Seen in Threat Level:
The Recording Industry Association of America is suing usenet.com, decrying it as the next Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer, illicit file-sharing sites.
Um… should someone point out to RIAA that the alt.binaries newsgroups have been around for a good 20 years or so (since shortly after the Great Renaming of 1987, IIRC). Music trading there predates the mp3 file format.
Considering how Usenet has deteriorated into a sewer of spam, calling it “the next Napster” and going after the NNTP servers seems idiotically out-of touch.
Once upon a time, such an attack on Usenet would have unleashed the wrath of a horde of geeks (c.f. the Church of Scientology’s war on alt.religion.scientology starting in 1995). Now, however… well, I suppose this will attract some new attention to the once-mighty Usenet.
