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Originally Posted by nekokami
I've stated in other threads (and perhaps implied in this one) that I think acquiring a darknet ebook file for a book one already owns in paper is in a different ethical category than acquiring a book one has not bought and has no intention of paying for, in any form. Morally, it seems to me to be similar to scanning a book one already owns; a transformation of format, rather than an increase in copies.
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I fear that can also be parsed as "I've bought
that, so it's okay to steal
this."
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On reflection, though, I'd be willing to pay typical Baen prices to convert my collection over time. I just can't afford to do it all at once for the backlog of books I now own (and can't currently access).
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I understand the problem. I own about 1,500 old fashioned vinyl LP records. There is no way I can afford to replace all of them with CDs, and many of them are obscure enough that they don't
have CD re-issues, or there is only a "Best of" collection, or there
is a CD reissue, but on a custom label at higher than normal prices.
I've been looking in the background at turntables specifically designed to rip to digital, though there will still be a fair bit of manual processing to break things into tracks and add the sort of info standard on CDs.
I also have a lot of old paperbacks of stuff that doesn't exist in ebook format: early Ace Doubles and the like. Some of it is now starting to hit Project Gutenberg as it lapses into PD, like the works of H. Beam Piper. I must say, however, that's it's a weird feeling to see stuff on Project Gutenberg from people you
knew...
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I think the most appropriate way to handle this would be for me to sell all my old books as used books and use the proceeds to buy non-DRM'd ebooks from Baen or similar. The difference in price would be approximately equal to the enhanced value of the ebooks -- at least, to me. Unfortunately, not all the books in my collection are even available in legal ebook formats yet-- that's a whole 'nother problem, though. 
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I suppose it depends upon how badly you want ebooks of the titles.
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Dennis