Build Date: Wed Apr 30 19:50:20 2025 UTC
If I could give up Linux and masturbation, I'd probably gain 30 working hours in a week.
-- The Compulsive Splicer
Pigdog Journal DeCSS Distribution Center
2000-2-16 16:17:23
The Idea Behind DeCSS
Hey, so, I've been really mad about the recent spate of horrible witch hunts by the MPAA against people who use, distribute, or even LINK TO sites that distribute DeCSS, a piece of software used for playing DVDs on Linux. The MPAA has got a bee in their bonnet about this DeCSS. They think it's good for COPYING DVDs, which, in fact, it's totally useless for. But they're suing everybody ANYWAYS, the bastardos! Go look at OpenDVD.org to find out lots more about this really despicable travesty.
Anyways, I feel like I need to do something. I've been talking about the the whole travesty here on Pigdog Journal, of course, and helped with the big flier campaign here in SF and everything, but I feel like I should do something more, like help redistribute the DeCSS software.
There are a lot of problems with this, obviously. First and foremost, Pigdog Journal is a collaborative effort, and I don't want to bring down the legal shitstorm on the rest of the Pigdoggers just because I'm a Free Software fanatic. Also, I'm a total chicken, and don't want to go to court.
DeCSS is Born
So, I decided that if I couldn't distribute DeCSS, I would distribute DeCSS. Like, I could distribute another piece of software called DeCSS, that is perfectly legal in every way, and would be difficult for even the DVD-CCA's lawyers to find fault with.
So that's what I'm doing. I wrote a small utility called "DeCSS" that strips Cascading Style Sheet tags from an HTML document. Yes, agreed, that's pretty much USELESS, but what the fuck. Maybe somebody wants to do that. AND it makes the name of the software much more plausible.
Let me make this absolutely clear: THE LINKS BELOW DO NOT GO TO THE DeCSS SOFTWARE FOR DVDS. You cannot find that software on this site. This is a completely DIFFERENT DeCSS. Same name, different software. Go ahead and download the software and check it out. A cursory review will show that it's not the same software at all.
Distribute DeCSS!
I encourage you to distribute DeCSS on your Web site, if you have one. The newest version, 0.07, includes an out-of-the-box mirroring kit that should make it easy as pie. I think of this as kind of an "I am Spartacus" type thing. If lots of people distribute DeCSS on their Web sites, on Usenet newsgroups, by email, or whatever, it'll provide a convenient layer of fog over the OTHER DeCSS. I figure if we waste just FIVE MINUTES of some DVD-CCA Web flunkey's time looking for DeCSS, we've done some small service for The Cause.
[And a brief note for said Web flunkey: d00d, what are you DOING? How can you possibly be doing this job of searching around the Web and pointing fingers at people for trying to distribute free software? What is the matter with you? Have you no respect for the many hackers that have come before you, who built up this Web that is making you a living? How can you participate in this ugly, ugly action? If you feel you need to do it to keep your job, think again. Send me email, and I'll personally help you to find a better job, with better pay, and WAY better karma. You need to walk away from this crappy gig while you still have some scrap of dignity. Hell, if you walk away, you can be a HERO! Think about that for a second, man!]
If you don't feel like copying the DeCSS code to your machine, just link to this page, "https://www.pigdog.org/decss/". That's something you could get in big trouble for for the other DeCSS software, what with the hysterical attitude of the MPAA and all.
For an extra-fancy link, why not use this handy "DeCSS Now!" button?
Just add this fancy HTML to your Web page:
<p align="center"><a href="https://www.pigdog.org/decss/"><img border="0" alt="DeCSS Now!" src="https://www.pigdog.org/images/decss-now.png"></a></p>
[Please note: this button is in the hyper-cool Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format. It's under a copyleft license, like the rest of the DeCSS package, so you can do whatever you want with it. However, as a personal favor, I ask that you don't convert it to an evil GIF file. If you don't know why GIF is evil, you should go read Burn All GIFs, man. Don't fight one evil power by encouraging another.]
Download
Anyways, so, DeCSS. The most current version is version 0.07, and is available at one of the links below. You'll need perl 5.x, of course, but you probably knew that already. There's installation instructions in the README file in the packages.
Distribution packages for version 0.07:
Version 0.06 includes a mirroring kit and a FAQ, the original text of this article, as well as the bitchen "DeCSS Now!" button.
The software is (C) 2000, 2003 Mr. Bad of Pigdog Journal, (https://www.pigdog.org/). It's distributed under the Artistic License, the same license that perl is distributed under. PLEASE mirror this software on your Web site! Send it where you want! Use a skywriting plane to print out the code in smoke!
Start spreadin' the love, eh? And FUCK the MPAA.
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
Patient Joab's scientifick editorial discusses aspect of the space-time-beer continuum never before processed by sub-bush-robot minds!!! Too fabulantastic to contempulate! (More...)
We here in SMRL's Beverage Research Lab realize that there is more to life than just drinking spocktails. It's important to have other activities. One such activity that we wholeheartedly support is dancing six or more hours to Trance music. So we have designed a drink to accommodate this. (More...)
The end of summer is near and sirens call of Black Rock City are beginning to summons Pigdoggers from all of the world to Burning Man. Spock Mountain Research Labs (SMRL), the world leader in beverage science and leisure technology will be at our second home for a week at 5:00 and Infant (how fitting) as we enjoy the liberated lifestyle of a temporary community 200 miles from nowhere... (More...)
The Deep Dark Underbelly of the Star Wars Myth, or Ramayana Remembered
It's a fact: Star Wars is a blatant plagiarism of an ancient Asian legend, and the long lines of devout Star Wars freaks are really unscrupulous Asian copyright busters. From Indonesia to Thailand to Nepal, videos are available for sale or rent before they're even released in the US and UK due to this nerdy camcorder-clutching bunch. (More...)
An innocent trip to the Central Market resulted in a severe attack of arachnophobia (and a meal) when a depraved street kid set her vicious pet spider on an unsuspecting shopper. (More...)
Tastes like key lime pie, gets you hammered like nobody's business: Introducing the Key Lime Spocktail! (More...)