Digg's gone bonkers over DRM

In case you missed it, digg has a user revolt on their hands. After a story containing a key to crack HD-DVD encryption was removed, angry users started reposting it more and more, to the point where it overwhelms all normal stories on the site.

Personally, I think this is fascinating to see in action and I've never seen anything quite like it, at least not on this scale. An interesting quote that was thrown around was that "You can't take something off the Internet. It's like taking pee out of a swimming pool."

Obviously digg has little legal choice in the matter, but I can't help but sympathise with the disgruntled mob. As someone who's moved to another continent, I experience every day the walls brought up by DRM, both online and offline.

For example, I can't play any Canadian DVDs on my Belgian laptop, and I can't lend my own DVDs to friends or colleagues. Similarly, my Belgian credit card only grants me access to the Belgian iTunes Music store, so I can't buy TV shows that are shown locally.

It's pretty obvious that DRM is a bad measure against piracy, but still a great way to squeeze money out of unsuspecting consumers and inconvenience them at the same time. So I'll just be sitting here, enjoying how this plays out, rooting for the right team :).