darma1

Too much obsession over UI.

What people really "need" is the raw data.

If they want to make some UI that they like, then they can do it. If they want to offer this to others, they can do it.

If they want to load the data into some SQL database, they can do it.

If they want split the data into some other format using csplit and load into some other faster database, they can do it.

If they want to extract a portion of a raw file and just use agrep on that, they can do it.

The point is that UI is a personal decision.

Because some people do not like CL's bare bones UI doesn't give them the right to do anything. Because some people don't like bloated and clumsy web interfaces and prefer text commands doesn't give them the right to do anything either.

But people can't be stopped from making personal decisions about how to process data. Public data.

It's funny how some websites think they "own" data that is given to them. Do they "need" this data? Yes, they do.

If they go to court and get an opinion it should be really helpful as a guide for other entrepreneurs who see re-processing the information on the web in new ways as the foundation for their business.

You mean, like Blekko?

The simple, inconvenient truth is most folks who are making money from the web, like search engines, are not content creators (nor content owners), they are content publishers... who publish for free. "Are you a non-technical person who wants to get something onto the web? No problem. We'll help you with that, for free. Just give us some personal info about you so we can solicit money from advertisers."

(Placement, e.g., paid placement, where the eyeballs are more likely to see something, for a fee, is another matter.)