Doctorow's Omen Shows why we need to ban DRM

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Paranoia doesn't automatically make a person wrong. It means that they tend to misinterpret the motivations of others and that misinterpretation leads them to over estimate the magnitude of the consequences. Yet the consequences still do exist.

Yes. It also tends to taint decisions about and solutions to the problems that must be addressed. Paranoia often blinds people to the real issues at hand. And being primarily a solitary attitude, prevents people from grouping into forces that are actually capable of positive response and action.

In short, it doesn't tend to be constructive.

Yeah, a lot of the paranoid people I know tend to focus upon the problems rather than the solutions (or acceptable compromises). I'm not sure that I would stick Doctorow on that end of the spectrum though. His fiction certainly seems to stretch in that direction, but it may simply be a case of him writing what sells. On the other hand, he often practices what he preaches. For example: most, if not all, of his work is distributed under liberal creative commons licenses and his tries out new ideas in an attempt to adapt to changing markets.

I would also argue that both sides are blind to real issues. I mean, it's easy to point fingers at the paranoid for misinterpreting people's motivations. On the other hand, the publishers and software developers are getting a wee bit aggressive in their attempts to lock down, monitor, and market to consumers. There have also been cases where that aggression crosses the line to abusive to the rights of consumers and even civil rights.

[spindlegirl]

That's one thing I admire about Cory Doctorow. I can find most of his stuff on Project Gutenberg for free. I think it was in an intro to one of his books he wrote that people buy his books, too, even knowing that they can get them for free. Similar to that comedian recently who put his work out there and said "hey, the download is only 5 bucks and I don't care if you share it"...

Trusting your customers begets trust back IMO, apparently that comedian grossed about a million bucks, which more than re-couped his cost, because he only asked for a teeny donation from thousands rather than a horrendous donation from a few rich folk.

Not only cost, but the willingness to just go the extra mile...

If everything I bought were like the DRM stuff out there, nobody would make money. Imagine if I bought a pair of knitting needles and they had restrictions as to what material I could knit on them. So much that the knitting needles would be programmed to break if I tried to knit linen instead of their own affiliated brand of cotton on them....

When I buy stuff, I just want to pay my money and go home... with nobody tracking what I do with it. I once used a pretty bedsheet as a curtain without paying again for the privilege of calling it a curtain lol... so what, my business.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I would also argue that both sides are blind to real issues. I mean, it's easy to point fingers at the paranoid for misinterpreting people's motivations. On the other hand, the publishers and software developers are getting a wee bit aggressive in their attempts to lock down, monitor, and market to consumers. There have also been cases where that aggression crosses the line to abusive to the rights of consumers and even civil rights.

I can't argue with that, except to point out that it's been the total lack of cooperation between the two sides (publishers and consumers) that has been the direct cause of "aggressive" sales, marketing and format-protection on the part of publishers, and over-reaction on the part of consumers (attacks of publisher actions with no attempt to understand why those actions are being taken). There is clear fault on both sides.

Personally, I'm most frustrated by being tarred by the brush being lathered on publishers, when I'm in fact not guilty of the transgressions and indiscretions they commit. I've spent time on both sides of the issue, since 2005, trying to be fair to both sides (and including not using DRM on my books). But I am often lambasted for trying to bring both sides together, and emphasizing that ultimately one side won't exist without the other--it's in everyone's best interest that both sides stop fighting and find common ground.

[BillSmithBooks]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Similar to that comedian recently who put his work out there and said "hey, the download is only 5 bucks and I don't care if you share it"...

Trusting your customers begets trust back IMO, apparently that comedian grossed about a million bucks, which more than re-couped his cost, because he only asked for a teeny donation from thousands rather than a horrendous donation from a few rich folk.

Not only cost, but the willingness to just go the extra mile...

<TRIMMED FOR BREVITY>

When I buy stuff, I just want to pay my money and go home... with nobody tracking what I do with it. I once used a pretty bedsheet as a curtain without paying again for the privilege of calling it a curtain lol... so what, my business.

That was Louis CK and he proved that not being a jerk can be a good business model. He broke even on the first weekend (cost about $170,000 to make the video), cleared a million dollars in about two weeks, most of which he gave out to charity and to his employees as bonuses.

Not only that, he made a lot more than he's ever made on his traditionally produced specials, where HBO or Showtime shows up with crew and hands him a check for about $200,000. As he told Terry Gross on fresh air, in theory he got profit sharing on his prior specials, but he's never seen a dime above the initial payment from any of them.

This special he's done on his own is "eternal backlist," available for sale around the world to anyone with $5 and an internet connection.

[kennyc]

I really don't like Cory Doctorow. That is all.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by BillSmithBooks

That was Louis CK and he proved that not being a jerk can be a good business model. He broke even on the first weekend (cost about $170,000 to make the video), cleared a million dollars in about two weeks, most of which he gave out to charity and to his employees as bonuses.

Already being famous didn't hurt, of course.