Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
Is it? Speaking strictly as a consumer and setting aside the morality and legality of it?
1: You can obtain a book by paying the author.
2: You can obtain the same book by "file-sharing" it via the internet from some unknown uploader for free.
As has been pointed out, often the "file-shared" version is better proofed and formatted than the "legitimate" copy.
Further, as Moejoe has contended all along, authors will continue to write and publish, regardless of any monetary gain or otherwise, because that is what a creative artist/writer does.
So how is it in your best interest to pay rather than acquire it for free?
Cheers,
PKFFW
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I was going to answer this question by listing out a selfish consumer's reasons to pay... (want more content in the same vein, want more innovative content from the same author, etc. etc.)
And please note that this is without the negative connotations of "selfish".
However, I don't think this list of reasons is pertinent to the essence of this discussion. I mean ... thinking about it ... if I have money and I take something, is there a reason why I shouldn't give back?
Sure, there are practical reasons :
- It's inconvenient to give the author money (example, distributor asks me to create a new login to pay ... distributor floods me with junk email...)
- I may not have enough money to spend on luxuries such as new creative content
- I may think that my money is better spent elsewhere
But I, for one, think that these reasons are fair. If I feel content is worthless, I won't pay.
Again, I keep coming back to the same thought : if I take something, is there any reason to not pay for it?