The Current Events Thread

[DoNotDelete]

Hahaha!

People might even do that just for the lolz.

[Brekkjern]

The idea is probably to have loads of them at varying places. Shoot down one, still 100 left to go.

[Madican]

There's also the issue of whether or not it violates federal law (wherever those things go) to put something up there, or so many things up there.

[Brekkjern]

I'm sorry. Federal law? Most of the planet is not under US jurisdiction.

[Syobon]

The whole point is to prevent the government from doing anything in the first place, I don't think they care about the legal aspect. Also, I think the goal is more to keep the servers hidden.

[Syobon]

I'm sorry. Federal law? Most of the planet is not under US jurisdiction.

Hah, not yet anyway.

[DoNotDelete]

Probably easy enough for a law to be passed prohibiting things that a) may or may not interfere with satellite transmissions, b) be identified as UFOs (unidentified hostile threats - not little green men), c) fall or drift into the paths of aircraft through poor maintenance, or d) come crashing down through someone's house from over a kilometre up.

[Madican]

I'm sorry. Federal law? Most of the planet is not under US jurisdiction.

You really don't read posts as they are do you? Like that bit in parantheses that said "wherever those things go." In other words, the law of whatever country those things go up in.

Also, it would not be an act of war to destroy the things if they do violate the law. It also wouldn't be difficult to find them.

[Syobon]

They don't mean an act of war in the legal sense.

It also wouldn't be difficult to find them.

What makes you say that? They can theoretically put these things anywhere in the world and at a height varying between 0 and a few kilometres and move them at will. It might be possible to locate them by tracing the signal, but I think it's possible to scramble and encrypt it to prevent that to an extent. They certainly wouldn't be impossible to trace, but if the government has to spend time tracking all these things down, that can give them time to put up new ones.

[DoNotDelete]

Are these things big enough to show up on radar?

I don't know if size matters with radar - isn't it just something has to a be a few meters above ground level to register?

[adurumus]

If people are using radar equipment and are willing to launch air-borne drones to take them down, they're clearly committed to the cause. They did account for drones, by the by, by including this line:

This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war.

[DoNotDelete]

War against who? The US government and Piratebay?

Do these people really have a military force set up to oppose a government or are they just talking out their booty?

I also don't think authorities will be too forgiving if these things could interfere (intentionally or not) with air traffic control transmissions - even the potential for such things would make them classifiable as an opportunist terrorist threat.

This is just a lot of hot air and bravado from Piratebay and I don't really think they've really thought it through.

[Madican]

They don't mean an act of war in the legal sense.

It also wouldn't be difficult to find them.

What makes you say that? They can theoretically put these things anywhere in the world and at a height varying between 0 and a few kilometres and move them at will. It might be possible to locate them by tracing the signal, but I think it's possible to scramble and encrypt it to prevent that to an extent. They certainly wouldn't be impossible to trace, but if the government has to spend time tracking all these things down, that can give them time to put up new ones.

Because if they do this, then the scenario DnD mentions occurs. No one is going to stand for those things in their airspace. No government will waste time searching for every single one when they can instead have a completely valid and legal reason to bust down Piratebay's door and take the information on server locations they are guaranteed to have.

[Brekkjern]

I'm sorry. Federal law? Most of the planet is not under US jurisdiction.

You really don't read posts as they are do you? Like that bit in parantheses that said "wherever those things go." In other words, the law of whatever country those things go up in.

Also, it would not be an act of war to destroy the things if they do violate the law. It also wouldn't be difficult to find them.

Nope. This forum has taught me that reading entire posts aren't required.

[Shad]

You better stop that way of thinking.