09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

There it is, the hex key to decode HD-DVD. It's on thousands of websites and listed on at least that many forums. So why is something like this that is usually kept behind the scenes showing up on so many front pages? The answer is censorship.

The world is tired of it, and more and more people are standing up to it. At this point I'd wager as many as 75% of the websites that show this key could care less about using it. That includes this blog. But after watching the disaster that has become the RIAA bully old ladies and children, when the cease and desist letters started going out to every website that so much as talked about this key something seems to have clicked.

Censorship isn't an answer. It is no more an answer than sueing old women and children that don't even own computers over digital copyright infringment. Both start with a good idea, then get lost along the way. This uprising wouldn't exist right now if the cease and desist letters were limited to the websites broadcasting the key. But instead they went with the shotgun approach made so famous by the intellectually challenged over at the RIAA and sent letters to anyone that listed the key, anyone that had links to the websites that listed the key, and to search engines that might have indexed a webpage that listed the key.

Pirating will happen. It always has, it always will. But by trying to take freedoms and rights away from people in the quest to keep pirating to a minimum, you actually put those that are pirating on the moral high ground. That officially makes it the better side of the argument to stand on if it comes down to losing freedoms, or allowing pirating. If you really want pirating to diminish, take away the moral high ground you've given it and provide better alternatives because you'll never get rid of it entirely.