e-Readers that don't require ISBN's

[BrianFreeman]

Originally Posted by DMSmillie

Actually, the 2005 ISO standard for ISBNs specifies that every distinct format of a book (including different electronic formats) should be given its own ISBN. The International ISBN Agency published a "position paper" in February 2010 on ebooks and ISBNs which is available online as a PDF:

E-Books and ISBNs: a position paper and action points from the International ISBN Agency

That's certainly the position I would expect them to take since they make money from selling ISBNs.

Brian

[Marseille]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

And the "maybe I wasn't clear with my question" post was what I found insulting. She did not, in that post, clarify that despite her title and content, she was not actually talking about e-readers; she just said the same thing again, as if I could understand better it if she said it more (in person, she'd probably say it louder). "Sorry, I meant bookstores, not e-readers" would have been a clarification. Saying the same thing again was ... not.

She made a mis-statement, tried to correct with an apology, failed to be perfect. You made more mistakes than she did and were far ruder thanks to your curmudgeonly sensitivities. This is a forum, not a whitepaper. Her first apology was unnecessary, but polite. Your recommendation for a second apology was the least welcoming response I've seen to a new poster here.

If there was sufficient clarity in her first post to know what she meant -- in other words, that by saying "e-readers" instead of "bookstores" she actually meant bookstores instead of e-readers -- then why did anyone answer the question she asked instead of the one she thought of?

They took your cue. Apparently you aren't the only one who doesn't read with comprehension 100% of the time (I know I don't). None of which would matter if you didn't take such a tiny error so personally. As to what would be the natural reading of her post, the question was posted in Writer's Corner (which is less about reading and more about writing), and referenced publishing (reinforcing that this is not about reading). It wasn't a tech question. What do ISBNs have to do with reading software or hardware? You heard hooves and thought zebras when you should have thought horses. All of that is as minor as her word choice error. These (both her mistake and yours) were all non-issues until you compounded it with pettiness and defensiveness, assuming slights where none could reasonably be inferred to have been intended and recommending a 2nd apology to recompense everyone for their oh-so-valuable forum time.

Though she appears to have been a member for some time, it appears all her posts are in this thread. Thus instead of demanding perfection and apologies, it isn't too much to expect that you'd instead say:

"Welcome to Mobileread. No biggie, but if you'd said 'ebook stores' instead of 'ereaders' everyone would have been more helpful more quickly."

BTW, Welcome to the posting side of Mobileread kate. Little snafus are part and parcel of the limitations of forum communication, but rest assured this is a great community, worldwalker included. Bad days happen.