Oh boy, let’s take this piece by piece…

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER AND THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

First: let’s talk about the difference between copyright, patents, and trademark

A patent protects a method of doing something - like a novel piece of code, or a newly invented drug formula - from being duplicated and used or sold without your consent.

Copyright protects creative works - like art, books, and computer software - from being mimiced. It literally deals with the rights to copy something

Trademark protects brands - like a logo or company name - from being used by other people for profit. It usually deals with marketplace confusion, as when someone creates a competing product with a similar logo to try to benefit from the logo’s recognition and popularity.

So, with that said, what are YOU dealing with?

Well, since you’re not selling software or utilizing anything from the WatchDogs game universe, you’re pretty much free and clear on both patent and copyright.

What about trademark?

Well, on the one hand, you are not competing with Ubisoft in any way, nor are you attempting to represent yourself as related to WatchDogs. So, by the letter of the law (in the US), they don’t have a valid complaint.

However, trademark under US law has this funny feature where an entity that holds a trademark is required to vigorously defend it when they become aware of potential infringement. This is to prevent the selective application of trademark. That is, if I know John is using my trademark and I don’t go after him, then Steve uses my trademark too, I can’t suddenly claim to have an interest in defending it when I didn’t care before. Steve can point at the fact that I didn’t go after John and say “you already gave up your trademark by failing to enforce it”.

So how does this impact you? Well, unfortunately, even if you are technically allowed to use “dedsec” under US law, if Ubisoft has a trademark on the term “dedsec” specifically, AND if someone at Ubisoft became aware of your use of their trademark, they would likely come after you for trademark infringement just to cover their ass. You might even win in court, but it would cost a whole lot of money that you would likely never be able to recover.

The good news is that the very first step in a trademark dispute is a cease and desist letter. They’ll demand you stop using their trademark. At that point you can either comply, refuse, or offer to settle the matter by selling them the domain.

What you do with this information is up to you.

I’m an effort to get you an answer that isn’t dismissive:

1. Youth indoctrination, social conformity, and cultural isolation. If your parents, friends, and most of your community tells you something is true, you are unlikely to challenge it for a variety of reasons including trust (most of what they’ve taught you works for your daily life), tribal identity, etc

2. People naturally fear death, and one coping strategy for the existential fear of death is to convince yourself that the death of your body is not the end of your existence. Science does not provide a pathway to this coping strategy so people will accept or create belief systems that quell that fear, even in the face of contradictory evidence. Relieving the pressure of that fear is a strong motivator.

3. Release of responsibility. When there is no higher power to dictate moral absolutes, we are left feeling responsible for the complex decisions around what is or isn’t the appropriate course of action. And that shit is complicated and often anxiety inducing. Many people find comfort in offloading that work to a third party.

That it would be viewed as awkward and unwelcome by the other participants. Consent is key, yo

I go for the hug when I see friends I haven’t seen in a long time, or when I’m parting ways with someone I know I won’t see for a while. But it’s definitely not a regular occurrence

No, it’s not socially acceptable. Yes, I wish it were. I don’t know if I’d go for full on snuggling but I come from a physically affectionate family and in general wish people were more comfortable with that kind of thing

Sorry, this was pushing back on the person I replied to, not you. I generally agree with your take

Hmmm. I want to push back on this a bit…

We can all recognize deeply, egregiously unhealthy parasocial relationships, so I’m not going to bother talking about those.

But there are plenty of what I would call parasocial relationships the track back quite a long time in human history that I think are completely normal.

Take, for example, the famous athlete. If you find a particular athlete to be your favorite, and you watch their interviews whenever they’re available, and you get excited when they get paid a bunch of money in a trade, that’s a low-key parasocial relationship. Maybe you even send them regular fan mail, cheering them on when they do well or consoling them when they do poorly. You are invested in their life without reciprocity, and find joy and value in simply observing their existence.

There are lots of actors and actress that we love to love, where many people have formed a parasocial relationship: Tom Hanks and Keanu Reeves are two that come to mind.

These are situations that go beyond “yeah I’m a fan” and into feeling some level of investment in their success. It doesn’t have to be extreme.

I think, as with many things, there are healthy ways to engage in parasocial relationships in moderation. It becomes a problem when it becomes detrimental to your daily life, especially if it begins to replace other forms of human interaction. If it’s just a thing you enjoy on top of other, more typical relationships, them IMO there’s nothing wrong with that.

ENORMOUS +1 for Sunshine + Moonlight. I’d play just about anything shy of a twitch shooter on it, if your network is nice and stable

Yeah I’m a big music nerd and the soundtrack definitely contributes to it being my favorite :D

“popular media that is actually bad” typically involves a formula that panders or a franchise that has hit a critical mass where people start wanting to be part of the “in group”. I don’t feel like Makoto Shinkai’s films fit that type of pattern. That’s all I was trying to say (poorly)

Wait you actually thought Boy and the Heron had a plot?

My wife literally has multiple limbs covered in Miyazaki tattoos and even she walked out of that movie going “WTF was that mess?”

We’ll just have to agree to disagree here. Clearly we have different opinions of what makes for a good story

Castle in the sky is definitely one of his better ones. Wasn’t trying to talk shit either. I know people love them and with good reason. I just don’t think they’re all that. Except Howl’s. That movie rocks.

HARD disagree. You don’t have to enjoy it, everyone is free to like what they like, but all three films are critically acclaimed and adored by fans worldwide for a reason. And no, not all popular media is good media, but these are not popular enough to fall into that category.

Miyazaki’s movies are more in the “visually stunning but mid” status IMO. Like, Howl’s was great, everything else is meh to me. But I also know that many people love them - including my wife - so I respect that they are good movies.

Or I just want to be super fucking clear that this guy is a piece of shit criminal and children being exploited is never, ever okay, despite my recognition of the factual context?

But whatever, chief, you assume what you want 👍

I was so salty when they gave the Emmy for Best Animated Film to Boy and the Heron instead of Suzume. Absolute travesty and so clearly only because of Miyazaki’s name and art style.

Suzume is honestly my favorite of the three and one of my favorite films of all time. I adore how well all of the fantasy and imagery connects with real human experiences. It comes so close to providing perfectly clear, direct metaphor without actually arriving at it and to me that is the most beautiful type of storytelling: where you can see characters, themes, etc and feel deeply how they connect to your own life but never with a concrete “this thing specifically represents that thing”. You can get really close with Suzume, but it never quite coalesces, leaving you with a powerful story, intense emotions, and a sense of wonder that sticks around long after viewing.

preface: I am not in any way condoning or promoting sex with minors, nor am I blaming the minor. The assailant is a criminal, deserves punishment, and the victim is just that: a victim

With regards to the discussion specifically about cost and availability there are a few important things to note:

1. The victims were not trafficked, pimped, or otherwise “sold” by a third party. The transactions were all 1-to-1 between the victim and assailant

2. The victims ranged from age 15 to 17, and had a comparatively high degree of self determination and autonomy, including typical societal pressures and desires for money, popularity, etc

3. Japan has a long history of acceptable prostitution. Brothels are still much more common than in the West and you will find lots of references to “compensated dating” including among teens.

4. Sex and sexuality is not as stigmatized in Japan the way it is in the West. From idol culture to advertisement, women (and to a lesser extent men) are comparatively more frequently compensated for their sexuality, even if not for sex outright.

Combined with the fame and access to industry contacts that the perpetrator had in this case, these factors all serve to create a much different environment than westerners are used to and drives the prices for these kinds of interactions down.

Again, I do not condone or support sexual relationships with minors, nor do I place any blame on the victims. I seek only to inform about factors that may have impacted the amount of money exchanged

Not at all! Your Name, Weathering With You, and Suzume are all extremely thoughtful, heartfelt stories with moving characters and deep messages. They are some of the best anime has to offer and I highly recommend them

The closest thing is in Your Name, a movie about two teenagers who body-swap over long distance. They are different genders and so there is a scene in which the movie explores the awkwardness of the situation. It’s handled tastefully and accurately for what you would expect from a couple of teenagers. (It’s important to note that in Japanese culture the sexuality of teenagers is something that is not stigmatized the way it is in Western culture, and contextually appropriate explanations of that subject are not considered overtly lewd). They do become romantically interested in each other so you can imagine it’s not exactly simple, but I never felt it crossed the line into perverted. You can see a series of screenshots that include a few frames from this scene here: https://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Your-Name/

That’s why I posted it multiple times (3 to be precise, not exactly spam IMO, in response to misleading comments). These are genuinely masterful works of art and I hate to see them tainted by slander.

Have you seen Suzume yet? It’s truly wonderful.

Koichiro Ito was the producer, NOT the director who is famous for creating those movies. He collaborated with the studio, he did not write or direct the films. Please do not destroy and undermine these beautiful works of art over a single credited contributor who did not create the films.

Further, he was only arrested in February of 2024 so the studio hasn’t even had an opportunity to turn down future collaboration with him.

Koichiro Ito was the producer, NOT the director who is famous for creating those movies