What happens to my digital content when I die

[stumped]

got it - you have 2 people in the address book, with same surname and address

and reply on the fact that they are dumb enough to treat "Josie and Steve" as a first name
i like that, I'm tempted to change mine to " the resident Cat" , but as they never phone me I'll not get to see how well that works...

" Hi, this is Amazon, Am I speaking to the resident Cat "

maybe someone else will check it out & report back

[HarryT]

Don't Amazon offer some sort of "family sharing" system to allow multiple accounts to share content between them? I was under the impression that they did.

EDIT: Yes, they do:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cus...deId=201806560

That would seem to remove the need to have two names on a single account?

[pdurrant]

It's possible to share Kindle content via 'Family Library'. You can choose which of your books get shared.

But they didn't offer this until a couple of years ago.

It does make having two accounts better than one, because then the last read position is stored in separate accounts, even for the same book.

[stumped]

Family sharing is not a solution. It allows two live consenting adults to access each others content , like granting read access on a shared windows folder, but the conent is not, afaik, duplicated into both accounts

. So if a death is notified, an account is closed and it's concent is wiped

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by stumped

Family sharing is not a solution. It allows two live consenting adults to access each others content , like granting read access on a shared windows folder, but the conent is not, afaik, duplicated into both accounts

. So if a death is notified, an account is closed and it's concent is wiped

How is Amazon going to know you died?
A live human that knows you would have to notify them.

In all seriousness if you are that worried, just give someone else your password and don't put anything in the local paper about your death.

Or if it is more personal stuff and not just your books and music, share the stuff now while you are still alive. That way if the kids have questions, they can ask now.

Oh and do you realize how many now dead people have Facebook accounts?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

- - - -
Oh and do you realize how many now dead people have Facebook accounts?

About as many as are still voting in local Chicago elections.
The "Vote early, vote often" town.

- - - -

Facebook is one of the few companies that have addressed this issue.
They have an "Immortalized Account" feature/service/status (whatever their marketing department calls it).

- - - -

I asked the ADrive contact people (the cloud service in my signature) about this situation:

> *
> We have a guide in place if such thing happens to the account holder.
> We would require some authentication.
>

Where "such thing" is death or other incapacity.
They will transfer an account from one person to another.

- - - -

Probably the only practical thing to do, in this day of no standardized handling, is to ask the contact people of each account provider you care about, how to handle the situation.

[Lady Stardust]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Or if it is more personal stuff and not just your books and music, share the stuff now while you are still alive. That way if the kids have questions, they can ask now.

This wouldn't work if one dies tomorrow in fire, accident, earthquake, tsunami, heart attack, haemorrhage, etc...unless now is actually yesterday.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Lady Stardust

This wouldn't work if one dies tomorrow in fire, accident, earthquake, tsunami, heart attack, haemorrhage, etc...unless now is actually yesterday.

True.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Don't Amazon offer some sort of "family sharing" system to allow multiple accounts to share content between them? I was under the impression that they did.

EDIT: Yes, they do:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cus...deId=201806560

That would seem to remove the need to have two names on a single account?

I have shared content with my brother. While you can play all of his stuff, you can't download the books and remove DRM in order to store in Calibre. Has to be done from his account (which I do periodically). It's also a tad more complex as he doesn't have an ereader any longer, but a Fire. So, I registered one of my Basic Kindles with his account just so that I can do that.

Furthermore, you can't share with another family account. Your limit is TWO and you can't switch between 3 accounts without getting blocked for 6 months. My late sister wanted to listen to the Harry Potter series my brother owned, so I had to give her MY Fire to listen to it since we couldn't hook her account with his or mine. Fortunately, while officially Amazon has a 10 device limit, in actual practice, it doesn't seem to matter how many you have. The limit is simultaneously using the same file (i.e. reading the same ebook or audiobook).

Is this where I admit my device addiction? But, but, I share with family members too!!!

[stumped]

you are not alone on the sharign. I bought a kindle fire on my account for granddaughter ehn spend a day trackign from all the good + free or almo free books and apps for her age range, & worked out ho to flip th kids time safeyty thing on & off. She loves it. Having it on my account mean I can do the chore of finding new free content as I have more time than the parents
I don't like the family setup at all. the kindle which my wife takes on holiday is also on my account for simplicity, so all our kindle books are in a single account.

amazon family would not help at all with getting dual ownership of purchsed videos and of cloud drive space.
we have the old version of prime benefits where you could invite any 4 others to use the free next day delivery shopping perk. that scheme is closed but they are still honouring old setups, so my son gets free shopping to his address still, via my prime account ( he does not get the videos etc. just the shopping ) .
he'll be borrowing my sign-in soon, when he has the time, to binge watch American Gods on Prime video

PS device limits- amazon music has a 10 device limit. but amazon video seems unlimited - we have close to 20 registered devices for video. I think with books it's a per book - per publisher setrtings

[notimp]

First - Rights matter. More than "how does Amazon know, that someone has died - and impromptu account sharing solutions, that might work". So why shouldn't we ask for rights, we only just lost, when books became digital - and half of the users in here haven't even realized, they've lost, because nobody told them.

Second - On facebook, its at least something you "created" (but never owned), on Amazon its something an industry sells you. So don't get too romantic in your thought experiments.

Third - remove DRM, make it a good instead of an access license, then for the first time, retain something resembling "rights of ownership", is the only answer thats reasonable giving, really.

Fourth - I despise the self depricating thats going on in here in order to downplay the importance of this issue (Amazon as a custodian of our written culture?), because "your children wouldnt touch your books" or "you wouldn't want to leave them with the burden to throw out physical books" dismantling the basis of public culture (= something the public owns), is hardly a solution.

Fifth - If I hear the convenience argument in a discussion about digitized goods one more time, I dont guarantee for my behavior anymore. Here is how this works. Digitization lowers production cost, distribution cost, storage cost, YOU pay for your internet (the distribution part), so digitization simply is technological progress. The "convenience plus" you find so special about it, is not something you should become accustom paying for - because it just came out of the whole "everyone now has internet" thing for free. The publisher creating the ebook, and you paying for the internet are 95% of what is needed to realize that convenience. So every argument that tries to pull you in the direction of "you have to give up ownership rights in exchange for convenience" is an outright lie. And I dont like to argue for lies, and I sincerely hope you don't like to either...

Also - laws and contracts are important. So if you see the need for them, please talk about it. As of right now - you are paying for non transfarable usage licenses (that sometimes can be temp lent "family sharing").

That so many of you dont know that, is an issue as well. Reminds me of the previous discussion that ended in a "oh, its not a problem at all" verdict, despite that not being true...

Also, I see people in here talking about how much they love free, for their grandchildren... How great.

[Cinisajoy]

Nope, not going to ask how I am paying for distribution of the internet.

Now if one is so dang worried about sharing the digital content license they bought, might I recommend buying a copy for whoever you want to have it.

PS: I do love my grandson. Once he gets grown and I am no longer here, he can do whatever he wants with my stuff. I won't know the difference.

[barryem]

I wonder, when we're discussing rights, if personal concerns really should be part of the discussion. Cinisajoy, you don't care if your grandkids get your books and I don't care if mine get my books but I think it's important that when we buy something we have the right to pass it on. And "buy" is the key word here. We are buying these books, no matter what we have to agree to pretend when we buy them.

The saving grace is that we can pass them on if we choose to, thanks to Calibre. No, I don't think that's a good enough answer but it's something. We should also have the right to legally pass them on.

I have no idea who will get my books in the unlikely event that I die. I can't think of anyone in my family who would want them. But that isn't the issue to me. Buying something implies a right to dispose of it.

I'm very much in favor of authors making money. I don't care for high book prices but I can live with that. I realize some of those in power here think I'm a pirate. I'm not. I buy my books. I have since they've been available to buy. But the other side of piracy is the never-ending attempt by sellers and publishers to deprive us of our right of disposal. That's as dishonest as what the pirates do. Legal or not, it's dishonest. Fortunately I don't have to give in to it.

Barry

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by barryem

I wonder, when we're discussing rights, if personal concerns really should be part of the discussion. Cinisajoy, you don't care if your grandkids get your books and I don't care if mine get my books but I think it's important that when we buy something we have the right to pass it on. And "buy" is the key word here. We are buying these books, no matter what we have to agree to pretend when we buy them.

The saving grace is that we can pass them on if we choose to, thanks to Calibre. No, I don't think that's a good enough answer but it's something. We should also have the right to legally pass them on.

I have no idea who will get my books in the unlikely event that I die. I can't think of anyone in my family who would want them. But that isn't the issue to me. Buying something implies a right to dispose of it.

I'm very much in favor of authors making money. I don't care for high book prices but I can live with that. I realize some of those in power here think I'm a pirate. I'm not. I buy my books. I have since they've been available to buy. But the other side of piracy is the never-ending attempt by sellers and publishers to deprive us of our right of disposal. That's as dishonest as what the pirates do. Legal or not, it's dishonest. Fortunately I don't have to give in to it.

Barry

Actually I want the grandkid to get the books, but he can do whatever he wants with them.
I do agree if you buy a physical something that your heirs should be able to do what they want with them.
Now on digital stuff, well since there is no legal way to resell it I don't see the big deal. Either the heirs will have your accounts or your digital stuff will go with you to the great beyond. Or it may just remain in a cloud for forever.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Actually I want the grandkid to get the books, but he can do whatever he wants with them.
I do agree if you buy a physical something that your heirs should be able to do what they want with them.
Now on digital stuff, well since there is no legal way to resell it I don't see the big deal. Either the heirs will have your accounts or your digital stuff will go with you to the great beyond. Or it may just remain in a cloud for forever.

A story from my childhood, but a distinct contrast to this world of e-everything.

My grandmother, when she felt the time was near (she was wrong) wanted to be sure all miscellaneous things (like books) went where she intended.
To the kids, grand kids, great-grand kids ...
It was a big family but she had a lot of nick-knacks to pass around.

She bought herself a label maker, the sort that makes nice black letters on white tape.

She spent her free time (for years), printing and sticking name labels on the bottom of everything movable in the house.
Perhaps a bit eccentric, but an effective solution just the same.

It also became a fun game for us young grand children.
When no one was looking, we would look at the bottom of things to see who was going to get what (this week, the labels often changed between visits).

My point:
How in this world of e-everything could (can?) such great memories of those no longer here be established?

It is real hard to put a little printed label on the inside cover of an e-book.

Next, #14 000 - maybe that one will be worth reading.