University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received - Consumerist Comments

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

IRSistherootofallevil — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:27:00 EDT

Excuse me...."It is neither practical nor appropriate for us to entertain your request. Thank you very much for using University of Nebraska's mail delivery system. The delivery of your nastygrams has been refused, and you will be billed for return postage of 25,000 letters."

IRSistherootofallevil

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

IRSistherootofallevil — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:23:49 EDT

Oh yeah? "It is neither convenient nor practical for us to entertain your dumbass request. Thank you very much. You will be billed for return postage. Delivery refused."

IRSistherootofallevil

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

JohnMc — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:42:14 EDT

"...But their IT system doesn't keep good records. The university changes IP addresses regularly, and they only keep one month's records. ..."

Might I point out that from a technical angle this sounds like the University is using DHCP to provide leases for the IP addresses to the students. Depending on how it is set up, those leases might expire daily. Which leads to the question is the right user being identified? The PC that is uing the lease today may not be the one using it tomorrow or next week.

JohnMc

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

washington_irving — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:21:08 EDT

I go to UNL as well. It's not that UNL is bad at record keeping, it's that the records aren't necessary to keep. The RIAA only thinks they are.

washington_irving

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

Trai_Dep — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:58:19 EDT

They're obviously only accounting for direct costs. They should apply the same scheme that the RIAA applies: indirect costs. Opportunity costs. Fixed costs. Cost costs. Sort like how Haliburton charges $1,067.98 for a pack of Starbursts in the Green Zone.

And "It is neither practical nor appropriate for me to entertain a your request" should be affixed to every response to any RIAA communication. Forever.

Trai_Dep

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

darkblast93 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:17:09 EDT

only $11! They should charge like, $20.

darkblast93

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

royal72 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:15:03 EDT

the extortion of an extortionist, by an extortionist... errr what?

royal72

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

mac-phisto — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:08:25 EDT

i ditto the $11 is too cheap. we're talking about lawyers here...people that bill in 5 minute increments & think an hour = $1000. except these lawyers think 3 minutes = $1000. we gotta talk on their terms. someone needs to figure out how many workhours are spent on this & then bill $1000 for each 3 minute increment.

on the other hand...well, screw it. the other hand deserves to get chopped off.

mac-phisto

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

Troy F. — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:04:17 EDT

@John Stracke:

Those universities may have grounds to go after the RIAA for expenses; but I don't see any reason the RIAA should offer those expenses up-front.

Quid pro quo - If the RIAA wants the university to send its nastygrams upfront, the RIAA should be willing to pay their expenses up front.

Of course, if anyone should be doing anything up front it should be the RIAA obtaining subpoenas, but then they would have to deal with "due process" and all of the other troublesome features of the legal system.

Troy F.

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

John Stracke — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:59:24 EDT

@chimmike:

That's a good way for someone or a gov't organization to sue RIAA for the dollars already spent by universities that work with RIAA to find offenders, and maybe slow 'em down.

Won't work. Those universities may have grounds to go after the RIAA for expenses; but I don't see any reason the RIAA should offer those expenses up-front. However, I suppose the universities could be sued for wasting taxpayer money like this. One successful suit could make other universities much less willing to cooperate when the shakedown comes.

John Stracke

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

ironchef — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:39:35 EDT

$11 is too cheap. They need to go $111 per letter. College admins are being subsidized by student fees.

ironchef

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

e-gadgetjunkie — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:03:48 EDT

Is this starting to sound familiar to anyone?
I'm sure soon the RIAA will start finding communists and witches among the pirates as well.

e-gadgetjunkie

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

44 in a Row — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:55:49 EDT

Also, IANAL, but I work with lots of them, and I'm pretty sure that when an actual lawsuit is filed, the party bringing the lawsuit is responsible for all sorts of expenses. If you're suing me, and want to depose my boss, you have to pay for it. If you want copies of my medical records, you have to pay for copying. If you want to depose an expert witness, you're paying his hourly rate. I get the sense that the RIAA is trying to stay away from "lawsuits" because that would subject them to things like, you know, rules.

44 in a Row

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

gardencat — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:53:18 EDT

For the cash amount they want to collect from each student that illegally downloaded music, the RIAA could instead make a donation to universities to help them with the cost of the special P2P blocking software (that the RIAA insists ) they need. Of course the software would greatly help, but it would not completely eliminate the problem. However, it could make a lot more sense than paying their lawyers to file lawsuit, after lawsuit, after lawsuit.

Kudos to UNL

gardencat

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

hudsong — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:19:38 EDT

I go to unl, and I download A LOT of music and movies, so it was a relief when I saw this last week, even though the RIAA is kind of a joke these days.
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/7495.cfm

hudsong

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

bravo369 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:01:12 EDT

I think this is a great idea. Telecom companies and universities should all send RIAA a bill. Say that these requests are outside of the bounds of their day to day job and overtime will be needed in order to comply. Then send the RIAA the bill for the OT employees will be working. Maybe this will only cause the RIAA to increase the settlement amount in order to offset these costs.

If RIAA does not pay up, is Nebraska not going to comply?

bravo369

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

Edidid — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:46:29 EDT

Hopefully someone in official state governemnt will see this for what it is: the RIAA is scamming their popultaion to pay for services at the expense of their education system.

What is next? They refusing to pay for stamps on their threatening letters? Oh, they could go nonprofit since obviously they just exist for the public good.

Edidid

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

karmaghost — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:20:05 EDT

Wow, nice headline ya got there, Omaha World-Herald. Is "flagrant douche-baggery" a prerequisite for employment over there?

karmaghost

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

junkmail — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:14:22 EDT

BTW, GO BIG RED!!!!

junkmail

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

junkmail — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:13:41 EDT

"It is neither practical nor appropriate for us to entertain a reimbursement request."

AHHAHA that's my favorite part. Because it IS practical and appropriate for them to expect everyone else to cowtow to their ridiculous, heavy-handed demands. Gotta love that double standard.

junkmail

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

Greg P — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:05:00 EDT

Maybe the RIAA will consider paying them a commission for each extortion fee they collect from on of their students.

Greg P

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

Designersheets — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:58:43 EDT

This is the same school that let Tommy Lee attend on for a TV show.

* We used to live near their omaha campus it's called UNO ! - i win whoo hoo.

Designersheets

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

boicraig — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:56:56 EDT

Good to see the tables turned!

boicraig

University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received

chimmike — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:49:50 EDT

they made an EXCELLENT point....they are not an agent of RIAA, they are funded by taxpayer dollars. Therein, any action by a tax-funded organization on behalf of RIAA should be funded wholly by RIAA and in no part by the taxpayer.....

That's a good way for someone or a gov't organization to sue RIAA for the dollars already spent by universities that work with RIAA to find offenders, and maybe slow 'em down.

chimmike