Re: [GNU-linux-libre] youtube-dl might be running non-free software from

[J.B. Nicholson]

Adonay Felipe Nogueira wrote:
> Finally, I just hope YouTube doesn't change the way it handles videos to
> something more complex/non-trivial. This is my worry so far --- that
> once YouTube makes it complex/non-trivial, then ViewTube (and
> youtube-dl) follows the changes.

This is another reason to promote the use of the Internet Archive at 
https://archive.org/. archive.org imposes no DRM, no obfuscation, and no 
barriers to downloading copies of works. archive.org (unlike youtube.com) 
will distribute the exact file(s) you upload as well as its own site-made 
derivatives. YouTube always distributes resampled copies of audiovisual 
material. And I don't think YouTube has any facility to distribute anything 
but audiovisual works; no other kinds of documents are distributable (as 
far as I know), so archive.org offers a compelling advantage here as 
there's no limit to the kinds of data on can distribute with archive.org.

This is all great news for people using their own means (such as their own 
blog, forum/mailing list posts, etc.) to distribute copies of digital works.

The vast majority of YouTube users aren't looking to make money from the 
site, they want a place to upload stuff to share with others. archive.org 
offers this. And for the minority who want to make money by distributing 
new videos, one can host the videos on their own site (perhaps with a GNU 
MediaGoblin instance on a domain of their choice hosted on one of a large 
number of hosters) and charge for early access to the new stuff, run ads 
there, or offer subscription-only access there. Nothing about hosting with 
archive.org prevents making money with one's uploads. Nobody needs 
archive.org membership to download from them, and anyone can host 
discussions anywhere they like (it doesn't have to be hosted at archive.org 
although they will host that too).