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Hi everyone! Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I have something I'd like to pick all your brains on. (first post!)
First, I enjoy information for the sake of information. Textbook torrents, to me, seemed to be a place where one could get information that they otherwise would not be exposed to. "The biosphere of the desert? That sounds cool, maybe I'll check it out". Whether or not this is morally correct, I'm not sure.
Second, what about the second hand market? Is it wrong to buy a used book or text book? If ten people, over the course of a year, buy and sell the same book - the publishers are losing out on potential sales (arguable). The point, I guess, that I'm driving at is that piracy is usually 'copyright issues' not 'theft'. Is it wrong to obtain music or downloadable books from a second hand market?
Whats interesting is that having the pirated material is not illegal (even if they want you to believe it is). The process of not compensating the copyright owner is what is illegal. This is civil, not criminal (right?) If I have a music CD, and I can't remember where I got it, am I a criminal? (Did I download it? For Free, legally, or Pirated? Did I pay for it? Did I get it from a friend? Was this his only copy? Did HE download it illegally? Was this a promotional album from a label? Did I rip this from vinyl? Did I download it illegally but actually have the CD somewhere in my closet?) - all these questions mix together with similar possible answers for both pirated music and legal music. If my friend gives me a burnt CD, I am not a criminal depending on where he obtained the music.
Anyway, I digress. The point of this post: How do you feel about the second hand market, with respect to textbook torrents?
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