David "NetRangerrr" Green (linuxman@geek.com) writes to Pigdog: "Why not write lots of letters to the MPAA and DVDCCA like: "Is there any legal way to get a DVD player for Linux? We are creating software based training for DOD and would like to make our training stations run LINUX for an incredible cost savings and greater stability. I see you are suing against DeCSS so I presume that you have an alternative."

EXCELLENT idea David!

In February Mr. Bad of The Pigdog Journal released the now infamous DeCSS copycat software. (Pigdog Journal DeCSS Distribution Center, February 2, 2000). In an effort waste the time of the MPAA and DVDCCA lawyers and make it impossible for them to track down the "real" DeCSS program, millions of copies of a Perl script that removes cascading style sheets from web pages were posted across the web.

Now comes the second wave. In order to show what a huge demand there is from people to be able to play DVDs on Linux boxes, you need to write to the MPAA and DVDCCA today. The fact that this will cause them to spend time answering your questions and less time prosecuting the people who wrote the original DeCSS program is an added bonus.

Here's a sample letter:

"I just bought my first DVD today, a copy of [insert movie name here]. I tried to play it but the only DVD disc player I have is on my Linux box. I've searched for software that will let me play DVDs on my Linux box but can't find any. Can you tell me where I could find the software I need?"

You can cut and paste my example exactly, or come up with your own. You get the general idea. You should probably also add in some details about your hardware, and why compiling from source code is a necessity for your setup.

Here's some addresses of where to send your e-mail:

MPAA:
E-mail: hotline@mpaa.org
Tel: (818) 995-6600

DVDCCA: (All contact is through "License Management International")
E-mail: info@lmicp.com
Tel: (408) 776-2014
Fax: (408) 779-9291

If you know of other addresses, send them to barfback@pigdog.org and I'll add them to this article.

Let the MPAA and DVDCCA know that there's a huge demand from Linux users for a way to play DVDs on Linux systems.

Please feel free to copy this page and e-mail it to friends and co-workers.

radon@pigdog.org