Scott Aaronson makes several points, and says the more important is:
> I wish to register that I disagree in the strongest possible terms with MIT’s decision to remove Prof. Lewin’s lectures from OpenCourseWare—thereby forcing the tens of thousands of students around the world who were watching these legendary lectures to hunt for ripped copies on BitTorrent.
Since those lectures are online, from multiple sources, I don't think that objection has much weight. Indeed, comment #3 points out one source (other comments point out other sources), and Scott Aaronson in comment #5 says it would be acceptable for MIT to host them on YouTube.
> If MIT no longer wants the videos hosted “in its name,” they could upload them to YouTube right now. They could even add a disclaimer at the beginning like, “These lectures by Walter Lewin are being provided for educational purposes. Lewin is speaking as an individual, and is no longer endorsed by MIT.”
I see little difference between MIT hosting them and Lewin hosting them on YouTube, and a cursory reading of Scott Aaronson's other comments suggests that Aaronson is okay so long as the videos are available, and there is a discussion forum. From comment #92:
> So maybe finding a separate entity to host the lectures and discussion boards really is the best solution, and I hope that happens soon.
> I wish to register that I disagree in the strongest possible terms with MIT’s decision to remove Prof. Lewin’s lectures from OpenCourseWare—thereby forcing the tens of thousands of students around the world who were watching these legendary lectures to hunt for ripped copies on BitTorrent.
Since those lectures are online, from multiple sources, I don't think that objection has much weight. Indeed, comment #3 points out one source (other comments point out other sources), and Scott Aaronson in comment #5 says it would be acceptable for MIT to host them on YouTube.
> If MIT no longer wants the videos hosted “in its name,” they could upload them to YouTube right now. They could even add a disclaimer at the beginning like, “These lectures by Walter Lewin are being provided for educational purposes. Lewin is speaking as an individual, and is no longer endorsed by MIT.”
I see little difference between MIT hosting them and Lewin hosting them on YouTube, and a cursory reading of Scott Aaronson's other comments suggests that Aaronson is okay so long as the videos are available, and there is a discussion forum. From comment #92:
> So maybe finding a separate entity to host the lectures and discussion boards really is the best solution, and I hope that happens soon.