Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy
Mr. Average doesn't have to bother with it. It only takes one person to "crack" the DRM, and then unprotected copies will be easily available. Mr. Average doesn't need to de-DRM his own books, that's what Mr. Hacker is for.
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Although I'm perfectly willing to believe that Mr. Average is lazy & careless, I do believe that (s)he's reasonably ethical. Distributing de-DRM tools is, IMO, ethical-but distributing the de-DRM'd books isn't. So, in your scenario, you end up with an ethical person supporting an unethical one.
This is what very often happens, the question then is whether or not the ethical person can *trust* the unethical one. I'm reminded of a poker adage-if you think you need to watch so you can catch your opponent cheating, then you shouldn't be in that game.
Although you need to extend trust whenever you take part in a transaction with someone new, you don't always need to do it blindly. If the person is unethical, then IMO you can't trust them. Period.