[luau] The Free World's Information and Software repository

[Warren Togami]

Below is an interesting site highlighting the problem of abusive US
laws.  We US citizens and residents aren't allowed to download the files
here by order of the DMCA. This same reason makes it somewhat hazardous
for foreign programmers and engineers to visit America (like Dmitri
Skylarov), because they can be arrested for seemingly harmless things
that they have done in their home countries, that are LEGAL in their
home countries, just because it pisses off some big US company (like
Adobe).

"American government, the best government money can buy."

Among the outlawed files on this site is a CHANGELOG of the Linux
2.2.20x kernels where Alan Cox refused to post details about a security
bug publicly because it would technically violate the DMCA for US
developers to know about the details of a security bug.  While it is
doubtful that he would be arrested if he traveled to America, he made a
point about the stupidity of the law.

http://www.thefreeworld.net/
"New laws in the USA not only make it illegal for US citizens to use or
produce many kinds of useful software or inform/publishing research
about such software (that's ok, after all it's their law), but also seek
to prevent citizens of other countries from making such software or
information available to the US."

"Unless special measures are taken, this will make it hard for people in
other parts of the world to exercise the rights defended and protected
by their respective laws. One obvious special measure would be setting
up a hosting service for these kinds of resources with the added extra
of access control to make sure US residents and citizens won't be able
to download the software or information. This way these resources will
stay available for the rest of the world and only those countries who
chose to be excluded (by Law) will be deprived of the software or
information in question."