Let's face it. This isn't about games anymore.

I was thinking recently about all the rules I learned when I was introduced to boxing. Most of the rules seemed stupid, designed to keep a person from hurting the other guy (no grapples, no hitting below a certain point, no elbows or knees). I mean, what's the point of fighting, if you're going to deliberately avoid hurting the other person? When I learned Akido and Tae Kwon Do, there was discipline, accuracy, heavy rulesets, but you always knew that the goal was to neutralize an enemy through force. But here, in Boxing, the rules seemed bent on not hurting each other.

It took me a long time to realize that boxing was not supposed to be about fighting. Despite the many ham-fisted pugilists who try to get around the rules, boxing really is an art. It's about strategy. A good boxer feels out his opponent for weaknesses and exploits them, in the same way that coaches stress over calling the right plays in football. The end result is force, but properly applied force is far more noble and artful.

I was thinking about that yesterday because I was considering the backlash that the RIAA/MPAA are suffering, due to their DRM crackdown. Lots has been written, software has been made and broken, and many people have been angered over this. Still, you have to look at the end result.

The world is now more aware of piracy than they ever have been. People are more informed about what they can and can't do with the audio and video that comes through the airwaves, and through their internet. While Fair Use is still getting a hammering, average citizens are now aware of "piracy" "P2P" and "file swapping". They may not be getting good information about it, but people are more aware of it.

The RIAA has filed thousands of lawsuits against customers and has never won. Not once. Not one win over thousands of tries. Most people simply cave and pay the extortion money, rather than go to court. And every time they sue a child or grandmother, they get more publicity. But even more interesting than informing people about piracy, they are sending another, more subtle message.

By assigning an astronomically huge value to their media, the RIAA/MPAA are giving people the subconscious message that the media is worth a lot of money. Then, even if they disagree with how much the media is worth, that makes people think that the media is valuable, hence, worth buying.

Think about it, in the 80s I used to tape music off the radio, I used to pass it around to my friends, it was no big deal. But by my treating it cheaply, wasn't I devaluing the music? If I was afraid to let it go, nervous about what would happen to me if someone got my music, wouldn't I then horde the music? Wouldn't I hold it to my chest, ensure that I have backups, and try to build my war chest of music? Wouldn't I be giddy to see a sale on music, desperate to keep it in my personal locker of entertainment?

It's possible that, by making us afraid of giving away music, the RIAA wants us to value music, and buy more of it. They may not care at all about DRM, but still want to put the fear of music into us so that we each desire a cache of music to keep all to ourselves.

Boxing may look like fighting, but it's really a game of strategy.