Pluralistic: How labor rights rescued Ultima from a monopolist (12 Oct 2026)

Today's links

How labor rights rescued Ultima from a monopolist: If you care about labor justice and artists' rights, stop focusing on copyright.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: China unblocks Wikipedia; CCC cracks the Bundestrojaner; "Children of the Sky"; "Messy"; Every top Icelandic banker is guilty; Climate activism x digital activism; Gene Kan on P2P's future; Larry Ellison x mass surveillance; W3C v patents; "Work from home" in the cybercrime supply-chain; "Nursery Rhyme Comics"; Glitchy tea-set; Tourist Guy; Vista v reinstallation; Ryanair v your bladder; Wells Fargo CEO loves "sales culture"; "Attention Merchants"; Orban v free press; AI v GIGO; Dylan wins the Nobel; India's starving kids app; Adobe's spyware copyfraud; Charter blackmails customers with bad credit threats; Fix UK housing.
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Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Disney has lost Roger Rabbit: Termination of Transfer is the most pro-artist form of copyright.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Why didn't AV apps block Sony's rootkit? Surveillance doesn't stop terror attacks; The last Pratchett; The true cost of terrorism.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Raymond Biesinger's "9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off": A self-defense guide for creative workers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Gingerbread Phantom Manor; Orwell estate censors 1984; The Abbadon; Ferris wheel fine dining.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Harpercollins wants authors to sign away AI training rights: Rights come from power.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Penguin Random House, AI, and writers' rights: "You can't train an AI with our books" isn't the same thing as "We won't train an AI with YOUR book."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Neither the devil you know nor the devil you don't: Creative workers deserve better than a choice as to who rips them off.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2004, 2014, 2019
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Podcasting "How To Think About Scraping": How to preserve the benefits of web-scraping while targeting the real harms.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Bill Willingham puts his graphic novel series "Fables" into the public domain: A magnificent table flip (but the devil is in the details).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

How Amazon transformed the EU into a planned economy: Monopsony, junk fees and market power.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Podcasting "Ideas Lying Around": A theory of change based on shovel-ready ideas.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading