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Steven Lyle Jordan · 12-27-2010, 09:29 AM

The issue illustrates the vital need to look at digital media differently from print media.

Compare a horse to a car: A car owner can use a car similarly to a horse, and even do things with it that the horse can't do (as well as getting used to the things a car can't do that a horse can). Similarities aside, you have to consider both differently: A car is not alive; car models are interchangeable with each other; a car can't be fed oats to fill up; tires cost more than horseshoes; etc.

Printed books and ebooks are the same: They do similar things, and some things that one does the other cannot do. But they are different entities, and must be looked at differently. The law will have to treat them differently, and producers and consumers will have to get used to treating them differently.

I feel that those who insist we treat ebooks like printed books are ignoring a basic fact of life... things change, and we must change with them, or we are sabotaging that change, making it less than it could be. In this forum (and including this thread), we argue these points to great extent, but they can all be distilled down to a basic idea: Change vs No Change. And as a sub-topic, which changes are beneficial to the new thing, and which are not.

Unfortunately, instead of discussing the issue itself, we get bogged down on minor details first, and tend to act as if those minor details are the issue itself. This thread is the perfect example of that: Arguing the merits and contrasts between buying vs licensing is missing the point; those are effectively abstracts, used merely to help define the things we can and cannot do with a product. Many threads I've started in the past have quickly broken down to debating the abstracts connected to the subject, and as a result, the thread went nowhere.

We should be discussing the best method for handling ebooks, what should and should not be acceptable, and worry about definitions later. In fact, the establishment of acceptable practices will help define the new definition that will be applied to the new product.

12-27-2010, 09:29 AM	#44
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	The issue illustrates the vital need to look at digital media differently from print media. Compare a horse to a car: A car owner can use a car similarly to a horse, and even do things with it that the horse can't do (as well as getting used to the things a car can't do that a horse can). Similarities aside, you have to consider both differently: A car is not alive; car models are interchangeable with each other; a car can't be fed oats to fill up; tires cost more than horseshoes; etc. Printed books and ebooks are the same: They do similar things, and some things that one does the other cannot do. But they are different entities, and must be looked at differently. The law will have to treat them differently, and producers and consumers will have to get used to treating them differently. I feel that those who insist we treat ebooks like printed books are ignoring a basic fact of life... things change, and we must change with them, or we are sabotaging that change, making it less than it could be. In this forum (and including this thread), we argue these points to great extent, but they can all be distilled down to a basic idea: Change vs No Change. And as a sub-topic, which changes are beneficial to the new thing, and which are not. Unfortunately, instead of discussing the issue itself, we get bogged down on minor details first, and tend to act as if those minor details are the issue itself. This thread is the perfect example of that: Arguing the merits and contrasts between buying vs licensing is missing the point; those are effectively abstracts, used merely to help define the things we can and cannot do with a product. Many threads I've started in the past have quickly broken down to debating the abstracts connected to the subject, and as a result, the thread went nowhere. We should be discussing the best method for handling ebooks, what should and should not be acceptable, and worry about definitions later. In fact, the establishment of acceptable practices will help define the new definition that will be applied to the new product.