Quote:
Originally Posted by Patricia
There is work going on behind the scenes to resolve this sort of problem. I don't want to say more, until everything is sorted out and ready to run. But expect an announcement in the next week or 10 days. Alex has a cunning plan.
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hmm... please don't take this as pre-emptive criticism, or any kind of trollishness, but i sincerely hope that the "cunning plan" will continue to leave the option of downloading or not open to the user, with the corollary being that the responsibility of respecting copyright / pd falls to them as well...
first, because it's almost assuredly ineffectual to block a user based on location (simple use of proxy will allow you to bypass most blocks, or depending on the system why not just lie and say you live in whatever country is most convenient ?) but no less annoying to the legitimate user,
second, because i am a mature, responsible adult, i have to pay my own rent and cook my own dinner, so if i'm obligated to be responsible for the annoying bits i'd like the privilege of being responsible for the less annoying bits
, and
third, in some specific cases, i may feel justified in downloading a book which is not in public domain in my country ; for example, what if i have already bought the book in paper format, but would like to have it in electronic format ? regardless of the legal status of format shifting i consider that to be fair use, and i would like such situations to be left to my own discretion (as an adult, who also understands that if she breaks the law and gets caught, she's also the one who will pay the fine / go to jail).
i do fully understand that it is not all about me
, and obviously the most important thing to take into consideration is the protection of MR for everyone's continued pleasure and edification. but just in case you were feeling indecisive i thought i would mention how i feel...
i bring this up partly because the site
booksinmyphone.com uses a system which blocks downloads from France of all but the creative commons books they offer, to be absolutely sure no copyright violation is possible (
well, not without going through one or two extra steps first anyway). i wanted "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, which has been in the PD in France for a couple hundred years, but i couldn't download it directly. I wrote to the owner of the site and explained the situation (and suggesting he revise his system if possible), and he very kindly emailed me the book i wanted, so no lasting harm done. but still : how incredibly annoying, especially since my desire was completely legitimate and legal.
...we now return you to your regularly scheduled topic...