Cornell OTR: How To Do Illegal Stuff at CU: Copyright Infringement

How To Do Illegal Stuff at CU: Copyright Infringement

Posted by VerboseVixen 08/11/2007 11:49 PM
Category: Tags: downloadingillegal how to do illegal stuff, copyright, copyrightinfringement, internet, illegaldownloading

You arrive at Cornell. You can't wait to watch season 2 of Heroes. But the live streaming eats into your bandwidth limit, and who wants to pay $1.50 a gig after you run out of your 5gig/month limit?

The Hub
The absolutely best way to get anything at Cornell is through the school hub. As seasoned downloaders know, the bandwidth limit really eats into your ability to download crap. But the hub is all intranet, and intranet transfers are FREEEEEEEE. It's also the most secure way to get stuff without getting caught. You'll need to know the hub address. Ask someone for it.

BitTorrent
If you can't get it on the hub, the second best way is BitTorrent. Undoubtedly you already know how to use this. People can still get caught with torrents though, so if you can help it, get all the REALLY popular stuff- Eminem, Battlestar Galactica- from the hub.

P2P
STAY AWAY from anything P2P, like LimeWire. So many people have been busted downloading stuff from LimeWire. Like, seriously.

Should you get caught anyway, you'll probably notice your internet has stopped working. You'll get an e-mail about it telling you how to get your internet reinstated and you'll most likely get JA'ed. Don't worry about it too much. Like drugs, CU isn't obligated to tell anyone about anything you do. Usually it just amounts to a few hours of community service or a small fine.

This is the second of a three part series. See the previous article on drugs, or the next article on violence.

+ 9 comments

Anonymous says,

Wow, you really don't know what you're talking about. First, you can get busted for downloading anything copyrighted via Bittorrent. All it takes is for the copyright holder to associate your seeding with your IP address. You are right, it's better to download more obscure things through Bittorrent, however all major media corporations monitor heavily for their property being downloaded. NBC/Universal, Columbia, Sony, Capitol, even Adobe. It's not always easy to know who owns what, and what you can be subpoenaed for. Major corporations own nearly everything you'd download anyway.

Also, the first time Cornell receives notification that you're downloading illegally, you are JA'd and fined 30 dollars. You can bursar this fine, fortunately. However, the second time you are caught, Cornell is willing to provide your identity to the corporation who requests it. They may or may not, but the risks associated with downloading via Bittorrent are not worth the benefit, especially if you are sued for 3,000 dollars per violation.

Maybe you should actually do some research before you post some shit and claim that it will help you succeed in breaking the law. Especially when it won't help at all, and in many cases is completely, totally wrong. Posted 08/12/2007 12:48 AMReply

VerboseVixen says,

1. Yes, you can get busted for getting stuff off BitTorrent. This is why I recommend it only for unusual stuff, where the copyright holder generally doesn't have enough capital invested to give a shit. However, as you mentioned, they get your IP address. They know the IP is from Cornell, but because we're all on ResNet, they don't know the specific identity. Only Cornell knows that, and Cornell has been firm in ONLY GIVING OUT SUCH INFORMATION IF REQUIRED TO BY LAW UNDER A SUBPOENA.

2. Blah blah blah. I've been at Cornell for a while, and I know a few people who have been smacked with a violation and some those involved in the hub. Believe me, I know my shit.

3. Nothing I said in this post is wrong. People download no matter what- I'm just saying, use the hub, use BitTorrent with caution, and avoid LimeWire. And if you get caught, it's not all that serious. Very few IPs are ever subpoenaed because it costs the company money. The likelihood of it happening is extremely rare. Posted 08/12/2007 01:35 AMReply

Anonymous says,

If you're going to tell people to use BitTorrent, at least tell them to use it intelligently. Don't download GAMES, HOLLYWOOD MOVIES, or MUSIC--most other stuff (like TV shows, anime, or OLD movies) is safer, but still not guaranteed.

Is it really wise to mention the hub outside of the student body rumor pool? Kids want to know about it, sure, but you don't go telling the WORLD about it.

Eminem is "REALLY popular"?

I love how your posts are all about doing illegal things and not worrying about it. It's true that everyone gets wasted, everyone gets high, everyone downloads shit--but how about we offer genuine advice instead of posting useless words of idle encouragement? Posted 08/12/2007 03:03 AMReply

VerboseVixen says,

Yes, specifically, stick to those things. However, currently running TV shows will still get you in trouble.

Well, it may not be wise, but it's not like the Sun hasn't covered the hub before ( i.e. http://cornellsun.com/index.php?q=node/15106 )

Yes. And it's a good example of something people will get in trouble for.

"All?" You mean... two. And what would be your version of genuine advice? Telling them all if they do it they're going to get arrested and then go to Hell, and then pass out invitations church service?

All the people I know who have gotten in trouble for copyright infringement fall under the categories of 1. music from Limewire 2. Popular/current TV shows/movies from BitTorrent. I don't see how it's "idle encouragement" to tell people to avoid that. Posted 08/12/2007 08:43 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I don't know about Cornell, but at my school, publicizing the network hub like this is a big no-no. We strictly go by word of mouth so that the administration will not catch on and take it away. Posted 08/12/2007 10:25 PMReply

Anonymous says,

EXACTLY!

I think the Cornell administration already knows about the hub, and are fine with letting it continue since it means less potential lawsuits from BitTorrent, but still... don't go broadcasting it to people outside the university itself. Posted 08/13/2007 12:39 AMReply

Anonymous says,

whats the hub? haha... I dont know people are going to get caught/ get away with it regardless. You need to chill. Verbose Vixen isn't forcing these people to do it. she/he is giving personal advice. maybe you should put a warning label on this post. Posted 08/13/2007 12:17 PMReply

VerboseVixen says,

It is clearly not a secret. In addition to frequent mentions by the Daily Sun, it's also mentioned by CIT and Dear Ezra.

http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=1123563600#question6
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/policy/memos/dcplus.html Posted 08/13/2007 6:11 PMReply

Anonymous says,

nub Posted 01/18/2008 08:22 AMReply