[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I read Cory's blog, but not Jerry Pournelle's. I have a general idea of where Pournelle would stand on this, though-- and while I think Cory is sometimes a bit over the top in an entertaining way, my POV is closer to his than Pournelle's.

Same here. Pournelle felt Cory was "looking down on the working writer" and "didn't care much for intellectual property." I pointed out that Cory was a working writer, went full time freelance in 2005, and tried to give some idea of where Cory was coming from. Jerry apparently didn't want to hear anything that contradicted his notions. So be it. I've better things to do than argue with him.

The rest of the comments at Making Light were very interesting, I thought. Quite the spread of opinion, though nearly everyone agrees that this was a boneheaded move. Yes, I can feel sorry for Capobianco too. Steven Brust has an entertaining prediction about the outcome.

<chuckle>

Yes, it is.

I'd actually like to see enough interest within SFWA that something like what Steven suggests could occur. I believe the guy who pulled this bone headed stunt ran unopposed for the office he holds.

I hope that this will be part of a bit of incremental consciousness-raising on the subject of copyright and DMCA for members of SFWA, though I don't expect any rapid progress there. It does seem ironic that SFWA is so backwards (from my POV) on the subject of electronic texts and hysteria about piracy, given the nature of the field, but I suppose it's in part due to the fact that SF is the main form of writing subject to widespread filesharing to date-- again due to the nature of the subject, and the technical leanings of the customer base.

SF fandom has historically been quite conservative in many respects, despite an interest in SF. Why should SF prodom be different? (Especially since a fair number of pros were fans at one point, and used the knowledge and contacts gained in fandom to help them become pros.)

See my comments to Steve on motivations of members. But I wonder if the people screaming loudest about piracy and infringement are the ones with the least to worry about, as most of the SF reading audience has never heard of them and couldn't be bothered to pirate their stuff.
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Dennis