Access to Knowledge: YEA or NAY

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

Well gigs that's the trouble with luxury goods like entertainment. One could usually process more than afford.

Digital files are luxury goods?

[Freeshadow]

The works of an artist are the luxury, regardless of the medium

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Digital files are luxury goods?

It depends who you are asking. I know people for whom a bowl of soup is a luxury good, and have helped provide such items to some very very thankful people.

I was raised to have an attitude of gratefulness for not only our necessities, but for the bling, too. It is one principle that I am glad has stuck for the last 40 years...

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

The retail price of all I read last year exceeded my annual income. And I could have read more.

A Minimum wage job pays $7.25/hour. At that rate, working full time, you would make around $15,000/year. At $10 a book (on average) you could buy 1500 books, or 4 books a day.

If you are not working full time, then obviously the number will be less, but that is why there are libraries and the public domain. More than enough reading to keep a body going to many, many years.

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Digital files are luxury goods?

Depends on what the purpose of the digital file is. If its purpose is your entertainment, then by definition it is a luxury.

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

So you believe that we will not choose to compensate our artists if given the choice?

We have chosen. By living in a democracy and taking part in the election of our government, we have chosen to support copyright laws. By trying to justify ignoring copyright law (as opposed to lobbying to have it changed), you are implicitly breaking the social contract that holds our society together.

--
Bill

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

We have chosen. By living in a democracy and taking part in the election of our government, we have chosen to support copyright laws. By trying to justify ignoring copyright law (as opposed to lobbying to have it changed), you are implicitly breaking the social contract that holds our society together.

--
Bill

It does of course take all kinds. Society is not composed solely of those who adhere to every law.

I for one do not wish to allow the government, elected or otherwise to have any say in what I read or view.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

A Minimum wage job pays $7.25/hour. At that rate, working full time, you would make around $15,000/year. At $10 a book (on average) you could buy 1500 books, or 4 books a day.

If you are not working full time, then obviously the number will be less, but that is why there are libraries and the public domain. More than enough reading to keep a body going to many, many years.

--
Bill

Why bother going to my library, asking a librarian to procure a book for me, which might need to be shipped halfway around the world and back again, when I can just download it?

[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Why bother going to my library, asking a librarian to procure a book for me, which might need to be shipped halfway around the world and back again, when I can just download it?

Hey at least you are being honest now.

It's not about knowledge or principles or anything noble like that. It's just that you couldn't be bothered paying or going to a library.

Kudos for finally getting to the point after 26 pages.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Why bother going to my library, asking a librarian to procure a book for me, which might need to be shipped halfway around the world and back again, when I can just download it?

Why bother to be honest and law abiding?

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Why bother going to my library, asking a librarian to procure a book for me, which might need to be shipped halfway around the world and back again, when I can just download it?

Why bother inhaling and exhaling? Answer: because we need to do it to live. Why bother writing books? Answer (at least for some people): because they need to do it to live. Not only is a book an author's contribution to society, payment for that book is a contribution from a reader to the author. It helps the author to pay the bills, and in most cases authors are lucky to get that much money. If an author doesn't feel the need for reader contributions, they are always free to release their book under a creative commons license or in the public domain. In that case, you can stuff the book onto your magical "knowledge server". Otherwise, it can't go on that server because it does not reflect the author's interests as governed by copyright laws.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Why bother inhaling and exhaling? Answer: because we need to do it to live. Why bother writing books? Answer (at least for some people): because they need to do it to live. Not only is a book an author's contribution to society, payment for that book is a contribution from a reader to the author. It helps the author to pay the bills, and in most cases authors are lucky to get that much money. If an author doesn't feel the need for reader contributions, they are always free to release their book under a creative commons license or in the public domain. In that case, you can stuff the book onto your magical "knowledge server". Otherwise, it can't go on that server because it does not reflect the author's interests as governed by copyright laws.

Yes, compensation to the creator is needed.

But that does not answer my question about why I should waste the librarians time and energy with my book request when I can click a button and have the book delivered in seconds.

One does not follow the other, the librarian is not needed to compensate the creator.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Yes, compensation to the creator is needed.

But that does not answer my question about why I should waste the librarians time and energy with my book request when I can click a button and have the book delivered in seconds.

One does not follow the other, the librarian is not needed to compensate the creator.

There are more than 100,000 libraries in the United States and they account for a fair percentage of book sales.

If people do not use the library then there will be no library.

Most librarians would prefer to do their job even if it requires time and energy to losing their job. Do you imagine that they all want to sit there and do nothing all day?

Your position does not keep people from losing time and energy it puts them out of work. Doing bad things to one group cannot be justified by doing bad things to another group.

Helen

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

There are more than 100,000 libraries in the United States and they account for a fair percentage of book sales.

If people do not use the library then there will be no library.

Most librarians would prefer to do their job even if it requires time and energy to losing their job. Do you imagine that they all want to sit there and do nothing all day?

Your position does not keep people from losing time and energy it puts them out of work. Doing bad things to one group cannot be justified by doing bad things to another group.

Helen

And if their work is obsolete or redundant? Should they still be compensated?

What I mean is, if we pay taxes for librarians, why not just cut out the middleman so to speak and send the money to the creator?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

And if their work is obsolete or redundant? Should they still be compensated?

What I mean is, if we pay taxes for librarians, why not just cut out the middleman so to speak and send the money to the creator?

Of course, it would be best if you just bought the book. That does cut out the librarian. Glad you are finally starting to see the light.