Inkmesh Updates: Fresh Ebooks

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Tamara

Why? You have the freedom not to click the link or buy from the iBook store so don't.

Why cripple a site because of your personal prejudices?

It's not a personal prejudice. It's Apple's fault we have the Agency 5 and such high prices on a lot of eBooks now. Do you think it's a good idea to help Apple sell eBooks when it's their fault?

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by Tamara

Why? You have the freedom not to click the link or buy from the iBook store so don't.

Why cripple a site because of your personal prejudices?

I'm pretty sure that Inkmesh, like Apple, is in fact a private company. As such, they can choose which ebook stores they want to cover and which they don't, and which customers they want to support and which to ignore. You have the freedom to not visit Inkmesh. You have the freedom to start a service that covers the stores you think should be included. I find it ironic that you're telling a private citizen what not to say to a private company, when you yourself are just such a citizen with no greater standing.

Also, you think Apple will be "crippled" if they're not listed in Inkmesh? I'm inclined to doubt it. Apple has their little walled garden and their users huddle inside. If Inkmesh went broke and shut down tomorrow, do you think Apple would come up with the money to save it, to avoid being "crippled"? That's not going to happen. Inkmesh is a private organization, not a taxpayer-funded service, and they get to pick and choose. That's how business works.

Do you prefer to wait for a corporation to suddenly have a change of heart, go against their legal obligations, and become a good citizen? Get back to me in a few years and tell me how that's working for you. Unless the marketplace (that's us) chooses to give money only to the corporations who act in accordance with what we think is best for the society we live in, they're not going to -- in fact, they're legally prohibited from doing so. Telling Inkmesh what they need to do to get more of our business ("our" in hypothetical terms, as public domain books and MobileRead links to indie sites have filled my TBR list to bursting) and telling Apple what they need to do to get more of our business, and of course how the listings work out, is exactly how it's supposed to work. It's exactly what citizens are supposed to do. "Sit back and passively swallow anything that's shoveled at you" is not the attitude of a mammal; it's the attitude of a sponge. Anyone who chooses the latter really needs to grow a central nervous system.