> What matters more: the future, or your personal notions of what's classy?
His point was about neither of those; it was about what is legal - something you seem completely uninterested in. Yeah, it might not be "classy" to file patents, but claiming they've done something that would invalidate the patent when they haven't surely isn't classy, either.
Well, I did mention what I was interested in: the future.
Viewed in that light, if you take the view that many (perhaps a majority) of HN types do of the stifling effect of patents on industries as malleable as (software/maker/diy), even if they may be acceptable in more staid industries, then a witch-hunt about companies making land-grabs in one of these vulnerable and very important areas may well be worthwhile and beneficial to mankind.
And it's not impossible that it could be beneficial ... and simultaneously classless, and on shaky legal ground. (Although note other comments citing better evidence from April 20th, 2012).
I do think there's something to be said for calling out "this is crazy, we all know the community has worked on X, it would be an obscenity if the desktop manufacturing industry, of all things, got stifled by patents, let's find the prior art and shame the land-grabbers while we're at it." Which is what the original poster is doing, obviously as a very interested party.
I think that's a pretty coherent, and really strong, point of view. I mean, it's desktop manufacturing, dude!
His point was about neither of those; it was about what is legal - something you seem completely uninterested in. Yeah, it might not be "classy" to file patents, but claiming they've done something that would invalidate the patent when they haven't surely isn't classy, either.