Hmmm, that's a bold move from Notch. I wonder how political activism in the US by a Swedish citizen is going to sit. Personally, I would just have thanked my luck for working in a country with sane patent laws.
Hardly political activism - he is just bankrolling others (EFF, American citizens) to do the actual activism. You'd be pretty surprised how much of US activism is likely bankrolled by foreign powers in China / Middle East.
The bold move is declaring it openly, but it's not really that bold considering it is a very publicly favorable position at present, and it is in Notch's direct interests as he is creating but doesn't hold US patents.
In any event, I believe the EFF is pretty much a global charity at this point? I just donated to them also with the latest Humble Bundle, and I'm not in USA.
Progress in the United States on this front is likely to cause ripples worldwide, including Sweden, so in that light I think the choice is more than reasonable. :)
Our President's kids are 11 & 14. Sure that is just one case but I also imagine current generation of politicians is on the edge of a more recent trend to have kids later in life (not counting the other trend of having kids at age 14).
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Hmmm, that's a bold move from Notch. I wonder how political activism in the US by a Swedish citizen is going to sit. Personally, I would just have thanked my luck for working in a country with sane patent laws.
Notch was sued by US-based patent troll back in July, 2012: http://boingboing.net/2012/07/21/patent-troll-targets-minecr...
Notch just fights back.
The patent laws of the US always seem to reach across borders, so it's not surprising to see pressure from non-Americans.
Hardly political activism - he is just bankrolling others (EFF, American citizens) to do the actual activism. You'd be pretty surprised how much of US activism is likely bankrolled by foreign powers in China / Middle East.
The bold move is declaring it openly, but it's not really that bold considering it is a very publicly favorable position at present, and it is in Notch's direct interests as he is creating but doesn't hold US patents.
In any event, I believe the EFF is pretty much a global charity at this point? I just donated to them also with the latest Humble Bundle, and I'm not in USA.
Progress in the United States on this front is likely to cause ripples worldwide, including Sweden, so in that light I think the choice is more than reasonable. :)
I think Notch is in a good position. Minecraft has huge draw among children. Think of how many politicians' kids might play it.
Maybe my perception is skewed, but I imagine most American politicians' children being in their 20's to 30's.
Edit: Apparently wikipedia really does have a page for everything: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_S...
Our President's kids are 11 & 14. Sure that is just one case but I also imagine current generation of politicians is on the edge of a more recent trend to have kids later in life (not counting the other trend of having kids at age 14).
Obama is only older than 15 or so of the 100 senators. As far as American politics go, he is quite young.
While I suppose Congressmen may make their voting decisions based on what games their kids like to play, I'd hope they'd consider other factors.
I would like that as well, but sadly a lot of U.S. politics seems to be based on personal factors these days...
Bold? He's already popular on Reddit and this will double or treble the magnitude of that.