798: The King of Kings

[Keith]

"Don't let our amusement throw you."

[jesus]

I don't know what you can do legally to stop podshow using your feed but there's two technical solutions to the problem

1. Fuck with the KATG feed that podshow use
To display info about your show and keep that info up to date, podshow has to get the XML file for your feed (http://www.keithandthegirl.com/rss/) every once in a while. Check your logs for the requests for that file and find out what IP, referrer or user agent they use. Add a rule based on that info to your server so podshow/mevio get served a feed that's different to the one everyone else gets. Give them a feed where every show leads an mp3 of Keith say that he doesn't like podshow and asking the listener to go to katg.com instead, followed by a rant about how Adam Curry or his VC partners or the BT chairman fucks goats or something. You could even customise the image in the feed, like make it an image that says "fuck podshow".

2. Fuck with the mp3 files you send to listeners that are listening via podshow
Every time someone requests one of your show mp3s they send the server a referral URL, which is the address of the poshow page they were on when they clicked the "play" button to play your show. You ask the server to check the referral URL and if it contains "podshow" or "mevio" you send a different mp3 from the show mp3 they requested (the same mp3 with the goat fucking, mentioned above). You need to get libsyn to do it if you use this method as they host your mp3's. It's a fairly standard procedure and is often used as an anti hotlinking technique so they should be able to do it easily enough - 5 lines of text to a config file

2a. I just checked and the podshow player doesn't send a referrer when it gets the mp3's. It does when it gets the KATG image though, so you could change any request to /podcasts/shitecom/images/iTunes.jpg with a refer that contains "btpodshow" to another image (AC fucking goats or whatever). You could in theory also use the image request to identify the IP that's using the podshow player and then change any mp3 files they request but that'd be a bit trickier than I suspect libsyn would be prepared to do.

They're both solutions that avoid the real problem, but at least they're something that's under your control that you can do

[DJ Trashy]

speaking of Mevio bullshit, maybe someone can set me straight on this.....

I just subscribed to KATG through Mevio's site, and it actually let me do it. But iTunes should have given me an error, because I already *have* that podcast subscribed in there. But it didn't, because Mevio has it linked to their own website. Somewhere in their XML file it points to KATG's existing feed.........or does it? When I downloaded show 797 and pulled up the file information, there were differences in three or four areas. Am I just being paranoid or is this more Mevio shady shit?

KATG Feed:



Mevio Feed:

[Astigos]

Oh come on! There were two pics of me and you had to pick the least flattering of the two!

Soylent Diamonds: They're made of people!!

Note for the next party: No more notes inviting people for food. Just leave notes explaining that there will be noise and it will be because of the party.

[VBean]

I haven't listened to the show yet (it's downloading now) but I saw the photos and holy shit, was Dan Allen there? Did you find out what the fuck is going on in his head if he was?

[gumby013]

Here's the list of Podshow related shows Keith was talking about.


184 – How to Build a Resume – QYDJ!!!

247 – The Podshow Contract – The contract reading

249 – Talk of the Town – Podshow's Reaction

314 – Fancy Pants - Yoshi Moshi thinks KATG are dummies; he likes the contract a lot.

356 – The Brolo – Brolo Talks about getting the Podshow contract and general Podshow shadiness

359 – All the Answers - Podshow gets $15M…beyond their original $7M and not giving out show numbers to their producers.

451 – Prove Me Wrong – KATG exposes Podshow numbers

452 – Shut Your Face - Adam Curry reports 52M download requests

455 – Faraway Fantasies - Podshow listing shows on their site

471 – Davis Says - Podshow not responding to producers clip

486 – HA HA! – Podshow kicked off of Sirius

580 – :-) - Dawn and Drew at Podshow HQ

689 – Good Answer – Podshow lays off staff

713 – Quitter - Podshow changes their name to Mevio

714 – Kink – General Mevio shadiness.

715 – Our Own Fans – Ron Bloom quote and KATG on Mevio

717 – It's Not a Fight – Brolo and Podshow shadiness and Whispered Pearls talk

737 – Lights, Karma, Action – Whispered Pearls on Loyalty to Adam Curry

747 – We Rule; They Drool – John Dvorak exposes the dummy contract

753 – Tour of Booty – Podshow being shady with Brolo

761 – Our Demands - Podshow gets $15M more and some KATG demands

[m0o0op]

Was that off the top of your head?

[Astro]

It is simply amazing how arrogant Mevio is. I went to their FAQ page and under the question "How Did My Show End Up On Mevio When I Never Signed Up?". It says they pull feeds from all over the internet, blah blah blah, but what bothered me was their attitude about suppressing feeds.

"Note that there is a link to the website of the show in this unofficial guide and the episodes are not on our server, we simply link your RSS feed. If for any reason you do not want our users to be able to listen to/watch your show (free publicity can be a cruel mistress), please send a message to customer support using the link below and we will suppress your feed."

They make it seem like a privilege to be part of their site, and that you should be honored. I'm honestly disgusted with that explanation, and their lack of professionalism.

The FAQ shouldn't be filled with snide remarks. It's a place to go to get honest answers, and if the "cruel mistress" line was meant to be funny, all the humor was lost.

[Kill3rKin3]

Check out Patrice in the "She's a Lady" pic.. Photoshop anyone..? That beerbong might be replaced.

[Subsonix]

I just sent a letter of to Mevio about removing my feed.

At this moment...
KATG is still on their website.