I know it’s an unpopular opinion given current circumstances, but I’ve always been a huge nerd about Russia. The history, the geography, the music, etc. And as an American, I’ve always found it fascinating how U.S.-Russian relations have fluctuated over time. We’ve gone from allies, to enemies, to frenemies. This doesn’t mean I support Z or Putin, of course. What are you a nerd about?

  • @TootSweetEnglish
    4•10 months ago

    Well, about the typical things. I write software. I play TTRPGs and video games and watch Star Trek and Star Wars. (Hell. I’ve been watching Red Dwarf lately and it’s amazing. There’s a niche thing for you.)

    But aside from the more stereotypical nerd things, I’ve been really studying the fuck out of U.S. (because that’s where I live) intellectual property and contract law lately. I’ve been watching law school study aids kind of content and reading this book that’s mostly just the text of tons of legal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts on the subject of intellectual property.

    The most interesting things to me in that space at the moment are:

    • The history of the duration of copyright in the U.S., the 1998 “Sonny Bono” Copyright Term Extension Act and the case “Eldred v. Ashcroft” which (unsuccessfully 🙁) challendged its constitutionality.
    • The case “Software Freedom Conservancy v. Vizio, Inc.” and how the courts are agreeing to interpret the GNU GPL not just as a copyright license but also as a contract and the strategic benefits that could offer for GPL-enforcement cases moving forward.