this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Remember when NFTs sold for millions of dollars? 95% of the digital collectibles are now probably worthless.::NFTs had a huge bull run two years ago, with billions of dollars per month in trading volume, but now most have crashed to zero, a study found.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I still think NFTs could be used to make a form of DRM that is actually fair to the consumer, by maki g it so you can resell your digital goods and also make it so your digital rights don't vanish as soon as the seller gets bored. But nobody in a position to make that happen wants that.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How would that be fair? There would still be drm running on your computer to verify you have the nft. That would have all the issues of DRM already. And those who want information to be free could still just make illegal cracked copies and distribute them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Video game ownership rights have been going downhill for years. Most games can disappear from your account at a whim, and you can't sell them on when you're done anymore. At least with blockchain-based DRM, you'd be able to sell it when you're done - and if the thing is hosted in a decentralized manner (IPFS, Pinata etc) then the creator can't simply delete it or delist it. You'd own it without permission.

In theory it could be a good idea. If done right.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

At least with blockchain-based DRM, you’d be able to sell it when you’re done

Or not. The company could choose not to honor that sale.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hmm, kind of an open source Steam client that shares game files in a secure and verified peer to peer manner and only lets users play that have the corresponding NFT in their connected wallet. Now you'd only need an incentive for someone to develop something better and way more complex than Steam without making anything close to the same profit from it. Also you'd need a reason for publishers to sell their games this way, if after half a year they won't sell a single copy anymore, as there is always someone that offers their used license cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How is it unfair? To me fair means making sure the creator gets paid without stomping on the rights of the purchaser; in particular, the right to keep the thing after the publisher has gotten bored of selling it, and the right to sell it, though that last one is a difficult proposition with digital goods, seeing as they don't devalue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would say any DRM is unfair, because it works by locking down your own system from yourself, and you should have a right to use your system unencumbered by any restrictive DRM, which tries to take away your right to use the system. Check out Securom and the Sony rootkit. You could buy discs from the publisher, and resell them. But your system was still locked down by the DRM.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How can DRM be fair to the consumer 😂 it is inherently unfair to consumers.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

It is theoretically possible to make a system that would let people make personal copies of software, songs etc for backup purposes and do all the other things they should be able to do with something they have bought, without letting them give copies to everyone for free or otherwise go into competition with the creator without doing any work themselves. Just no such system has been made because publishers want an unfair system.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

DRM =/= fair to the consumer.

DRM as a concept seeks to limit your digital rights. Any DRM of any kind is a form of punishment to the consumer. You bought it, it should be yours to do with in perpetuity as you please.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

DRM could be fair to the consumer, it just isn't in the interests of the publishers to make it so, and as a result the versions of it we have are not fair to the consumer.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

DRM certainly can't be fair as long as it's illegal to circumvent.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

What about the rights of the creator and fair compensation? That argument alone is driving the entire backlash against AI and AI created art whereby people's work was read and incorporated in some level without restriction, why not here too?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You bought it, it should be yours to do with in perpetuity as you please.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

We should worry more about what corporations are doing with people's work, than what individuals are doing with what they've paid for.

Or simply, if someone's profiting off of someone else's work, then worry about the rules.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I guess this is kind of my point. The general left consensus on copyrights, creator's content, DRM, and AI is not founded a position of principles, it's foundation is seemingly only what serves the end goal which is whatever is perceived to help middle/lower class the most.

Which of course I can totally get down with, but I just resent that everyone covers their arguments as if it's coming from a principled idea when in actuality they hold little principles on the matter and just want an end goal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Copyright only exists to serve society, to promote the creation of content. It's not about restricting anything, other than as far as it helps more people create, more creation happen. Corporations stomping on individuals does not promote creation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

NFTs or blockchains are not needed for this. You could just implement selling or transfers in the content platform.

I do think using contacts for escrow and having the sale being independent from the vendor are cool features, bit not at all essential ones.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Okay but what happens when the platform goes away, or decides to change the rules? That`s the only part I could see NFTs actually potentially answering. If the ownership verification was all done client-side via a blockchain it could potentially survive the shutdown of the store you bought it from.

Don't get me wrong, I can see problems with this. And potentially this could also be done with simple public key cryptography.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yes, but that's a different, independent problem.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Who is going to buy those digital goods?

And which developer is going to implement the digital goods of an other developer instead of creating their own which makes them money?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Not talking about that kind of thing. When I say digital goods, I mean things like games, things we currently have DRM for.

Of course, there being no reason to buy a game new if someone is selling it used, that part would never work.