Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
I often wonder about those studies.
How do they collect the data? Do they simply ask the file sharer's what their sharing and buying habits are? Or is there some other way they collect the data?
I wonder because it seems to me that many file sharer's would not be averse to twisting the truth in an online survey regarding how much stuff they buy after having first file shared it.
Q: If you have enjoyed the copy of a book you obtained through file-sharing do you then go out and purchase a "legitimate" copy of said book in order to support the author?
A: Oh sure I do, heck yes, of course! Why wouldn't I do that?
Seems to me the natural inclination of the survey respondent would be to perhaps embellish how much they actually do buy in order to make themselves feel a little better.
Of course, if the studies have a more accurate and verifiable method of collecting data then the above scenario would not come into play. And of course there would be many who would give completely honest answers too.
I just can't help wondering about all these famed studies though.
Cheers,
PKFFW
|
You can wonder all you like, and maybe there is bias and lies (like all studies) but I'd rather take my lies from the file sharing community rather than industries who have a vested interest in the status quo (and lining their own fat pockets).
I can point you to the results from the studies and the institutions that made those studies, but I fear it would make little difference to your opinion and you would only poo-poo the results.
Instead I give two exemplums:
Before I got my liseuse I downloaded and read a few Cory Doctorow novels, which I then purchased in pbook. Free lead to sales.
After buying my liseuse and downloading ALL of Cory Doctorow's work for FREE I re-bought all of Cory Doctorow's available pbooks and donated them to the local library.
The only people who ever lose out from file-sharing are those not file-sharing.
