Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleMi
This question of not downloading because it means you are not paying is rather more complicated then this poll suggests. I buy all my hardcopy books from charity and second hand shops and borrow others from the library, its been over a year since I bought a book from a proper bookshop, so am not giving any money to the author or publisher. How is this differant from downloading from darknet? Are you suggesting that it is unethical for me to buy second hand books or borrow them from friends?
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(I stopped in, because I heard there was pie.)
Actually, borrowing from the library
does pay the author/publisher, albeit at a different rate than bookstore-bought books.
The question of used books, especially compared to e-books, has been a tricky one around here for quite some time. A used book is by definition resold (or donated) by someone who paid for the book originally. Further, it is exactly
one book, and it is re-sold as exactly
one book... not thousands of copies of the one book.
This is where the comparison between used print books and the darknet falls short: E-books on the darknet are not one book, so the original purchase of one book (assuming it wasn't stolen) results in potentially multiple copies. All offered on the darknet for free. So, instead of one possible print book floating around and not getting paid for, you have potentially thousands of copies of the book, not getting paid for. This means the author/publisher is not theoretically missing out on one sale, they are theoretically missing out on thousands.
But, as others here have ably pointed out, "theoretical" covers a lot of ground here, and renders the entire subject... subjective.
So, if you want to be as ethical as possible, short of buying a book, get it from the library, and the author/publisher will get something for their trouble. Everything else does not compensate them at all, and (theoretically) could be costing them money, which should be taken into consideration if you're concerned about that kind of thing.
Theoretically.