[tirsales]

First I totally agree with Ralph Sir Edward.

"The customers" is simply a too heterogenous and large group to wait for them stepping up and signing a contract "never to use the darknet again". I know, this is exagerated - but I think you know what I mean.

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

They want to make money. You want a good book. You both want to not get ripped off. Consumers are the larger group, and they have the least to lose... which is why it's only magnanimous to offer a concession of trust to publishers.

I dont use the darknet - now: Where are the publishers acknowledging that?
Most people dont use the darknet - it is only a minority using it - but still everybody gets punished.
And customers can wait longer - we dont NEED books - but the publishers need customers. Again: Publishers are simply missing a market that already exists. And the longer they wait, the more people will get to using the darknet. Simply because they want access to that specific book - which is not available, not available for their reader, etc - and can find it only in the darknet. They would have bought the e-book - now they dont. And the darknet can get a habit.
So ... the longer publishers wait, the more problems will arise.

Point taken. However, the need to "preview" a book can usually be satisfied with a free excerpt, as opposed to the entire book for free. If the darknet offered only excerpts of books, I'd consider it a much fairer use of it.

Give your books - missing the last chapters - into the darknet with a message stating "liked it? Get it from .."

And on the other hand, the customer is saying, "You publishers are money-grubbing thieves, and I demand you sell me an e-book for a penny!"

Fair pricing is different from wanting an e-book for a penny. I dont mind the publishers making a fair profit - even making a bigger profit with e-books then with p-books. But ... if you e.g. lower your cost by 50% and still charge the same price - this is impertinent.
Would you accept e.g. your haircutter simply raising his price by 50% without any reason?

Or, "I don't like the way you publishers look at me sideways like that... I'm just going to take your book and darknet it! Ha!"

If you try to put one over your customers (e.g. use DRM that effectively forbids them to use your product as they used it before) - they put one over you.
The publishers see their customers as enemies, as dangerous criminals. They have no trust into their customers.
In fact - they insult them by simply assuming that everybody would use the darknet, by demanding laws that allows publishers to spy on their customers, etc. Now customers are simply returning that cordiality.

You have seen it with the music and film industrie. License holders spying on their customers, damaging their computers by installing spyware and rootkits, demanding laws that allows them to enter houses to search for copied media, etc.
Now why do they expect customers to still like them?

My point is, there's blame, accusations and a lack of trust on both sides. Copyright concerns won't be solved while both sides do not trust each other, and refuse to cut the other side a break.

That is correct. But somebody has to make the first step.
Customers are still buying, the darknet is not raising as much as it could, etc - that is a fair amount of trust coming from the customers.
But where is the return?
In the last years I have ONLY seen the publishing industrie going more and more berserk, wanting crueler laws (in fact demanding laws that no democracy on earth could accept - the fact that some countries do (including Germany) tells you something about the state of democracy), etc etc. They have to stop - because nowadays the publishers are the ones keeping that circle going.