What can I do that isn't illegal? - eviltoast

Hi everyone,

I’m starting my self hosting journey and have run into a snag. I just took a job where I need to get govt security clearance and take polygraphs etc, so I cannot engage in piracy.

What that means in practice is actually abiding the ToS for all my media, so I cannot rip DVDs, I cannot capture streams (I believe including YouTube channels because they’re copyrighted and YT ToS but please correct me if I’m wrong because that would be amazing).

What I’ve done so far:

There is legal precedent to rip CDs and digitize books for personal consumption, and I have also begun buying albums I want from Amazon Music (they let you download the mp3 files directly instead of a Spotify/YT Music system).

  • I am going to be hosting immich for my Google Photos replacement

  • I don’t know the best service for a YT Music/Spotify replacement, but maybe Jellyfin of nothing else.

  • I want to have a digital movie library.

So there’s the rub. How can I have a digital movie library without ripping DVDs? It is an unauthorized reproduction and although nobody is prosecuted, it is illegal and I’d have to disclose that.

Any advice is welcome, and I’d love to hear conversation about this.

  • Ok_Expert_5751@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    For 20 + years in my misspent youth, I had a TS-SCI clearance.

    I would suggest avoiding the grey area early on in your career. The investigators are going to be much more interested in discussions about circumventing laws rather than minor crimes such as copyright violations especially if you stumble and hesitate while talking about it.

    Once you get the clearance, you are going to be completely amazed at the commonly known, but let’s pretend it didn’t happen, stuff that people with clearances actually do.

    The government has often spent 100,000’s if not millions of dollars, training people with high-level clearance. They are not going to throw all that away for a ripped DVD. Plus, people with clearance often know where the skeletons are for other people with clearances.

    Nine out of ten times, if someone finds out you did a fireable offense they are not going to do anything about it. They are going to tuck that information in their pocket and use it as leverage to make sure that next time some shit rolls downhill, you will do your best to make sure none of it sticks to them.