[AndyMcConachie]

I don't understand this argument. Netflix depends on DRM and always has.

Also, this pledge won't protect anyone. Because there's no guarantee that the people/companies suing the developer who breaks future DRM will have signed the pledge. The best protection a developer can have against the DMCA is to not live in the USA.

I generally support everything the EFF does, but I don't get this. If the W3C doesn't standardize DRM we'll still get DRM. It will just be more buggy and with more security holes. Just like MS Silverlight and Adobe Flash.

The idea that you can prevent something from being developed by not standardizing it is absurd.

[CaptSpify]

> If the W3C doesn't standardize DRM we'll still get DRM. It will just be more buggy and with more security holes. Just like MS Silverlight and Adobe Flash.

Honestly, this is what I want. That way, people will roll their eyes at installing "yet another plug-in". It'll be hacky, and terrible, and people will want to get rid of it. Standardizing it is basically accepting it as inevitable, which I don't view to be true.

[thirdsun]

I'm not so sure - don't confuse the general consensus on HN with the wider public. Average Joe won't think twice about clicking "install" on that dialog that tells him to install Flash in order to watch the movie he's been looking forward to.

[CaptSpify]

I have no stats on this, only anecdotes, but most people I know are annoyed at having to install flash, or java, or any other plugins. They usually will, but they are still annoyed. That's the first step, IMO

[thirdsun]

Of course they are, but in my opinion it's more of the "oh, there's another iOS update already?" - kind of annoying. It interrupts whatever they were intending to do, but I rarely see any real objection attached to it. Then again, it's all just anecdotes.

[wallacoloo]

I can understand somebody completely disagreeing with this statement, but perhaps:

By not standardizing DRM, the shitty, near-unusable DRM environment will remain shitty and unusable. More users will be discontent with the system, and this gives more opportunities for companies that present a good (non-DRM) system to compete.

[zanny]

The argument is that Netflix grew on the first sale loophole, but today movies are not being released on physical media and for some bizarre reason the people are complacent in these companies effectively removing first sale doctrine if the information isn't on external media.

You could not start start Netflix's DVD business with steaming, and since DVDs are dead, streaming is all that is left, so you cannot found another Netflix - which means you cannot get to another independent content developer like Netflix has become that way.

[digi_owl]

> I don't understand this argument. Netflix depends on DRM and always has.

Nope, they never really have (though it may be changing now that they are producing their own content). The studios supplying them with content on the other hand has.

[AndyMcConachie]

Do you think they would have gotten any contracts for content without DRM? I doubt it.

[schnable]

No DRM support from Netflix - no content on Netflix.