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Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by inquirerofsorts on Saturday October 17, 2020 @09:56AM (#24809995)
While I certainly align with the sentiment, it's almost surreal to watch in action.

If you don't buy products with these conditions you never once face these problems.

The title really should be: "fighting for the right to repair products I happily bought when the EULA clearly said I couldn't do that"

Maybe stop buying these products and the companies will change their tune like the wind.

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by smichel17 on Saturday October 17, 2020 @10:22AM (#24810161)
> products I happily bought

I think this (emphasis mine) is somewhat disingenuous. Sometimes there are no other options, or they have significant tradeoffs (in ways that aren't due to that clause in the EULA).

I think a better phrasing would be something like, "fighting against the ability of EULAs to restrict the buyer's right to repair".

Drawing a parallel to an extreme, to show where the argument comes from: we also don't allow people to sign themselves into slavery, even though in some circumstances people will "happily" do just that.

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by jjoonathan on Saturday October 17, 2020 @10:08AM (#24810070)
Collective-action solutions for collective action problems? Nah, let's just wait for everyone to simultaneously sacrifice for the greater good. Any day now... any day...
Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by metalliqaz on Saturday October 17, 2020 @10:23AM (#24810172)
"if you don't want to shop at the company store[1], don't shop at the company store"

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_store

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by thomasahle on Saturday October 17, 2020 @11:15AM (#24810574)
> Maybe stop buying these products and the companies will change their tune like the wind.

That requires quite a high level of market efficiency to work. It might work if this was enterprise-enterprise trade, but it is unrealistic to assume the end user will compare (or even read) the long lawyerish EULAs and determine which will be more beneficial in the long term.

I do agree that a specific law can feel like "a hack" and less elegant than a free market solution, but I don't really see how to achieve that here.

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by Wowfunhappy on Saturday October 17, 2020 @09:59AM (#24810012)
You mean the EULAs that no one ever reads because if they did, it would practically constitute a part-time job?
Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by msla on Saturday October 17, 2020 @11:06AM (#24810495)
More to the point, EULAs companies insist they can change at will and without notice, with your continued use of the service constituting your assent to the changed terms. The courts might say it doesn't work like that — again — but that's rather cold comfort when you're locked out of the system on Wednesday for something which was allowed on Monday:

https://medium.com/@jlkoepke/we-can-change-these-terms-at-an...

https://archive.vn/gwVci

https://web.archive.org/web/20201017150508/https://medium.co...

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by rbecker on Saturday October 17, 2020 @10:09AM (#24810082)
> If you don't buy products with these conditions you never once face these problems.

Until they're the only kind of products left. See smart TVs.

Re:Fighting for the right to repair your own stuff by soulofmischief on Saturday October 17, 2020 @01:06PM (#24811404)
Buying a product with an illegal EULA and then refusing to adhere to the illegal EULA is in actuality one of the highest forms of protest around this topic that one can carry out. Otherwise you're complicit via fear.