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Old 05-04-2014, 11:23 AM   #226
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Old 05-05-2014, 09:55 AM   #227
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Originally Posted by tompe View Post
I would like to have published checksums for ebooks so you can check that it is not changed and check exactly what edition of the book you have.

If I read a review of a book I want to know that I have bought the same book as the the book that was reviewed. I also want so be able to make sure that I have read the same edition as friends since it makes it easier to talk about the book.
This is a good idea!

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Originally Posted by jgaiser View Post
In this age of the internet, do you folks *really* believe this sort of thing is possible?
What about ebooks that are released on a small scale?

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Originally Posted by alanHd View Post
I think the odds of this happening with a book from a reputable source is fairly low but what about books from the Dark Net. What if I wanted to spread rumours about someone, Edit a Biography with some untruths and seed it. I could see plenty of people believing it just because its written, no matter if it differs from other versions.
Good point...
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:06 AM   #228
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Originally Posted by Catlady View Post
I have been talking mostly about public domain books. Anyone can change them at any time for any reason.
Right. The same can be said about e-books released by a small time internet-based self-help author...
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:10 AM   #229
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Originally Posted by EbookNovice View Post
Right. The same can be said about e-books released by a small time internet-based self-help author...
I really don't think it can. You simply need to be sure you're buying from a reliable source: either the author directly, or a reputable bookstore.

The quantum mechanical nature of the universe absolutely prohibits any "certainty" about the fixed state of anything. You're trying to fight the laws of physics, and you're going to lose.
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:13 AM   #230
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Why not buy the print books then convert them yourself. Then you know exactly what your getting.

I personally don't think its a problem but everyone to there own.
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:20 AM   #231
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Originally Posted by Catlady View Post
I have been talking mostly about public domain books. Anyone can change them at any time for any reason.
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Originally Posted by Catlady View Post
Oh lord.

It's simple. I get a digital copy of a public domain book. I tweak it to make it suit my tastes--changing words, punctuation, sentence structure, whatever. Maybe I have an agenda, maybe I just think I'm making it better. I upload it to the library here, to my Web page, to other sites. People download it. They don't know that I've made changes. They think they're reading the book the author published way back when, but they're not. They're reading my bastardized version..
Right.
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Originally Posted by Teyrnon View Post
Easier, sure but I'm not sure it's more likely. What motivation would someone have for this in a clandestine fashion? I suspect anyone who'd actually put that much effort into it would claim credit for their work. At the very least most would add an editor's credit to what they publish. Seems to me they'd want to let people know they've 'improved' it. I doubt we'll be seeing a rash of adulterated classics being passed off as the 'one true version of the author's words and vision' any time soon.

I'm not saying you should only buy Penguin editions. What I am suggesting is that we should bear in mind where something is coming from. I dare say the lion's share of the ebooks you'd find on this site are faithful reproductions of the original text or at least the text of the edition worked from.
They could alter the e-book just from a sense of a prank or a trolling attempt. Many trolls on the internet create amazing stories that can be easily believed.

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Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but that's exactly what I do. Their wonderful introductory essays and footnotes allow one to get so much more out of the book than the raw text alone. You may perhaps have noticed that almost all the proof-read classics that I've uploaded to the MR library have been proofed against the "Penguin Classics" edition.
Which introductory essays are included? Who writes these essays?
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:25 AM   #232
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Which introductory essays are included? Who writes these essays?
The introductory essays in "Penguin Classics" editions (and similar scholarly editions, such as "Oxford World Classics") are written by people very knowledgeable about the book concerned. They allow one to get a great deal more out of the book than simply reading the raw text does.
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Old 05-13-2014, 07:34 AM   #233
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I'm more concerned because the e-books I'm reading now aren't fiction. They're e-books that contain philosophical/political/economic/scientific information that I want to use as the 'mental foundation' for the rest of my life.
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Old 05-13-2014, 08:10 AM   #234
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EbookNovice View Post
I'm more concerned because the e-books I'm reading now aren't fiction. They're e-books that contain philosophical/political/economic/scientific information that I want to use as the 'mental foundation' for the rest of my life.
Oh. Well the answer is much simpler then: don't do that. Use everything to build your "mental foundation," and you won't have to worry so much about the occasional ebook that has been altered. Books, life, conversation, classes, your own ideas. It would be a mistake to base (unquestioningly) your entire "foundation" on non-fiction ebooks even if they were guaranteed to be unaltered in any way. There are very few 100% factual baselines to start building a personal philosophy upon to begin with. You should always make allowances for your foundation to be shaken from time to time anyway.

Altered ebooks are the least of your stumbling blocks in your pursuit.
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Old 05-13-2014, 11:16 AM   #235
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Originally Posted by EbookNovice View Post
I'm more concerned because the e-books I'm reading now aren't fiction. They're e-books that contain philosophical/political/economic/scientific information that I want to use as the 'mental foundation' for the rest of my life.
Then you have failed to take into account the very real posibility that the author himself is either deluded or downright lying. Pretty much everyone is at one point or another.

Sufffice it to say, malicious censors are the very LEAST of the problems with that approach.

If you wish to blindly follow another's philosophy, you will do much better following me. Here: I believe everyone must give me lots of money or else they are guilty of crimes against humanity and must die.
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Old 05-13-2014, 11:41 AM   #236
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If you wish to blindly follow another's philosophy, you will do much better following me. Here: I believe everyone must give me lots of money or else they are guilty of crimes against humanity and must die.
Please send bank account info!
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Old 05-13-2014, 11:56 AM   #237
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Please send bank account info!
Also, some personal information so we can be sure yours is the philosophy we want to follow (make sure to include mothers maiden name and date of birth)
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Old 05-13-2014, 01:04 PM   #238
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I think it may be a tad gullible to follow blindly but if that is your desire most self help books are available from the author at the same cost as anther seller. The more spiritual less commercial authors often are still only in paper or audio.

If you buy from a reputable source or borrow from a public library the chances are slim that you will be fooled.

There is no guaranteed foolproof solution to living your life. And no one author who is an absolute authority AFAIK.

Not belittling your choice here in any way as I went through a big self help/visualisation thing and managed to go from flat broke and jobless to buying a condo and quitting smoking and losing 50 pounds in 2 years. Wish I could do something similar again.

But my feeling is that many a self help author would tell you to stop worrying so much about adulterated content and focus on life.

Helen
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Old 05-13-2014, 04:45 PM   #239
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Please send bank account info!
You can via PayPal.

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Also, some personal information so we can be sure yours is the philosophy we want to follow (make sure to include mothers maiden name and date of birth)
Why is that necessary? The OP didn't need any of that for HIS role models.
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Old 05-13-2014, 06:43 PM   #240
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For books under copyright, obtain them from a legitimate source, and it is highly unlikely there will be malicious edits. For public domain books, in principle it is possible for someone to make malicious edits. If you're really that concerned about malicious edits, then don't download the free version, buy one from a reputable publisher - for such a book there's no reason to be more suspicious of an e-book than a paper book.

But how many cases of malicious edits have there ACTUALLY been with free public domain books?
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