, those ponies drive a hard bargain.
Memories once buried have been unearthed…
But really, books already are not the way to make a fortune unless you are in the field of basically being able to dictate what books are used in every educational institution in an entire nation. How would they imagine a pirate, who shares these books, has server upkeep to pay and at best gets very sporadic donations, could afford a lavish lifestyle from this endeavour?
It’s for rainbow washing :)
Note that with rare exceptions, creators are not supported by your purchases. Rather the studios, labels and publishers wh cheat creators are.
If you want to support the creators, pay them directly, or go to one of their performances / signings / functions. But still pirate their work.
That’s what I always do. There are smaller creators that I support via donations or patreon but I never pay directly for the content itself.
