The Modding Soapbox: Defending the Right to Tinker, Re-use, Make, or Break

I've been out of the guerrilla Apple repair business for many years now, but while shopping yesterday for a new battery for my laptop, I was reminded of Apple's continual tight hold on both parts and manuals. At that time, anyone attempting to manufacture parts - even things to fix a manufacturing flaw - or distribute repair manuals was showered with copyright-centric litigation.

A decade later, manual lockdown (when manufacturers refuse to publish crucial repair information, including the manuals themselves, but also things like diagnostic codes) and parts monopolies are still rife. And that's wrong.

You bought it, you should own it. Period. 

We think you should have the right to use, modify, and repair wherever, whenever, and however you want. We're kinda militant that way. And we're not alone.