Quote:
Originally Posted by Good Old Neon
It sounds to me like we’re getting hung up on a.) semantics, and b.) the fact that the words stealing and theft were coined and defined before folks could even conceive of electronic distribution, file sharing, etc. I don’t care if we call it Shirley, the bottom-line is, you’re taking, for free, something that has a real monetary value.
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Something only has monetary value when someone (a buyer) places value upon it, by purchasing. A seller can say something has a particular value, but unless buyers agree (and thus give it value), it is really worth nothing to the seller.
In addition, when dealing with things that do not detract in value when copied, such as mp3s and ebooks, we enter a new realm, which is of course widely debated both here and across the world.
I'm not trying to promote "piracy" - just trying to clarify the matter at hand. Though I have no problem telling you I will download "shared" books if not available otherwise - for instance, Roger Zelazny is one of my favorite authors. I have purchased a large number of his pBooks, but ebooks have been really hard to find... unless I obtain them from other means. And don't worry about the author not getting his cut... he''s gone
