“All your bases are belong to me!”, says dropbox

 

TOS’s are pesky critters. An article I was writing had to be changed because it’s source has been taken down over at Neowin.com.

The article was about dropbox’s TOS, and it maintained they basically own everything you decide to upload there and can do anything they want with it.

On the page I can retrieve on dropbox, here’s what I found:

Note the second paragraph.

Not to belabor the point, this means anything you ever wrote, drew, painted, skinned, photographed or received and decided to use their service to store is theirs to do with as they like. All that “efficiency and ease” in transfer and storage suddenly doesn’t seem all that great, does it?

It includes research, you name it: You put it there it belongs to them, hence the title of this article. As if this weren’t bad enough, it’s up to you to verify and assure them

that everything they feel like taking is really yours because they wouldn’t want to be troubled by anyone else saying “Wait a minute, that’s mine!”.

 

That’s the classic definition of  “chutzpah” (Heb. “overweaning nerve, gall”), i.e. demanding the mercy of the court after being convicted of murdering your parents because you’re an orphan.

You can read what folks think about their kindly efforts to “simplify” things for us in the blog there http://blog.dropbox.com/?p=846

 

What makes it worse is the security flubs they've had (discovered last month) which basically left files stored there open for the taking.

 

People:  I’ve uninstalled dropbox. What you do is up to you.

Now start reading those TOS’s!

84,942 views 49 replies
Reply #1 Top

When I reformatted I never bothered to re-install it. I only used it one time.

Reply #2 Top

Dropbox is an amazingly easy-to-use service, but after they left their login scripts with no password requirement for a few hours I moved on.

Reply #3 Top

All your bases is mine
End of quote

 

What kind of fuckin' English is that??

 

 

 

 

Jaf is going to go berserk!!

Reply #4 Top

Yeah, that's the trouble with uploading to such sites... those that offer free or cheap services... for a price.

For me, it would be: "What's the agenda here... can I trust this site?  For the most part, I answer "no, I cannot trust this site."

I guess that's why I never fell for any of those Nigerian scam emails.... I suspect EVERYONE bearing free gifts and/or services.

"Nobody does shit for free", that's what you gotta keep telling yourself.... and the more often you remind yourself, the less you're likely to get ripped off by some scum sucking con artist whose intent it is to extract the maximum he/she can from you.  That parasite Zuckerberg is one of them.  While it may be 'free' to join Facebook, you can bet your sweet bippy there's a cost hidden in there somewhere. Being targeted by spam advertising for instance... and like, how did the senders get your details?

Yup, it takes quite a bit to gain my trust.  Dropbox was never going to get it anyhow... nor anyone else of their ilk.  I have more than adequate storage here at home, and anything I might have to share would fit in an email attachment, so there's no way I'm going to hang stuff up there on the 'cloud' for some parasitic company to lay claim to it.

Reply #5 Top

Quoting yrag, reply 3

All your bases is mine

 

What kind of fuckin' English is that??

 

 

 

 

Jaf is going to go berserk!!
End of yrag's quote

 

Reply #6 Top

Thats why I dropped them.

Reply #7 Top

Interesting.  When I was having a problem with restoring an archive, SD support asked me to send the archive to them.  They specifically said they preferred DropBox.  So I installed it for that one and only purpose.  Haven't used it since.  Hopefully, SD support reads your posts, Dr.

About to go uninstall it now.

Reply #8 Top

Quoting yrag, reply 3
Jaf is going to go berserk!!
End of yrag's quote

Jaf.

JAF?!?!?!



Reply #9 Top

When he wakes up.  It's dark there now.

Reply #10 Top

Gone.  As they say at Staples, 'That was easy.'

Reply #11 Top

Quoting yrag, reply 3
What kind of fuckin' English is that??
End of yrag's quote

It started twenty years ago with some poor Japanese to English translations in particular "All your base are belong to us." from Zero Wing.

Reply #12 Top

Now is  good time to look t ll your TOS's

 

/.

"In each such case, the submitting user grants Geeknet the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, all subject to the terms of any applicable license.

Wincustomize:

CONTENT SUBMITTED WinCustomize.com/Stardock does not claim ownership of the Content you place on your WinCustomize.com Site. Stardock may quote, redistribute or reproduce in whole or part of your Content (if you have made it public) in order to promote your WinCustomize.com site and/or the WinCustomize.com service, but only on a fair-use-type basis. By using this site, you agree to the following:

All Content uploaded onto this site must be original material created by you. By uploading any Content to this site, contributors are automatically assumed to be the creator and owner of the Content. You may not upload Content created by another person or taken from another source such as another website, etc, without express written permission from copyright owner. Copyright violation could result in account cancellation and in possible criminal prosecution.

By uploading content, you agree to accept the responsibility of supporting your upload. Stardock, under no circumstances, will not be responsible for the support of your upload, nor will Stardock provide support for any upload not produced directly by Stardock.

By uploading Content, you give permission to Stardock to sell the Content via WinCustomize.com as well as on compilation CDs or packs via online means or retail as long as the payment terms are not modified without prior consent.

 

Reply #13 Top

Yeah--Yahoo all over again.

Here's the deal you know if you have ever worked at a business that started small and then really hit it:  after that first big success, most owners/staff/partners become addicted to the "big hit".  You no longer are the risk taking small guy trying to prove your worth to the customer--you're the big man on campus out to score some more.

Very few owners navigate past greed from this point on but nearly all of them don't see themselves as "greedy"...they see it as "succesful", i.e., "right".  It's where bankers and lawyers come from.

"The leech has two daughters. 'Give! Give!' they cry. " Proverbs 30:15a

DENIAL...Don't Even Know I'm Always Lying.

 

Reply #14 Top

@ Zu: Quite a difference, eh? WC/SD are very different than most places you'll run into.

Reply #15 Top

Viva La Stardock...don't be evil.

Reply #16 Top

I wonder how many actually do read the TOS. I do now. That's why when Doc posted this about Drop box I changed my mind about keeping the installer.

Reply #17 Top

I stopped participating seriously in the Elemental beta because of the dropbox fad at Stardock. I read the TOS and found it both unsurprising and unacceptable. My mean streak is pleased to hear that they got caught with a pathetic security SNAFU.

Reply #18 Top

Quoting Zeta1127, reply 11

Quoting yrag, reply 3What kind of fuckin' English is that??

It started twenty years ago with some poor Japanese to English translations in particular "All your base are belong to us." from Zero Wing.
End of Zeta1127's quote

Love Zero Wing.  XD

Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It’s you !!
CATS: How are you gentlemen !!
CATS: All your base are belong to us.
CATS: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
CATS: Ha ha ha ha …
Operator: Captain !!
Captain: Take off every ‘ZIG’!!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move ‘ZIG’.
Captain: For great justice.

Reply #19 Top

I love how those who don't seem to get what this new "revised" TOS insult those who are against this and canceling their accounts. I had it installed before but never actually used it. Guess there's no point is keeping it anymore. Thanks for the heads up.

Reply #20 Top

Okay, so is there a replacement for Dropbox or would any of these type of programs be worth it?   :S

Reply #21 Top

oops  :S

Reply #22 Top

Quoting Philly0381, reply 20
Okay, so is there a replacement for Dropbox or would any of these type of programs be worth it?  
End of Philly0381's quote

Sugarsync (5 GB)

Skydrive (25 GB)  both free.

Reply #23 Top

Quoting yrag, reply 3

All your bases is mine


 

What kind of fuckin' English is that??

 

 

 

 

Jaf is going to go berserk!!
End of yrag's quote

Me love you long time ....;)

Reply #24 Top

Dropbox gone here too now!