Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Problem is, there is simply no reliable data on the issue. With only anecdotal evidence, there's little to be settled here. Only if (when?) ISPs have the ability to track actual traffic contents will we ever really know the "pirate" numbers, and can then infer actual relationships with legitimately-purchased material.
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Steve, to me, this is quibbling over the problem. Tracking the actual traffic content will prove what? A ratio of unauthorized downloads to authorized downloads? (Assuming that there
are authorized downloads for certain works.) It won't prove that the downloads are actual lost sales, as there would be no way to show that said downloader would have bought the download anyway. If, most likely, you see a steady upswell in unauthorized downloads as other sales increase, is this not consistent with overall popularity, not a separate issue?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
OCR'd texts may be bad now... but scanners, PC hardware and OCR software are improving day be day, and at some point, those OCR'd texts will be pretty close to verbatim what's on the printed page. Best not to wait until then to take steps... act now, while there is still time to get the public on-board with a quality product.
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And the only people who can act now are the publishers and the authors. Particularlly the publishers, and they aren't doing anything constructive.
If you want a doomsday scenario, imagine a club of proofreaders, who swap carefully proofread books with each other. If the membership was 100, if you entered with a carefully proofread book, you'd get 100 carefully proofread books back. The more members, the more books. And this wouldn't ever have to be done on the internet. It could be done sneakernet. Likely, no!, but a scary possibility to publishers anyway.