Warning: Governator at work!

Seems that Schwarzenegger is hard at work. A couple of high points. First, he's signed a law that requires filesharers to disclose their e-mail addresses. While that's a worthy effort, (nice try, folks!) it's a only a misdemeanor. Moreover, it doesn't sound like it discriminates between people who are sharing copyrighted material, and things which are either in the public domain, or are otherwise free for public dissemination. Privacy is still a desirable thing. Moreover, it's too easy to enter a false e-mail address. Mailinator, for example, allows you to create essentially a disposable, one-time use e-mail account, so you can confirm that it's valid, and then you never go back to it.

Also, he signed a bill requiring store to post signs explaining the ESRB video game rating system. Why this was necessary (other than the simple fact that videogames are a real whipping boy in our society for a number of reasons) I don't know. A lot of stores already have that rating system up all over the place - in their flyers and advertisements, on signs on the stands, etc., etc., etc. The rating is prominently displayed on the box. For example, here's a shot of the Doom3 box. The rating is on the front in the lower right hand corner. But ratings for movies are in small print on the back, and I always have to look hard to find it. How about some equal treatment? It's my understanding that the ESRB rating system has gotten praise from the FTC as "the most comprehensive of the three industry systems", and "there is much in tha game industry's rating disclosure requirements that merits duplication by others". Sigh. Games are the Rodney Dangerfield of the entertainment/legal world - no respect, no respect at all.

UPDATE: Lest anyone else doubt, ESRB ratings are on the front of PC Games, Xbox games, PS2, Cube and Gameboy games. Any video game sold in the U.S. should have that rating prominently displayed, and that means on the front of the box.