Quote:
Originally Posted by Muckraker
@ Catlady, Elcreative, and LuvReadin
I understand and respect your positions. What I originally intended as a short voicing of my philosophy to further my procrastination has gotten too big for me to adequately address. So I'll just summarize.
I've published 18 books. I've made non-grammatical content changes in one of those books. I fixed two image printing errors in another. I've added extensive supplementary content and new covers to most. I am concerned with accessibility and even make it a point to release large-print editions when it's financially feasible.
The two books with changes have the changes extensively documented and the original text and images are included in their entirety. The books are titled as new editions and the sales blurb states that text was changed and added.
I don't believe I am a god or a genius. I am a reader and writer that also republishes rare and endangered books. The quality of my work and the appropriateness of a couple tough decisions I made will ultimately be determined by readers. I'm not trying to get rich or trick anyone.
I saw that obscure works from 1923-1963 were in danger of being lost due to copyright uncertainty and readers not knowing they existed in the first place. That bothered me. That's why I do what I do. Whether or not I'm qualified to do what I do will be determined by readers and the passage of time. If I'm unqualified then I'll ultimately be the one slipping away.
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This has been a great learning experience reading all the differing perspectives. I have no wisdom to add to the topic itself. I just wanted to observe that the mitigating steps Muckraker summaries above, have been in his posts all along, yet he has been accused of making undocumented changes, deceiving readers, etc. Some of the posters defending the sanctity of the 'word' may not reading his words very carefully. ...just saying
A great discussion on the underlying principles though.