MintChip's Barbra Streisand Moment

[evoorhees]

Couldn't let them get away with this...

http://blog.bitinstant.com/blog/2012/9/24/mintchips-barbara-streisand-moment.html

[Gabi]

Wow, mintchip is already disgusting. That's so ridicolous.

[misterbigg]

Perhaps the only thing I find surprising is that you didn't expect this?

[lonelyminer (Peter Šurda)]

Eric,

I caution against publishing pictures like this. A couple of years ago, there was a guy in the Germany that similarly modified a company's logo because he claimed they scammed him, and they sued him (I think for trademark violation). The royal mint already sued an artist for using a photo of coins for copyright violation.

[hazek]

Good write up Erik.

[herzmeister]

It's Barb_ra Streisand !!!1!

[Bitcoin Oz]

They deserve a scammer label 

[finkleshnorts]

:/

Sure, it's annoying, but what does this have to do with bitinstant?

Bitinstant is cool and all, but I don't think it was a professional move to call the Royal Canadian Mint a fraud on your website, complete with a defaced logo. Even if they were a "fraud" as you say.

It was a tongue-in-cheek answer anyway, on a poll that got mobbed by this forum. I remember voting there; that really would be the only thing I would use something like MintChip for. I got a kick out of it but that was it. I think the outrage is grossly misplaced.

[da2ce7]

maybe it would be better to replace the 'fraud' label.  Maybe replace it with the 'scamers' or 'community rejection'

[evoorhees]

It's Barb_ra Streisand !!!1!

LOL my bad. Fixed

Edit- actually I can't fix it or the URL gets ruined. Fail on my part!

[niko]

:/

Sure, it's annoying, but what does this have to do with bitinstant?

Bitinstant is cool and all, but I don't think it was a professional move to call the Royal Canadian Mint a fraud on your website, complete with a defaced logo. Even if they were a "fraud" as you say.

It was a tongue-in-cheek answer anyway, on a poll that got mobbed by this forum. I remember voting there; that really would be the only thing I would use something like MintChip for. I got a kick out of it but that was it. I think the outrage is grossly misplaced.

I was going to write something, but honest bob said it all.

[evoorhees]

:/

Sure, it's annoying, but what does this have to do with bitinstant?

Bitinstant is cool and all, but I don't think it was a professional move to call the Royal Canadian Mint a fraud on your website, complete with a defaced logo. Even if they were a "fraud" as you say.

It was a tongue-in-cheek answer anyway, on a poll that got mobbed by this forum. I remember voting there; that really would be the only thing I would use something like MintChip for. I got a kick out of it but that was it. I think the outrage is grossly misplaced.

Hey honest bob, I understand what you're saying, but our blog is not intended to be a cold corporate faceplate. It's our sounding board, through which we comment on things we find interesting or important. Remember too that we're very dedicated community members, and we'll have opinions on things which are Bitcoin related but not necessarily directly BitInstant related. We don't intend to formally separate BitInstant from the community.

We are not really "outraged" at the MintChip thing. It's not a huge deal. We did find it disappointing and interesting, however, primarily because (as mentioned in the post) it illustrates the precise reason why Bitcoin is superior to any centrally controlled alternative: Bitcoin cannot be censored. I think this was the important lesson, and I wrote the blog post to convey it.

[evoorhees]

Eric,

I caution against publishing pictures like this. A couple of years ago, there was a guy in the Germany that similarly modified a company's logo because he claimed they scammed him, and they sued him (I think for trademark violation). The royal mint already sued an artist for using a photo of coins for copyright violation.

Image on the blog has now been, like the contest itself, censored   Probably good advice.

[jwzguy]

Great article, although I would have said "Ron Paul Moment" - that awkward moment when the guy who comes in first in your poll is suddenly removed from the results.

[Raoul Duke]

Edit- actually I can't fix it or the URL gets ruined. Fail on my part!

Reason 2039 to use a self-hosted WordPress for all your blogging needs

[Yankee (BitInstant)]

I've just been told the Canadian Mint will sue us if we dont take down the picture...which we just did.

We were also told that we'd probably win such lawsuit due to a strong argument for parody and/or protected political speech (at least in our 1st amendment loving country), and these apply to copyright and trademark claims. However, and this is why it's called a chilling effect, those are defenses to a lawsuit that's already in court so if I have to rely on them it means I've already hired defense counsel etc.

Maybe we could crowd source legal defense....

[kjj]

I've just been told the Canadian Mint will sue us if we dont take down the picture...which we just did.

We were also told that we'd probably win such lawsuit due to a strong argument for parody and/or protected political speech (at least in our 1st amendment loving country), and these apply to copyright and trademark claims. However, and this is why it's called a chilling effect, those are defenses to a lawsuit that's already in court so if I have to rely on them it means I've already hired defense counsel etc.

Maybe we could crowd source legal defense....

Heh.  Post scans of the takedown notice, along with instructions on how to search google images for the many, many copies of it that are already out.  That is the real Streisand Effect...

And yeah, you'd totally win in the US, and if your lawyer was awake, you'd win a judgment for Anti-SLAPP too.

[evoorhees]

Great article, although I would have said "Ron Paul Moment" - that awkward moment when the guy who comes in first in your poll is suddenly removed from the results.

LOL true story

[finkleshnorts]

Hey honest bob, I understand what you're saying, but our blog is not intended to be a cold corporate faceplate. It's our sounding board, through which we comment on things we find interesting or important. Remember too that we're very dedicated community members, and we'll have opinions on things which are Bitcoin related but not necessarily directly BitInstant related. We don't intend to formally separate BitInstant from the community.

We are not really "outraged" at the MintChip thing. It's not a huge deal. We did find it disappointing and interesting, however, primarily because (as mentioned in the post) it illustrates the precise reason why Bitcoin is superior to any centrally controlled alternative: Bitcoin cannot be censored. I think this was the important lesson, and I wrote the blog post to convey it.

Thanks for this reply. I agree with what you're saying here... I guess it would by my only suggestion to divorce bitinstant from any ideologies, and just to stick with a cold corporate faceplate. I feel like bitinstant and the bitcoin community would benefit from not having our admittedly fringe ideals plastered all over the place. Why can't bitcoin, to the "outside world" if you will, just be (or just start out as) a new way to have/move/think about money? I feel like lots of people are turned off to bitcoin by all the libertarian mumbo-jumbo.

[jimbobway]

I disagree with honestbob.  I thought the article was great!