Massive wave of ebook piracy?

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

DRM = chastity belt.

More like government enforced sterilization.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

DRM = chastity belt.

Oh, wait.... I thought you said DGM = chastity belt.

watch out for the stick!!

[NVash]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

The same reason why people shoplift, litter, are rude, go through the 10 items or less line with 50 items, etc. They know that no will have the nerve to speak up. Your silence is the same as approval to them and is a form of cowardice. One person objecting may not make a difference. Neither may ten people. But if a large majority had the courage to standup to the wrogdoers, it just might make a difference. Say nothing and it will only get worse.

Okay, I stayed silent for the most part. Commented way earlier but here I am again. I may be wrong, anyone feel free to correct me. Here are the reasons why people pirate. There are some who do it just because they can. There are others who do it because they cant afford ebooks. And there are yet some who do it because they may want to check out a new series but arent quite willing to buy anything yet. The final one I will mention are people who may or may not have the book but want a copy of it and found they cannot buy it for their E-reader. Im thinking of a bunch of older rare books right now that arent available. There are other reasons, no doubt, but these are off the top of my head. Instead of all this back and forth why dont we address the reasons why they do it?

Now heres my solution which will never be acted upon. Forget about speaking out against piracy. Maybe when people can learn to do it without mudslinging sure, but right now forget about that. Why dont people instead try to team up and speak out against these crazy prices? I just looked into buying a book for my girlfriend and the thing cost $12. $12? For an ebook? Seriously? On a shoddy behind E-reader that isnt even color yet? Know how much the paperback cost? $10. And thats if I want brand new. If I went used, well we all know things are cheaper used. And thats funny because see, saying I get it on said reader shed have to lend me the darn thing to let me read it. Who wants to lend out that over one hundred dollar thing? I liken it to lending out an iPod, PSP or DS. Theyre all around the same price range. You willing to lend any of those out? I know Im not. And though I dont own an E-reader I intend to buy one shortly and that very fact annoys me to no end. But hey, I have to deal with it because thats what they have and they could apparently care less what anyone thinks. Maybe Im wrong, who knows. Seems they dont care.

Instead of this pointless debate why dont people push for better E-readers, better technology, more books, cheaper prices, instead of running this never ending circle of calling each other out and almost insulting people. The latter hasnt worked, why dont people just try something new?

Oh, silly me, thatll never happen. Carry on with this pointless debate.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by NVash

Okay, I stayed silent for the most part. Commented way earlier but here I am again. I may be wrong, anyone feel free to correct me. Here are the reasons why people pirate. There are some who do it just because they can. There are others who do it because they cant afford ebooks. And there are yet some who do it because they may want to check out a new series but arent quite willing to buy anything yet. The final one I will mention are people who may or may not have the book but want a copy of it and found they cannot buy it for their E-reader. Im thinking of a bunch of older rare books right now that arent available. There are other reasons, no doubt, but these are off the top of my head. Instead of all this back and forth why dont we address the reasons why they do it?

Now heres my solution which will never be acted upon. Forget about speaking out against piracy. Maybe when people can learn to do it without mudslinging sure, but right now forget about that. Why dont people instead try to team up and speak out against these crazy prices? I just looked into buying a book for my girlfriend and the thing cost $12. $12? For an ebook? Seriously? On a shoddy behind E-reader that isnt even color yet? Know how much the paperback cost? $10. And thats if I want brand new. If I went used, well we all know things are cheaper used. And thats funny because see, saying I get it on said reader shed have to lend me the darn thing to let me read it. Who wants to lend out that over one hundred dollar thing? I liken it to lending out an iPod, PSP or DS. Theyre all around the same price range. You willing to lend any of those out? I know Im not. And though I dont own an E-reader I intend to buy one shortly and that very fact annoys me to no end. But hey, I have to deal with it because thats what they have and they could apparently care less what anyone thinks. Maybe Im wrong, who knows. Seems they dont care.

Instead of this pointless debate why dont people push for better E-readers, better technology, more books, cheaper prices, instead of running this never ending circle of calling each other out and almost insulting people. The latter hasnt worked, why dont people just try something new?

Oh, silly me, thatll never happen. Carry on with this pointless debate.

Again with the same, tired, old rationalizations.

[NVash]

Tired rationalizations? What does that have to do with this? I buy my books cheap off EBay or whenever I can find cheap ebooks, Im not rationalizing anything. Im repeating what they say and suggesting that instead of all this arguing people try to find a way to stop the problem.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by NVash

Tired rationalizations? What does that have to do with this? I buy my books cheap off EBay or whenever I can find cheap ebooks, Im not rationalizing anything. Im repeating what they say and suggesting that instead of all this arguing people try to find a way to stop the problem.

The issue is that many don't see piracy as a problem or it would stop.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

Again with the same, tired, old rationalizations.

Same old argument.

Originally Posted by kennyc

The issue is that many don't see piracy as a problem or it would stop.

That is a modern medicine fix. Treat the symptom. How about treating the cause?

Scrap geo restrictions and DRM and be realistic with pricing to attract more sales.

Encourage more people to buy ebooks rather than be turned away and seeking an alternative because they cannot purchase the ebook they want AND are happy to purchase.

The publishing industry is its own worst enemy. They could be riding on the digital age with common sense distribution models (Baen model perhaps?) instead of making it harder for ebooks to be sold. This is the reality.

[Falcao]

I think that pirating is the third oldest job in the world, just after prostitution and stealing.

[kevinp]

Originally Posted by Falcao

I think that pirating is the third oldest job in the world, just after prostitution and stealing.

I thought pirating WAS stealing...

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by kevinp

I thought pirating WAS stealing...

Kevin, as I understand it, the pro-piracy argument goes something like this:

Stealing involves taking something from someone so that he doesn't have it any more. Piracy is more like looking over the shoulder of someone reading the book.

[Falcao]

Originally Posted by kevinp

I thought pirating WAS stealing...

With stealing you only have one object. With pirating you have two objects (the original and the pirated one).

But my point is that pirating is an ancient ill and that no DRM will deter it. Better prices and availability can help among other things. Maybe it's not representative, but I know people (not me, eh) that stopped copying music once Amazon started selling mp3 in $0.99 or less.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Kevin, as I understand it, the pro-piracy argument goes something like this:

Stealing involves taking something from someone so that he doesn't have it any more. Piracy is more like looking over the shoulder of someone reading the book.

No, this is wrong. Using the correct term (copyright infringement) is not a pro-piracy argument.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by sabredog

.
That is a modern medicine fix. Treat the symptom. How about treating the cause?

Scrap geo restrictions and DRM and be realistic with pricing to attract more sales.

Encourage more people to buy ebooks rather than be turned away and seeking an alternative because they cannot purchase the ebook they want AND are happy to purchase.

The publishing industry is its own worst enemy. They could be riding on the digital age with common sense distribution models (Baen model perhaps?) instead of making it harder for ebooks to be sold. This is the reality.

On no. That simply is not true. The sellers have a right to decide who they sell to and at what price. That does not give anyone the right to steal from them.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by kevinp

I thought pirating WAS stealing...

It is!

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by kennyc

On no. That simply is not true. The sellers have a right to decide who they sell to and at what price. That does not give anyone the right to steal from them.

You are not reading what I say or chose not to read what I say before launching the same argument.

I am NOT arguing that sellers do not have the right to selective selling, access to purchase or what price regime to set. That alone is the crux of the problem.

Try and understand that the current anachronistic distribution system contributes to the piracy problem because it does restrict whole regions from book purchase, it does charge far higher costs for ebooks when they plainly do not need to be set so high (Again, the Baen model, which works!)

Unlock all that and buyers will come back to buying ebooks, like they probably wanted to do in the first place but were prevented to.

The reading world is a different place that what it was 20 years ago and frankly, just like the entertainment industry, publishers cannot cope and will not change, despite seeing the writing on the wall requiring they need to change.