I'm too Greedy.

[Anabran]

"And that makes it a problem because - ?

Truly not getting the big deal here"

Well IMHO it, Digital Hoarding as with any addictive behaviour, an become the cause of unneeded anxiety
as the mere act of collecting/downloading
the content begins to overtake the pleasure of actually consuming it.
and incidents such as crashed hard drives/datalosses take an unusual emotion toll on people who have become addicted to having their hoard.
I personally know people who have risked loss of employment by violation of company policies against personal web surfing on company time
because they cant wait to get home to download yet another new "3D Item".

no its not on the level of alcoholism etc, but it can cause
problems in relationships.

[Katsunami]

Tell me about it. I know people who spend over an hour or more on work days, regularly, to find torrent and nzb files for the stuff they want, so they can mail them to their clients to be downloaded. "Then it will be done when I get home." Those are the same people who will proudly exclaim to have downloaded 500GB this month, and boast that they use a huge industrial NAS, effectively serving up 50+ terabytes of storage. (And it costs thousands of dollars to buy such a thing with all its hard drives.)

That's f****** useless. These people should seek help. IMHO.

Having a few free ebooks doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. What are you worrying about?

[CWatkinsNash]

From the rumblings I've heard from authors in the KDPS program, there are two main camps.

The first camp freaks out because 10,000 people downloaded their book for free but there's no sign that they read it. They feel a lack of control because they can't force them to read it, they can't find out if they read it (unless they review it), they just turn the book loose and then wonder if they did the right thing.

The second camp understands that their book is now in the hands of at least 9,950 people who probably would not have ever heard of the book otherwise, allowing them to reach a potential audience they didn't have before. It turned some "never will reads" into "might reads".

I never ask myself if it's fair. I ask myself, does this look like something I'd read? If yes, I get it. I might read it, I might not, but chances are I would never have laid eyes on the book had it not been free.

[Kali Yuga]

I concur with some of the above that there is no ethical problem with your downloading more content than you believe you can read.

If the author releases it for free as a promotional tactic, they have to understand that some people won't bother to read the book. It doesn't (shouldn't) cost the author anything. And if 1 out of 10 of those people wind up buying another book, they've done alright.

I agree the real problem with hoarding can be the mentality of the hoarder -- but only if it really does impact your enjoyment of reading, or otherwise gets out of hand. I don't think downloading a handful of books that you won't read is a serious issue. If you download 50 free books a day, 5 days a week, that might indicate a problem.

[Anabran]

"What are you worrying about?"

Where have I announced that I am "worried?????

Someone mentioned the first world phenomenon of digital file collecting and I expanded on their comment...simple
just making conversation..
relax people ;-).

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Anabran

Where have I announced that I am "worried?????

Not you, the topic starter

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Not you, the topic starter

Worried? I'm not all that worried. But some smart guy said, "the unexamined life isn't worth living".

I'm just trying to make sure I get my full share of worthy living.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Having just retired, I wonder how many books I've read that I simply don't remember reading.

Look on the bright side you can re-read those titles again as if for the 1st time. I don't see a problem with building a collection. That way you always have something you might want to read at hand even if the newer books that come after this or that one don't catch your interest. At least with ebooks you don't have to worry about running short on shelf space either.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

I concur with some of the above that there is no ethical problem with your downloading more content than you believe you can read.

If the author releases it for free as a promotional tactic, they have to understand that some people won't bother to read the book. It doesn't (shouldn't) cost the author anything. And if 1 out of 10 of those people wind up buying another book, they've done alright.

I agree the real problem with hoarding can be the mentality of the hoarder -- but only if it really does impact your enjoyment of reading, or otherwise gets out of hand. I don't think downloading a handful of books that you won't read is a serious issue. If you download 50 free books a day, 5 days a week, that might indicate a problem.

But better a hoard of free ebooks than some of the other things people end up hoarding. After all you don't have to build physical shelves for ebooks.

[voracious71]

OP, will we see you on that show, My Strange Addiction?

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by voracious71

OP, will we see you on that show, My Strange Addiction?

Does Hollywood REALLY care about books and reading? All that "thinky" stuff doesn't sell toaster pastries.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by voracious71

OP, will we see you on that show, My Strange Addiction?

Vive la dépendance à la lecture!

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by crich70

But better a hoard of free ebooks than some of the other things people end up hoarding. After all you don't have to build physical shelves for ebooks.

Yeah, and you don't have to worry that your stacks of ebooks will fall over and kill somebody!

[samhy]

Originally Posted by crich70

Vive la dépendance à la lecture!

Exactement !
If I had to choose an addiction, that would be it.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Yeah, and you don't have to worry that your stacks of ebooks will fall over and kill somebody!

...or harbor vermin, or block entry by emergency service people....
Isn't there something about not messing with someone's head unless the condition adversely impacts their life, lest the cure be far worse than the disease?