Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
The opinion I don't care for much is the one that says "piracy is rampant, you can't stop it, nor should you-- content should just be free now that it costs nearly nothing to make copies." But I think that's a very minority opinion, here and elsewhere. Most people are mature enough understand that even if copies are nearly free to make, original content creation (and editing, formatting, marketing, etc.) is not, and needs to be compensated. Some of us worry about how this is going to happen, so we toss around ideas like embedded advertising, social DRM, etc.
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I am not sure whether I resemble this remark or not ;-) In case anyone thinks I do, I'd like to beat the poor horse a little longer.
I have nothing but the greatest respect for good authors, and I want them to be able to succeed. In fact, I would be in favor of giving them all lots of money out of the public coffers just to ensure that they can keep writing. I think it would be a much better way to spend my tax dollars than many other things!
But I think we're facing a transition in the way the market works. Any disruptive technology
(automobiles, the Internet) brings with it challenges for certain ways of doing business
(making goods for horse-drawn conveyances, selling copies of content). This is the "piracy is rampant, you can't stop it" part.
I also think that we need to embrace change, especially when it's inevitable, and recognize the good things that come from it
(fast and cheap transportation, the end of scarcity of knowledge). This is the "content should just be free now that it costs nearly nothing to make copies" part.
But I still think that authors need to be compensated for creating the original work. I think it's a challenge to do so in an effective manner. I also recognize that it's a minority opinion, but it's not one I hold because I am evil, or dishonest, or because I want to cause people stress.
In fact, I think a "widespread disrespect for authorship" is the last thing you'll find on an ebook forum. I don't think I've ever seen any disrespect for authorship here - making it a
very minority opinion indeed ;-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
But I think taking a few of the worst extremist comments in this forum and extrapolating a widespread disrespect for authorship is probably borrowing anxiety unnecessarily. I just hate to see you stressing out over what I think is a very minority opinion.
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I think stressing out about it is also a bad idea. No one who disagrees with you (at least, as far as I can tell) is doing so maliciously. It's difficult to feel that your beliefs are being challenged, and that there's a group of people who just doesn't believe what you feel to be self-evident. It's tough to even reach a common ground in that sort of situation (as I think we're seeing here).
One thing I found to be helpful in dealing with situations like this, is to try to dispassionately deconstruct your own beliefs, and the reasoning behind them. (
) Try to build a formal proof from them. Then do the same for your opponents'. It will, at least, remove the personal sting from the whole thing. And you might be able to point to the exact place where you and your 'opponent' are out of step. It can help in reconciliation, or at least agreeing to disagree.
Anyway, I'm sorry for any part I may have had in causing you stress! I like MobileRead to stay stress-free...