|
What have I learned from this poll?
a. There is a sizeable minority which thinks that all copying is bad
(even if you have already paid for a copy and are effectively format shifting)
b. There is a sizeable minority which thinks that all copying is OK
(even if the work is available at a reasonable price)
c. Most people are in the middle, and think that getting an electronic copy is OK if:
1. You already own a copy in some form (~60%)
2. It's Public Domain somewhere else (~50%)
3. You cannot buy it electronically (~45%)
4. The author is dead (~30%)
d. Most people don't think it's OK to get an electronic copy otherwise
1. Less than 10% thought it OK not to pay because the author is rich
2. Less than 10% thought it OK not to pay because the publisher is mainstream
e. Threads about piracy create loads of replies
f. They say the same thing again and again
g. I know, it was my fault
Analysis
It looks to me that the majority support the idea that once you have paid for a work, it's reasonable not to be expected to (have to) pay again for a different format. As someone said earlier in the thread, if it's cheap enough, people will pay anyway to avoid the hassle of format shifting, but we're not there with ebook pricing today.
I was surprised at the level of support for the income of dead people. Two thirds didn't check this as a fair reason to take a copy. Perhaps we should make up some bumper stickers that say "Illegal copying of dead authors' works is a grave crime".
I was pleasantly surprised that so few people rose to the bait of not paying rich people or big publishers. There seems to be a clear majority that think that if a book is made available, and you don't already own it, you should pay for it.
|