Re: Interesting Twist to BANNER ADVERTISING

From: Josh Troesh <jtroesh_at_jps.net>
Date: Fri 14 Jan 2000 21:39:36 -0800

WILLIAM HENNING WROTE:
> If I end up writing the scripts I'll offer the same
> code to a few hundred other content web masters I am in
> contact with; and send it along to the ad networks, and
> heavily publicise it. I wonder how many support calls
> that will cause for the ISP's? Don't support calls also
> cost money?

Count me in, I will gladly include this script on my
site and help create a disincentive for ISP's to
illegally replace web advertising. I think that the
static page should also have a link to an article that
details why this sort of tampering is horribly damaging
to the free flow of information on the internet and the
viability of the internet as a continued FREE source of
content for viewers.

In regards to Fred's assertion that he is being robbed
of bandwidth by content sites that display ads and that
he owns the rights to control any data that comes
across his server, he needs to have a lawyer check over
his contracts he has with customers. As an ISP you are
simply a bridge (tolls paid for by the subscribers) for
the user to connect with the public internet. You do
not own the internet nor any of the data and are
contractually obliged not to alter .

In regards to his assertion that no one could prove the
switch or find him: If any ISP were to try this I
personally would hunt them down (not too hard), join
and pay for service with them and then file a class
action law suit for all their subscribers for breach of
contract based on the alteration of internet content
which I have paid to access without changes. You could
get around this by stating in your contracts what you
were going to do, but then any content provider would
have hard evidence in his lawsuit.

In regards to his comment about ads not being
considered as content: Ever been to the any newspaper's
online classifieds or job search engine. Every single
listing and item you see there is an ad and guess
what...THAT is the content. Nothing but ads, nothing
but paid sections of space on a web site, and people
return to it over and over again to view the ads
because in many cases ADS ARE CONTENT.

In regards to his assertion that this is not copyright
infringement: Do yourself a favor, contact a lawyer (a
copyright lawyer, not your sister's husband who is a
first year med-law student) and tell them that you
suspect that you plan to remove advertising from media
content, and replace them with sold local ads without
the permission of the media owner, distributor or
publisher. See what he says. You obviously don't
understand copyright & trademark law and are speaking
from a completely naive viewpoint.

~Josh Troesh





Received on Fri Jan 14 2000 - 23:39:36 CST