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Censorship Youtube Build Hardware Technology

Vox Lawyers Briefly Censored YouTubers Who Mocked the Verge's Bad PC Build Video (arstechnica.com) 161

Posted by BeauHD from the fair-use dept.
An anonymous reader writes: In case you missed the latest drama to take place in the YouTube tech community, Ars Technica reports how Vox Media attempted to copyright strike two reaction videos that mocked The Verge's terrible PC build guide video that could have ruined a $2,000 system for a beginner PC builder. That effort failed when the tech community sounded the alarms; YouTube removed the copyright strikes and Vox Media had to retract their takedown notice.

From the report: "Last week, The Verge got a reminder about the power of the Streisand effect after its lawyers issued copyright takedown requests for two YouTube videos that criticized -- and heavily excerpted -- a video by The Verge. Each takedown came with a copyright 'strike.' It was a big deal for the creators of the videos, because three 'strikes' in a 90-day period are enough to get a YouTuber permanently banned from the platform. T.C. Sottek, the Verge's managing editor, blamed lawyers at the Verge's parent company, Vox Media, for the decision. 'The Verge's editorial structure was involved zero percent in the decision to issue a strike,' Sottek said in a direct message. 'Vox Media's legal team did this independently and informed us of it after the fact.' The move sparked an online backlash. Verge editor Nilay Patel (who, full disclosure, was briefly a colleague of mine at The Verge's sister publication Vox.com), says that when he learned about the decision, he asked that the strike be rescinded, leading to the videos being reinstated. Still, Patel defended the lawyers' legal reasoning, arguing that the videos 'crossed the line' into copyright infringement. It's hard to be sure if this is true since there are very few precedents in this area of the law. But the one legal precedent I was able to find suggests the opposite: that this kind of video is solidly within the bounds of copyright's fair use doctrine."
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Vox Lawyers Briefly Censored YouTubers Who Mocked the Verge's Bad PC Build Video More

Vox Lawyers Briefly Censored YouTubers Who Mocked the Verge's Bad PC Build Video

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  • Commentary and Parody (Score:5, Informative)

    by ghoul ( 157158 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @07:19PM (#58155188)

    are well protected under Copyright Law. This is not a problem of Copyright Law. This is a problem with the Youtube 3 Strikes rule. If youtube is not going to do legal reviews of takedown notices and instead depend on crowd's intelligence that is Youtube's choice but then it should not use a 3 strikes rule on such takedown notices which have not gone through proper review.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @09:00PM (#58155604)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by zman3 ( 5562836 )
        I think vox was saying Kyles video response https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] was racist because of the character he does.

        • Re:Commentary and Parody (Score:5, Informative)

          by UnknownSoldier ( 67820 ) on Thursday February 21, 2019 @01:19AM (#58156308)

          No, the Verge on Twitter started blaming racism [twitter.com] when people started calling them out on their stupidity.

          They deleted the original tweet but here is a copy [twimg.com] which stated:

          "Last week, The Verge published a video on how to build a gaming PC. Today, we're pulling that video off our YouTube and Facebook pages, because it contains minor factual errors, that, in sum, do not meet our editorial standards. I also want to reiterate that The Verge has zero tolerance for internet harassment campaigns, and that we will automatically disregard any feedback that appears to be in bad faith or part of such a campaign. As many of you know, we are happy to engage openly with our audiences across our platforms, but over the weekend multiple people on our staff have been subject to a wave of attacks, including hundreds of racist attacks on the host of our video. We simply will not listen to feedback that is associated with these campaigns or the people who direct such campaigns.

          "We'll eventually make another video on how to build a PC. It'll be good. See you out there."

          /sarcasm Apparently 40+ errors [imgur.com] are "minor factual errors". LUL.

          • Re:Commentary and Parody (Score:5, Insightful)

            by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Thursday February 21, 2019 @03:36AM (#58156592) Journal

            sarcasm Apparently 40+ errors are "minor factual errors". LUL.

            An imagur link to basically a chunk of text in rendered with a small font into a bitmap. Ugh WTF is wrong with people? Can we dial back the outrage on this story so can have some REAL nerdrage over the offence that is that link? It's barbaric.

            • Ugh WTF is wrong with people?

              Well if you read the text and noticed the complete bitchfest about irrelevant crap then I would say a lot is wrong with people.

          • To be fair, their statement does not say that the criticism itself is racist, only that he was subject to racist harrasement. Whether or not he actually was I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if he received a bunch of comments/emails from idiots calling him a "stupid n*gger" or some such.

            It's still kinda ridiculous for them to throw out the race card, but what they were actually saying is being misrepresented here.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by mjwx ( 966435 )

            /sarcasm Apparently 40+ errors [imgur.com] are "minor factual errors". LUL.

            Sir, I would like to protest the second so-called "error" on that page. A swiss army knife is an ideal tool for any PC builder, you've got a Philips head, flat head, blade, scissors, pliers and corkscrew in the same handy package.

      • Re:Commentary and Parody (Score:4, Informative)

        by UnknownSoldier ( 67820 ) on Thursday February 21, 2019 @01:07AM (#58156276)

        Agreed. Bitwit's satire analysis [youtube.com] was priceless.

        IMO Stefan is a total fucking idiot. Stupidity is not a respecter of race. Here is a (partial) list of all the lies in the video for your enjoyment!

        Lie #1: Need a table. Fact: Any flat surface, including a floor, is OK. Carpet / wooden surface doesn't really matter.
        Lie #2: Need thermal paste applicator. Fact: No, you don't need one.
        Lie #3: Need Allen key / Allen wrench. Fact: Unless you have specific parts that require them, no, you don't need one.
        Lie #4 Calls zip ties tweezers. Fact: Tweezers are not zip ties, and zip ties are not tweezers.
        Lie #5: Need tweezers. Fact: Cable ties, Zip ties, or Velcro stripes will be handy for cable management.
        Lie #6: Says to use zip ties: Fact: Never used them.
        Lie #7: Need Swiss army knife. Fact: Use a Phillips screwdriver
        Lie #8: Need Anti-static wrist bracelet. Fact: No, just touch the PSU as you work to ground yourself
        Lie #9: Anti-static bracelets don't need to be grounded. Fact: Anti-static bracelets only work if they are actually grounded. "Wireless" Anti Static don't actually work, go figure.
        Lie #10: Calls it a "brace." Fact: It's called an I/O Shield
        Lie #11: Hammer in the brace. Fact: *Gently* install the I/O Shield
        Lie #12: Calls it a Lane. Fact: They are called PCI Express slots.
        Lie #13: PCI "Lane" doesn't matter. Fact: Generally the PCI express slot closest to the PSU has the most bandwidth -- but double check your motherboard manual to verify _where_ the x16 slot(s) are located.
        Lie #14: Calls the power supply a "Brick." Fact: It's called a PSU or Power Supply Unit.
        Lie #15: Calls it "insulation pads." Fact: They are anti-vibration pads.
        Lie #16: Align with "insulation pads" ... Fact: The PSU rests on top of anti-vibration pads
        Lie #17: ... so power supply doesn't short circuit. Fact: The PSU is *meant* to touch the case at all times.
        Lie #18: *Block the PSU fan*. Fact: Do NOT block the PSU's fan. Double check your case's airflow see which direction the PSU's fan should be pointing.
        Lie #19. Install CPU after GPU. Fact: Installing the CPU _first_ will make it EASIER rather then later.
        Lie #20: Says to install all 4 screws for the CPU cooler but only installs 3!! [vox-cdn.com] They are missing the bottom left one!! Fact: Make sure you install ALL FOUR screws of CPU cooler to keep EVEN pressure.

        This fucking moron is FULL of excuses:

        a) Twitter [twitter.com], and

        liked I've said before, wasn't allowed a reshoot. the paste was cleaned up, RAM in correct slot, PSU facing correct direction. *Obviously* this PC works.

        b) Twitch [twitch.tv]

        It's not my first computer

        It was SO bad that even Linus offered to help! [twitter.com]

        "I'd actually love to come help out if you want to do a pt2 or follow up to this."

        And to top it off The Verge [twitter.com] made this excuse:

        "on another note. tech youtubers are not journalists"

        Gee, yet actual YouTubers know HOW to properly put together a build. This dumb journalist can't even pretend to!

        If they had just

        1. Admitted they fucked up, an

        • Most of the inaccuracies you mentioned aren't problematic to making a computer work except for #18 which is dangerous and could cause the PSU to wear out faster at best and at worst cause a fire. Here are the other things in the video which are way more problematic:

          1. Installs memory in adjoining slots (3 and 4) instead of 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 (what is allowed varies by motherboard) which means it's single channel not dual channel. Also the MB may not refuse to POST if this happens.
          2. Screws in the M.2 SSD direc
          • There were so many issues I forgot two very important ones:
            • The AIO cooler has a pre-applied thermal pad to contact with the CPU. He says it's not enough and recommends adding thermal paste. While using thermal paste isn't necessary, he doesn't mention that you need remove the pad with isopropyl alcohol if you want to use paste instead of the pad. Otherwise the pad and paste together may not properly contact and conduct heat away from the CPU.
            • He adds a crapload of thermal paste terribly. He doesn't use a p

          • Yup there were lots of mistakes! Basically one giant:

            *Facepalm*

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by GuB-42 ( 2483988 )

        That video is not only clueless but also deceptive.
        There are parts where he shows how to install something, fucks up completely, and yet, the part is properly installed after the cut.

        To describe the video. Imagine you have no experience in PC building, are given a bunch of parts and no instructions. Someone records your first attempt at every step, but not the successive trial and error. You also have to act like you know what you are doing.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Shotgun ( 30919 )

        Isn't Vox throwing the race card sort of a "dog bites man" story?

      • You most likely would have burned up your PC, yes its THAT badly done.

        Sorry but that's hyperbole. The PC was poorly built, but no worse than any Chinese box seller. It may have resulted in some difficulty mounting the CPU, and definitely would have suffered in memory performance, but the reality is that computer as horrible as the build guide was would still have run just fine.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Uhhh...he BLOCKED the PSU fan, you kinda need that if you don't want the PSU to blow

            No he didn't. He pointed it inwards towards the motherboard. That case has a gap that allows air to get to the fan, and a cutout under the motherboard at that position allowing air to additionally flow past the underside of the board. Additionally he installed an 850W PSU in a system that will at full pelt never even see half that load. The crime here is the PSU won't be cool enough for the fan to spin down completely but it sure as hell won't blow.

            he also poured so much thermal compound on the CPU it was squirting onto the socket so...yeah it would have cooked the box

            Except no it wouldn't. He put significant amounts on but it

    • US copyright law, 17 USC 512, requires service providers to terminate the accounts of a "repeat infringer." YouTube's strike system is intended to satisfy this requirement.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sjames ( 1099 )

        A repeat infringer is not the same as someone who has been accused without adjudication 3 times.

    • they were specifically created to lean towards the copyright owner's benefit because it was assumed (rightfully I would say) that if they followed current fair use laws the major copyright lobbies would just buy new, stricter laws.

      What I'm saying is, don't blame YouTube. Fix your bloody corrupt government and that "money is speech" bullshit. You can start with Liz Warren's bill [senate.gov]. Hell, go elect her or Bernie (or both maybe?) to the presidency.

      As an added bonus when the Notorious RBG steps down you wo

  • So is there a corollary policy? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @07:21PM (#58155196)

    It was a big deal for the creators of the videos, because three 'strikes' in a 90-day period are enough to get a YouTuber permanently banned from the platform.

    I would assume then that there's a corollary policy, where a YouTuber who gets three takedown notices rescinded in a 90-day period is also permanently banned from the platform (or at least permanently banned from issuing takedown notices)?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I would assume then that there's a corollary policy, where a YouTuber who gets three takedown notices rescinded in a 90-day period is also permanently banned from the platform (or at least permanently banned from issuing takedown notices)?

      One can only hope, but I doubt it.

      Captcha: lawsuit

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Problem is the DMCA. You can't ban people or ignore their DMCA requests. In fact there is no obligation to, it's up to the victim to sue them to stop them spamming more notices.

      • You can ignore DMCA takedown requests. The problem with that is that, if the entity claiming infringement actually sues, you get included in the lawsuit. However, if you're sure the takedown requester isn't going to sue, there's no downside. That's why the DMCA takedown system works for the big guys but not the little guys.

      • YouTube circumvents the DMCA by having their own internal take-down/copy-strike system.

  • CRIMINAL. (Score:4, Funny)

    by grep -v '.*' * ( 780312 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @07:26PM (#58155222)
    You're using my words and not paying *me* for them. And you're even CRITICIZING my choices and SLANDERING my good name in the process. You MISCREANT, I'll make you pay for this injustice! Just like the Tide Pod Eating Contest and the Pour Boiling Water on Yourself videos, it's not MY fault if I produce a bad outcome for you listening to me.

    PEONS. Get your own life and quit interfering with my revenue stream.

  • Wow that video does suck (Score:3)

    by GregMmm ( 5115215 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @07:30PM (#58155238)

    Go to minute 2:30 and learn alot:

    Screw in with confidence, but don't screw too hard...

    How did this get released?

    • People who professionally assemble computers DO NOT use a Swiss Army knife as a screwdriver. You know what they use? An actual screwdriver.

      • People who professionally assemble computers DO NOT use a Swiss Army knife as a screwdriver. You know what they use? An actual screwdriver.

        People who professionally assemble computers do not go to a Vox video for guidance.

  • My favorite part has to be the fake anti-static bracelet, LOL!

    But seriously, can I take an entire 10+ minute video, overlay my commentary, and not expect a copyright infringement notice? That does seem like a stretch. I thought that 30-seconds was the court-established precedent for fair use. Consider this: suppose that someone posted a positive commentary on a good video, and the commented version became popular. Every time someone watched the commentary version, the original publisher gets nothing. T

    • But seriously, can I take an entire 10+ minute video, overlay my commentary, and not expect a copyright infringement notice? That does seem like a stretch. I thought that 30-seconds was the court-established precedent for fair use.

      There is no such standard. Indeed, there is no standard for time. The supposed standard is as much as necessary. If you're commenting on the whole thing, then the whole thing may be necessary. In practice, who's got more money for lawyers?

      Every time someone watched the commentary version, the original publisher gets nothing. That doesn't seem fair.

      If someone wants to see the original without commentary over it, they can go watch it, and then the original publisher may get something.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by bob4u2c ( 73467 )
      The original video needed a Tom Servo and Crow T Robot overlay on it with some commentary, but I digress.

      Seriously the original video is a joke right?

      As others have pointed out, put the cpu in the board first. Don't slather thermal paste on. That was just bad! Just a dab, use a thin plastic scraper to make as thin of a layer as you can; apply it to both the cpu and the cooler; match the two up and twist back and force to ensure no air bubbles; thats it. One tube of paste should be enough for at leas

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      Youtube videos are a modern form of communication in digital form. Let's apply an analohy, how do you reply to a long email? Do you top post or do you reply point by point inline?

  • Do they also own Vice? I assume all the V-named radical left channels are the same.

  • The lawyers did it? (Score:3)

    by kbg ( 241421 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @08:05PM (#58155390)

    So just fire all the lawyers on the legal team. You can't but the blame on somebody else and not do anything about it. If the lawyers are at fault they must be fired. All of them.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @08:14PM (#58155424)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Yet again, YouTube demonstrates the sort of behavior that could never be tolerated if it weren't for having Alphabet as their sugar daddy. Say what you will about the general desire a lot of folks have to use antitrust laws to bust up Silicon Valley's darlings, but YouTube is one incredibly good argument for wielding it against Alphabet. Why? A few reasons:

      1. They continue to operate at a loss.
      2. Alphabet continues to tolerate their amateurish ways of dealing with ToS that pisses off folks at every turn--including gaming their premium content producers.
      3. Their content regulation is a total amateur hour shit show that a for-profit company accountable to shareholders could never put up with.

      Erm no. The problems with their copyright and content filtering systems is that they are automated. They're automated to save money, as you said, YT is operating at a loss. Such systems should not be automated, rather have a charge per accusation (but I know, good luck with that).

      If they had been bought by Microsoft to join with Bing,

      Odd you should mention that... give the quality of other Bing products can you imagine the shit show that BingTube would be. YT under Google/Alphabet may not be perfect, but its not bad and really the best system yet devised for

  • The original video is quite hilarious (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ecuador ( 740021 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @08:21PM (#58155454) Homepage

    The original video is quite hilarious. He gets wrong almost everything that you can get wrong, and also some things you'd think you can't get wrong! He doesn't even know how to call things, like zip ties are "tweezers" and he calls various things (including the I/O shield) as "braces", the CPU socket a "holder" etc. The serious mistakes are applying a shitload of thermal paste *in addition* to the thermal pad the cooler had, installing the RAM in the wrong slots (non-dual channel), installing the PSU the wrong way, screwing the case radiator in without its fans...
    For me the most hilarious parts are two:
    - He wears some rubber band (unconnected to anything) on his arm to protect himself from static electricity (!).
    - He goes on and on describing how he will use a "CPU applicator" to make it easy to "apply" the CPU, then, without saying anything, it is clear he's thrown it to the side and just drops the CPU in the socket as he should.
    The second [youtube.com] of the linked parody videos is quite funny too.

    • Re:The original video is quite hilarious (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rockoon ( 1252108 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @08:35PM (#58155514)
      The greatness of this parody requires that it be unintentional.

      Fortunately for everyone else, it was.

      Now, consider that these people also work on other "news" stories. This is their career!

      Still wonder why the claims of fake news has so much traction? Nitwits like these are everywhere in "journalism," where it is clear that not only are a few particular topics problematic for them, but in fact that all topics are problematic for them.

    • The second [youtube.com] of the linked parody videos is quite funny too.

      I didn't pay too much attention to the links, I saw the Kyle video. But thank you for urging me to watch this video. It is fucking hilarious! This guy is great. Going to have to check out some of his other videos now. Unfortunately I actually have to see what the moron is doing. Cringe worthy..

    • /sarcasm Apparently 40+ errors [imgur.com] are "minor factual errors". LUL.

      They deleted the original tweet [twitter.com]but here is a copy [twimg.com] which stated:

      "Last week, The Verge published a video on how to build a gaming PC. Today, we're pulling that video off our YouTube and Facebook pages, because it contains minor factual errors, that, in sum, do not meet our editorial standards. I also want to reiterate that The Verge has zero tolerance for internet harassment campaigns, and that we will automatically disregard any feedback that ap

  • It was that bad, installed powersupply upside down (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Proudrooster ( 580120 ) on Wednesday February 20, 2019 @09:33PM (#58155736) Homepage

    It was a horrible how-to video. Nicely produced, but really bad, bad information. The (sic) technician installed the powersupply upside down which is downright stupid and dangerous due to overheating. He mistook the vibration insulators on the powersupply as electrical insulators explaining the the power supply should never touch the metal of the case, not realizing the screw he just attached to the mount the power supply upside down touched both the case and the powersupply.

    It was bad and deserved the mocking that it received. We won't even get into how much thermal paste he used on the CPU.

  • Vox Media attempted to copyright strike two reaction videos that mocked The Verge's terrible PC build guide video that could have ruined a $2,000 system for a beginner PC builder.

    I don't want to watch the video, can anyone tell us what was so terrible about it?

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